PREFACE 



According to Huth's valuable £ Bibliographical Record 

 of Hippology ' (Works on Horses and Equitation), pub- 

 lished in the year 1887, there had been up to that date 

 at least 3,800 separate works published in the various 

 languages of the civilised world on subjects appertain- 

 ing to the horse. This enumeration is, of course, far 

 from perfect, and very many additions are being made 

 yearly to the list. 



I confess that I should have felt some hesitation 

 at adding another to this formidable array if I did not 

 believe that the subject has never been approached from 

 the standpoint of this little work, and that therefore 

 something will be found in it which is not to be met 

 with in any of those hitherto written. In fact, it is 

 only the knowledge which has in very recent times 



