These Crown studs in Hungary are conducted upon a 



very large scale. At Mezoheyges there were upwards of 650 



broodmares. Colonel Horvath, the officer in charge of the 



latter stud, addressed to Professor Wrightson a letter of great 



interest, which shows how the Hungarians have succeeded in 



establishing fixed breeds of saddle-horses. 



"The race of horses is throughout half-bred. We have had two 

 studs of half-blood Arabian mares since the years 1825 and 1827 ; two 

 studs of English mares (Furiosa and Abugress) since the years 1841 and 

 1842 ; also the family of Nonius, obtained from France in 1815 ; two studs 

 of the ancient blood of Lippieza, which is a mixture of Spanish and Arabian 

 blood, since the year 1807 ; and lately we have begun to form a stud of 

 Norfolk blood with stallions of that race and mares of different indigenous 

 families." 



Colonel Horvath proceeds to give the numbers of the 

 mares of the several strains he has named. At that time 

 there were at the stud he directed 136 half-blood Arabs, 148 

 English, 113 mares of various strains from Lippieza, 220 

 Nonius or Anglo-Norman mares, and 33 of the Norfolk 

 mares as the beginning of a stud of this breed. The stallions 

 used included English Thoroughbred, pure Arabs or half-breds 

 belonging to the families named. 



Colonel Horvath states that the principle kept in view in 

 breeding suitable stallions is very simple. It is the gradual 

 improvement of a family by the introduction of nobler and 

 higher blood, while at the same time the type of the family is 

 retained. Where more blood is wanted full-blood horses are 

 used according to the previous breeding of the particular family. 

 The produce, when strong enough, is served once more by a 

 Thoroughbred, and then the breeder resorts again to a sire of 

 the original strain of the family. It is, in fact, a system of 

 breeding from half-bred stock, with the occasional use of 

 Thoroughbreds when there is a tendency to coarseness. 



Colonel Horvath was asked this question, " Do you hope 

 to establish fixed or permanent half-bred races which may be 

 bred truly inter se ? " and the answer was ; " The families of 

 Nonius, Majestosa (Lippieza blood), Gidran and Schagya 

 (Arab blood) are already constant. Furiosa and Abugress 

 (English Thoroughbred) and Norfolk breeds will require 10 or 

 12 years more of careful breeding." 



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