268 
Breeding Horses. 
of things ; the alteration of these plates and other Turf arrange- 
ments have combined to produce quite another class of race- 
horse — a slippery, slender, small horse, that comes quickly to per- 
fection, and as quickly passes away. 
The adoption of handicaps at all country races is another 
evil ; nearly all the important races are handicaps, instead of 
weight for age. This tends to make all horses equal, and give 
to all, good and bad, an equal chance of winning : speed is 
substituted for substance ; horses are tried at two years old for 
speed ; if slow they are cast, and the expense of training stopped. 
This promotes sport and produces betting ; and therefore 
answers the purpose of sportsmen, but it is ruinous to the 
national supply of horses. Sportsmen are anxious to make 
their own game ; they do make it by these means, but the 
national interest is not served. The nation should take care that 
the nation's horses are not ruined by giving money to produce 
that end. The Royal Gifts v/ere bestowed expressly with the 
national object of improving our general breed of horses, which 
was brought to a high state of perfection by the means used. 
The conditions of the plates were altered, we have failed in our 
aim, and now have two classes of horses — blood horses without 
substance, and strong horses without blood. Both are bad for 
common purposes. We want the combination of strong blood 
horses with the country mares of all kinds. We shall get it by 
retracing our steps and returning to the old plan — the Royal 
Plates for four-year-olds, 10 stone 4 lbs. for five, 11 stone 6 lbs., 
six and aged, 12 stone, not four-mile heats, as of old, but one 
four-mile race. This, I think, must be the starting-point, if we 
are ever to recover our lost position for fine strong blood horses. 
Nothing can be expected from Turf arrangements ; wretched as 
the system is, of making good and bad equal, and destructive as 
it is to the quality of our horses, it does promote sport, and it 
does produce betting — the final object of keeping race-horses. 
It would be a great stimulus to the recovery if His Royal High- 
ness the Prince of Wales (who well knows the value of blood iq 
horses ridden across the country) were to add some Royal Plates 
for the same high weights, varying the distance to a race of 
three miles. 
The money given by Lords Lieutenants of Counties, the Mem- 
bers of Parliament, and for town-plates, should all be given with 
the national interest in view, and this would assist very much to 
expedite the improvement. This should be followed up by 
Agricultural Societies' prizes for these horses, as though they 
were of equal importance with cattle, sheep, and pigs ; prizes 
should be given for thorough-bred horses of three, four, five years, 
