75 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE HORSES OF CANADA. 
[Contained in a Letter from Mr. Chas. Percivall, Veterinary Surgeon to our 
Royal Artillery quartered in that country, to Mr. William Percivall.] 
Montreal, Lower Canada, Nov. 25th, 1846. 
My dear William, — I MAKE no doubt but that you have often, 
ay, very often (now, don’t deny it), called me a precious lazy fel- 
low, for not contributing to the pages of The VETERINARIAN : the 
truth is, until now I have not had any thing worth communicat- 
ing. You have expressed a wish for something relative to the 
horses of Canada, and now you shall have it. 
In speaking of the horses of Canada. I will, in the first place, 
give you a description of the Canadian or French horse, which was 
originally brought from Normandy ; we, likewise, have imported 
horses from the United States and England, all of which have 
been from time to time crossed with each other. The Canadian horse 
has very much degenerated of late years, from want of attention ; 
indeed, any thing in the shape of a superior true Canadian is very 
difficult to find. They are principally to be met with in Lower Ca- 
nada, and the best description are in the neighbourhood of Kumu- 
raska, and the Island of Orleans, below Quebec : they are likewise 
to be found in the vicinity of Lake St. Peter and Three Rivers. 
In Upper Canada they are rarely seen, excepting about Amherst- 
burgh, an old French settlement. The true Canadian is a short- 
legged, sturdy, compact, useful, hardy little animal, possessing 
great strength and powers of endurance : they have good heads, 
with a good back and loin, but coarse and heavy about the neck 
and shoulders, it not being customary to alter * them. They rarely 
exceed fifteen hands, more frequently are much below it, with 
tolerable action, but all dishing more or less, and not unfrequently 
have a peculiar way of going termed racking ; the fore and hind 
legs on either side being advanced simultaneously, and the action 
of the shoulders appearing to be confined. These are commonly 
called 'pacers , or rackers, and it is supposed by some to proceed 
from the fore and hind legs being tethered together, to prevent their 
straying from the pasture. But I cannot agree with this opinion ; 
for, in the first place, it is not customary to have recourse to this 
method of keeping a breachyt horse from going astray ; and, in 
the next place, you do not meet with pacers in Ireland, where this 
tethering system is very common. Now, in reference to pacers, you 
* Alter is a term made use of instead of castrate. 
t A breachy horse, or breacher , is one that is constantly knocking down the 
fences if he cannot leap over them when turned out : they are frequently 
very troublesome, and sold in consequence. 
