A GOOD HORSE 23 



enteen centuries ago and still in perfect condition, 

 gives a true representation of the horse of that 

 period and is well worthy of the study of horsemen. 



To the breeders of ancient Greece, notwith- 

 standing Xenophon's splendid and comprehensive 

 treatise, the horseman of to-day really owes very 

 little. Our most precious legacy did not come 

 from them. But there was a race of men, even 

 at that early day, who not only knew the form of 

 the true horse, but also knew, as familiarly as 

 their own souls, the laws and principles by which 

 he was produced — the Arabs. To them be the 

 honor of having, through all the centuries in which 

 so much that was precious was lost, preserved for 

 us in its pristine purity the highest type of horses 

 the world has known. 



We owe to the work of the Arab breeders all 

 that we most value in our horses — speed, endur- 

 ance, disposition, and elegance of form, all came 

 from this source. The thoroughbred, fastest 

 horse in the world at the run, was evolved directly 

 from Arabian blood; and in our trotters, though 

 by a less direct route, it plays an equally impor- 

 tant part. Count Orloff used it largely 'in per- 

 fecting the Orloff trotter of Russia — a wonderful 

 animal in many respects; and it is even claimed, 

 with more or less show of reason, that it entered 

 somewhat into the composition of some of our 



