THE 



AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



331 



these requirements to a degree, as good 

 specimens answering to the above desL'i ip- 

 tion may be selected from any one of the 

 three breeds. 



THE HUNTER SIRE. 

 I will first deal with the Hunter siiv. 

 The question arises, what breed of animal 

 is this ? He is purely a thorough l)rt'd, 

 bred to a standard type, and is the beau- 

 ideal of a saddle horse, standing on short 

 legs, with great bone, his head and neck 

 is as perfect as possible, with big 

 riding shouldei-s, short, strong back, 

 and powerful quarters, height from 15h. 

 3in. to 16h. and over. The animal I have 

 depicted above may be seen at any of the 

 large Hunter Shows in the United King- 

 dom, more especially at the Great Hunters' 

 Improvement Society's Shows, and the 

 Dublin Horse Shows. He is what is 

 termed a level mover, possessed of hnt^ 

 carriage, walks well, and displays plenty 

 of tlexible hock action in the trot, and 

 when put to the gallop or canter fulfills 

 all the requirements of a fine galloper. 

 Most of these animals have been well 

 tested over country, and are noted for 

 their fine performances. To persoils wish- 

 ing to breed ('avalry horses and wear and 

 tear country horses, this is the class of 

 animal to which they must look for 

 success. But this is not the only class (if 

 animal for which there is a ready market. 



THE HACKNEY. 

 Again, like the thoroughbred, the Hack- 

 ney may be divided into two classes, viz., 

 the Norfolk and the Yorkshire, and these 

 animals display several distinct features. 

 The Hackney Horse Society admits of one 

 cross of thoroughbred blood to three of 

 Hackney strain, and the North Country 

 breeders have taken great advantage of 

 this, far more so than in the case of the 

 Norfolk breeders, with the result that the 

 Yorkshire Horse is nearer allied to the 

 thoroughbred, but still retaining all the 

 chief characteristics of the Hackney. If 

 the intending breeder wishes to verify 

 this statement let him cast his eye over 

 the prize list of the Great Hackney 

 Society's Show, held at Islington every 

 spring, and he will notice that fully thiee 

 parts of the honours go to Y^orkshire 

 breeders. Speaking generally, the York- 

 shire horse possesses finer hock action (as 

 the North Country-men describe it, he 



moves from behind), his shoulder move- 

 ment is more free, thus enabling him to 

 extend his front feet to a greater degree 

 than his Norfolk brother. He is much 

 finer turned all round, and does not pos- 

 sess the heavy neck often seen in the 

 latter specimen, his legs are, generally 

 speaking, ! flatter, and the joints clearer, 

 the result of the greater infusion of 

 thoroughl)red blood. To breeders wishing 

 to produce animals more especially for 

 town work, an 1 secure profitable prices 

 for their stock, no animal can outclass the 

 Hackney as a sire. Some persons are 

 very fond of asking the question, of what 

 use is all the extravagant action displayed 

 by the Hackney ? To prove that, from a 

 profitable point of view, it is of very 

 great use indeed, is to mention that fashion 

 demamls it, and whatever fashion does 

 demand it will pay for. For instance, let 

 there be offered for sale even in any 

 South African town two animals of exactly 

 similar type, the one with action, and the 

 other an ordinary mover, and I venture to 

 say that the one with line action will 

 command double the price of the other. 

 Fortunately for the breeder of the 

 Hackney, the fashion for line action is 

 not quite so erratic as it is in some other 

 respects ; it has been in demand ever 

 since the introduction of the light spring 

 vehicle. Let anyone note the fashion- 

 able equipages to be seen in all the great 

 European and American cities, and then 

 let him deny that the breeding of 

 stepping hoi'ses does not appear encourag- 

 ing to the breeder. It must be distinctly 

 understood that the crossing of the 

 Hackney Sire on the native mares will 

 not in every case result in the production 

 of a fine mover, but any animal which 

 may fall short in this direction will 

 always meet with a ready sale for Mounted 

 Infantry purposes and general utility. 



Some people are very fond of making 

 the remark : Oh, the Hackney is soft. 

 For that matter soft horses will be found 

 in every breed, even amongst thorough- 

 breds, as any trainer will tell you, but I 

 have no hesitation in stating that these 

 animals are greatly in the minority as 

 regardi5 the Hackney. On several 

 occasions pure bred H.^ckneys have 

 covered from eighteen to twenty miles 

 within the hour in single harness ; can 

 anyone deny that this test of enditrance 



