THE HOKSE. 
21 
THE RACE-HORSE. 
inquiry, and none more than the country gentlemen of England, who take pleasure in this sport of their ancestors, and desire to 
see it freed from pollution and dishonour. 
One abuse connected with the sports of the turf remains to he referred to, which does not demand the interference of the 
law, but may he corrected by the good feeling and judgment of the legitimate supporters of the course. 
The Race-Horse, we have seen, has been cultivated for a particular end, and the purpose of the breeders has been to call 
forth in the highest degree those characters which indicate the power of rapid motion. These purposes have been fulfilled, and 
the form of the animal answers the conditions required j yet this form does not wholly accord with those ideas of symmetry which, 
without relation to the particular uses of the horse, we might have formed. His length is greater than consists with perfect 
beauty, the powei of speed having been sought for in a higher degree than that of strength and endurance. His legs are longer 
and his tiunk smallei than the eye indicates as strictly graceful. The length and depth of the hind-quarters, a point essential to 
the powei of making long strides, are extended to the degree of appearing disproportionate. The chest is narrow, and the fore¬ 
quarters light, a point likewise characteristic of speed. The neck is straight rather than gracefully arched, and the pasterns are 
very long and oblique. Thus may the Race-Horse not only lose somewhat of that apparent harmony of parts which the eye delights 
to trace in the animal world, but some even of the really valuable properties of the horse may be sacrificed to insure others which, 
with 1 elation to meie utility, may be of secondary importance. Thus strength and the power of endurance may be sacrificed for 
the piopeity of speed, and even soundness of constitution to the artificial uses to which we destine the animal. Not only may 
these things be, but there is reason to infer that this yet unrivalled breed has already suffered deterioration. 
It is difficult to institute a precise comparison between the horses of a former age and those of the present day; but it is the 
opinion of the most caieful observers, that the present breed of Race-Horses has for a period past been tending to become small, 
long limbed, delicate in constitution, and accordingly inferior to the older horses of the turf. The reasons assigned are unfortunately 
sufficient to account for the effect, 01 lathei the effect must necessarily result from the causes m operation. In the former practice 
of the turf, the courses were of several miles, and the horses were not brought upon the field until of an age when their form was 
developed and their strength matured. Now, the practice prevails of having very short courses, and of running the horses at two 
years old or earlier. From the first of these causes, speed alone is looked to as the end to be aimed at, without relation to the 
essential properties of endurance and strength; and from the second cause results the yet greater evil of calling into action the 
powers of the animal before he has acquired the strength and development of parts which fit him for the services demanded from 
him. Now, experience shows that we are able to adapt by degrees the form and habits of the animal to the conditions to which 
we subject him. We can cultivate the characters of form which have relation to speed, rather than those which have relation to 
strength, and we know that the early development of form which enables us to call his powers into premature action, may to a 
certain degree be arrived at by the stimulus of feeding, and by training at an early age. The latter result, however, cannot be 
attained without a violence done to the natural habits of the animal, and an impairing of the powers of the constitution; and these 
things affect injuriously not only the individual, but the progeny to which its properties are communicated. The system of short 
races is justified on the ground that, in the case of the long course, there is only a part of the space passed over at which the 
animal is urged to his utmost speed, and that therefore the long course is unnecessary for the essential purposes of the race. The 
argument is not perfectly satisfactory. The race is a trial of the power of the horse, and of the skill of the rider, and we diminish 
the claim of superiority in both when we reduce the contest to a furious gallop. Is it nothing to take from the interest and 
curiosity of the spectacle, to lessen its value as a trial of the powers of the animal, and to reduce to the mere determination of a 
bet that which can be rendered subservient to the gratification of public taste, and to purposes yet more useful ? But if an argu¬ 
ment can be used in favour of this innovation upon the ancient practice of the turf, with respect to the distances to be passed over, 
what shadow of an argument can be produced to justify the practice of employing horses in this severe exercise, and in the 
laborious training which it demands, before they shall have acquired their natural powers. The growth of the horse is indeed 
very rapid for so large an animal, but yet a few years are absolutely required to allow his fine form to acquire its full expansion 
and adjustment of parts, his bones and cartilages to attain their due solidity, his muscles, ligaments, and tendons, to arrive at their 
natural toughness and strength. The slightest knowledge of the physiology of the animal makes us acquainted with these truths, 
and shows that he undergoes from his birth to maturity of youth, a series of progressive changes, which we ought not to interrupt. 
Why should we anticipate powers which will be so soon at our command without reproach ? What is a year, or what are two 
years gained, of services from the young and immature animal, when we consider how many more we may deprive ourselves of 
when he is more fitted to render them. Nothing is better established in the practical management of the Horse, whether intended 
for the chase, for the carriage, or for the labour of heavy draught, than the importance, with relation to his future services, his 
health, and longevity, of never over-taxing his powers of action when young; and in the case of the horse designed for the turf, 
(F) 
