THE FLEMISH HORSE. 
587 
to that single point. A good trotter is possessed of endurance as well as speed, for one of 
these animals trotted one hundred miles in ten hours and seven minutes, inclusive of thirty- 
seven minutes which were occupied in refreshment and stoppages, so that the actual time 
occupied was only nine hours and a half. 
In the present times, when railways have taken the place of the old mail coaches, the 
regular Coach Horse is little needed, and has been metamorphosed into the handsome but less- 
enduring Carriage Horse. 
A valuable Carriage Horse has a large admixture of good blood in him, and as he is 
required more for the sake of appearance than for steady hard work, he is required to possess 
a high, strong action and proud bearing, well-arched neck, and a light springy step. His 
speed is very considerable, and he can do a great amount of work, but he is not fitted for 
dragging heavy loads like his predecessors, nor can he endure a continuance of work, for several 
days in succession. The splendid action of the Carriage Horse, although it is very showy, and 
adds much to the magnificence of his appearance, is injurious to the welfare of his feet 
and legs, which are sadly damaged by being battered against the hard stones of the street 
pavements. 
The name of Cleveland Horse is given to this animal because it derives its origin from the 
Cleveland Bay, a variety of the Horse that is largely bred at Cleveland, in England, and 
which, when crossed with more or less thorough-bred animals, produces the best Carriage 
Horses in the world. Very great care is bestowed on this important subject, and in the finest 
animals there is so much of the pure blood that, in the words of Mr. Youatt, “the Coach 
Horse is nothing more than a tall, strong, over-sized hunter.” According to the same 
experienced author, the principal points in the Carriage Horse are substance well placed, a 
deep and well-proportioned body, bone under the knee, and sound, open, tough feet. 
The true, pure-blooded, Suffolk Punch is now nearly extinct, having been so frequently 
crossed with other breeds that its individuality has been almost entirely lost. 
The old Suffolk Punch, so called from its round, punchy form, is a wonderful animal for 
pulling, being built as if expressly for the purpose of dragging great weights with unflinching- 
perseverance. A team of these Horses needs no incitement by the whip, but as soon as they 
hear the command of their driver, they fling their Avhole weight into the collar, and almost 
throw themselves on their knees in their anxiety to fulfil their task. They seem to be per- 
fectly aware of their powers, and to be jealously tenacious of their supremacy, for even if they 
find after one or two efforts that the load resists their best endeavors, they do not refuse to 
exert themselves any further, as is often the case with draught Horses, but will persevere in 
pulling until they drop with fatigue. The low heavy shoulder, and strong quarters of the 
Suffolk Punch are of infinite service in drawing the plough or the cart, and its hardy frame 
and determined disposition enable it to support a hard day’s labor without being overcome. 
These valuable characteristics have been employed in improving the breed of carriage 
Horses, for it is a wonderful fact, and one which cannot be too carefully considered, that mental 
traits are more enduring than bodily form, and that a crossed breed derives its true value, not 
so much from the outward form which is obtained by the cross, but from the mental charac- 
teristics that are transmitted through a series of generations. The reader may remember that 
in the case of the greyhound a bull-dog cross was introduced in order to impart courage and 
determination to a breed that had sacrificed everything to speed, and that although the bull- 
dog form was totally eradicated in a few generations, the bull-dog spirit remained. 
Thus with the Suffolk Punch. Some of the best carriage Horses have been obtained by 
crossing the Suffolk Punch with a thorough-bred hunter, so as to unite the excellences of the 
two animals, giving speed and rapid force to the draught Horse, and the power of pulling to 
the hunter. 
An elephant among Horses, the mixed Flemish and Black Draught Horse is familiar as 
drawing the heavy drays on which beer is conveyed from the breweries to the purchaser. 
