78 
Horse-breeding fo'r Profit. 
D, & Co. say, — and their opinion is most valuable, as they 
have made this question one of particular attention, — 
Of our horses: 
30 per cent, are 
English 
3’6 per cent, are 
German 
15 ^ „ 
Irish 
•15 
)) 
9) 
Belgian ar 
® ^ » 1) 
English or 
Butch 
Irish 
•G 
9f 
French 
33'45 „ „ 
American 
8-7 
}} 
A'arious 
Of the horses bought by our firm in 1889- 
37'26 per cent, were English 
1-24 
per 
cent, were German 
28 „ „ 
Irish 
0 
?; 
fj 
Belgian 
8-7 „ „ 
English or 
Butch 
Irish 
•6 
)} 
ff 
French 
^ » » 
American 
14-10 
)) 
)} 
A’^arious 
AVe find we cannot buy in the trade horses to suit our business, except 
occasionally under exceptional circumstances, at less than 951 . to 125/. 
apiece. Four-year-old carriage-horses were very scarce in Ireland in the 
Autumn of 1889, and cost us 90/. to 125/. each. American horses are very 
expensive at present, on account of the risk of the voyage ; but they make 
most excellent carriage-horses, aiid when they come into our hands are 
generally five or six years old. AVe have found them of great service in 
our business, and like them very much indeed. German horses are quite as 
expensive as English, Irish, or American, if bought fresh and new, on 
account of their showy appearance, but we consider them useless to put to 
work on account of their well-known want of stamina, courage, and sound- 
ness. There are, however, an immense number of them in the dealers’ 
stables in London. AA’e have a few Norman or French horses in stock, and 
our experience of them is not so favourable as it is of English, Irish, or 
American horses, but they are certainly better than the Germans. 
Personally, I must say I thoroughly dislike foreign horses, with the 
exception of Americans, and much as I like a good English and an Irish 
hunter I am firmly of opinion that, as carriage-horses, Americans are 
superior to our English and Irish horses. I believe this to be due to the 
fact that for generations the carriage-horse in the States has been a distinct 
race, and has never been spoiled by the mixture of any cart-blood. The 
best English or Irish carriage-horse may have been descended, and most 
likely on the dam’s side, from cart-stock, and perhaps no further back than 
the second generation. And although the sire may have been a Thorough- 
bred horse, yet the cart-blood is sure to come out sooner or later, most 
probably in the gradual loss of courage and energy in constant work. 
I have had exceptional opportunities of comparing and studying the 
American horses, and I have been six or seven times in the States, and we 
must have had at least 500 or 600 of them in our business during the last 
ten years. 
I am therefore justified in coming to the conclusion that 
there is a demand, that it is continuous, and that the price is a 
very high one for the best class, and a most remunerative one 
for all honest, sound, hard carriage-horses. How then are we 
to produce this type of animal ? There are some who think it 
can be bred from cart-mares, but all the buyers, dealers, breeders. 
