blood stood the hardships of a European campaign much better than all others; and in a letter which appeared in 'The Times,' February 24, 1871, giving an account of the entrance of Bourbaki's army into Berne, and the distressing appearance of the men, it was stated: 'The horses present a still worse appearance, seeming more fitted for the knacker's yard than to bear their burdens, although undoubtedly the Arabs justify the established reputation of their breed for endurance by the very tolerable condition they present, and the comparative elasticity of their paces.'

Although other Governments may be drawing large supplies from this country, and may be well-advised in so doing, it is no proof that they would not do better in procuring purer blood, which they may be doing also; and certainly no excuse for us to remain satisfied with an imperfect breed, when we might easily obtain a better.

The head of a horse is the index to his character, moral and physical. A breeder who was lamenting some coarseness or deficiency in the head of a colt of which he had expected great things, in reply to the consolation a friend was offering by pointing out the colt's otherwise almost perfect form, remarked: 'Never mind the rest of his body, if the head had only been all right, the body would have grown to it, but now his body can never get beyond his head.' This is too often overlooked in this country; indeed, it would appear, the head, the index, is little thought of; but it will, perhaps, explain why so many animals, apparently

of early promise, never improve or show to advantage at maturity. A small head is not necessarily a beautiful or good head, although smallness is very often among horses of even racing blood the only recommendation, for the head may still be vulgar in appearance and very deficient.

Now, certainly, there is no head like the Arabian's. It is the true index to his character and form. Thus writes a member of the Veterinary profession. 'Fire and sagacity, blood and action, speed and bottom, are all the natural attributes of a horse having such a head.' But the Arabian horse alone possesses it. The Arabian's is not altogether a small head, it is, on the contrary, large in all parts containing the working and essential organs, it is small in those parts only which connect these essential organs. The same professional man says 'that which is set down as the handsomest of heads, turns out to be, on examination, the most serviceable.' Such being the case with the head of the Arabian, the index, so is it also with the rest of his body, every part is in harmony and proportion; he is a large horse in every essential point and part of action and motion; as no other horse has such a head, so no other horse possesses so fine and perfect a form. The Arabian is identical with utility. In this is his rare beauty.

What we call the thorough-bred horse, in spite of the great esteem in which he is held, cannot be called the saddle horse of the country. How few ever ride one. Look through a stud of hunters, how rarely a thorough

bred horse is seen. hunters to be met with? Comparatively speaking, how seldom he is found as a hack or riding horse. He is seldom seen as a cavalry charger, and he has not been successful in producing good troopers for our cavalry in India.

Is an entire stud of thorough-bred

Yet the racer ought to be essentially a saddle horse. We ought not to have to raise a class of horses for the saddle, exclusive of the thorough-bred horse. The Arabian is a racer, a war horse, and hunter, a riding horse par excellence.

194

CONCLUSION.

IT is evident the original framers of the Stud Book looked upon the Eastern horse, and par excellence the Arabian, as the pure-bred or thorough-bred horse, and among our horses those alone who are descended from Eastern horses, and are registered in the Book, are now considered thorough-bred, an acknowledgment of the superiority of Arabian blood. But another great boon is conferred by the Stud Book. It shows us most conclusively that our horse is not entirely of Eastern, still less of Arabian blood, and, in fact, is not really thorough or true bred. The character of our horse ebbs and flows, rises to comparative excellence, or sinks into mediocrity, as choice, or fashion, or the taste of the breeder may hit upon a selection in sire or dam possessing a larger or less amount of Arabian blood; but it cannot get beyond a certain point of excellence; it is impossible of permanent improvement. The mixed blood from which our horse has sprung will ever prevent him from attaining a permanent standard of excellence. The same cause must always have a tendency to degeneration, even if that should not have taken place— which many good authorities pronounce to be the case— and his altered form and want of stoutness would warrant that assertion. Seeing, then, that pure blood is

essential for the establishment of a thorough good breed of horses, that our own is imperfect and deficient in blood, the only true way of meeting the difficulty, the only effectual one, the least expensive, and the quickest, is to start afresh with pure Arabian blood. Starting from a sure foundation (purity of blood), we have only to educate and develope excellences. There is no doubt horses of pure Arabian blood, bred in this country, would attain to a larger size; and there is every reason to believe the increase would be in due proportion, thereby insuring with the size increase of speed and strength. The increase of size or height obtained by our present thorough-bred horse has not been in proportion; it has led to many exaggerations. The increase of height from 14 hands to 16 hands has been accomplished by greater length of limb. This, again, as a rule, has been owing to a greater length of cannon bone, without a corresponding length of radius or arm. Here is a great mechanical disadvantage. We will suppose two horses of equal height and power; the moral qualities, such as temper, courage, and nervous energy, also equal; but one shall be an inch longer in the cannon bone than the other, although the relative length of the fore legs shall be the same. The horse with the shorter cannon bone, and therefore longer radius, must, of necessity, be a speedier horse, and not only speedier, but, because the one has a great mechanical advantage, he would be a more lasting horse. Increase of height thus obtained may have been one of the causes of an increase of speed in the English racer