Light Horses : Breeds and Management
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' K>\.K>. > . .'.>.-\ j . ; .>.>.-.>>. ' UiV , >V>V >'>>>'; ) ''. , / 4 '''. 5 : , J - . ,>,',> 1 , .\ '.>^ .\ vV'.\ '>»>!> ;;••!>>>: .>. >. v-\':-\>. >*>*>. , > > > > , > > > > > > , >' > > >»» > >V> > >'» > > > > > > . »v>v - . : . 9 '< TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 3 9090 014 661 80 r Family Libra;-, c veterinary Medium f)HBnf"y Schoo Ve' narv Medicine^ Tu iiv 200 Wesuc . ,-<oao Nerth Graft™ MA 01538 kXsf*i : LIVE STOCK HANDBOOKS. Edited by James Sinclair, Editor of "Live Stock Journal" "Agricultural Gazette" &c. No. II. LIGHT HORSES. BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT BY W. C. A. BLEW, M.A, ; WILLIAM SCARTH DIXON ; Dr. GEORGE FLEMING, C.B., F.R.C.V.S. ; VERO SHAW, B.A. ; ETC. SIZKZTJBI ZEiZDITIOILT, le-IEJ-VISIEID. ILLUSTRATED. XonDon VINTON & COMPANY, Ltd., 8, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, CHANCERY LANE, E.C. 1919. —— l°l LIVE STOCK HANDBOOKS SERIES. THE STOCKBREEDER'S LIBRARY. Demy 8vo, 5s. net each, by post, 5s. 6d., or the set of five vols., if ordered direct from the Publisher, carriage free, 25s. net; Foreign 27s. 6d. This series covers the whole field of our British varieties of Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Pigs, and forms a thoroughly practical guide to the Breeds and Management. Each volume is complete in itself, and can be ordered separately. I. —SHEEP: Breeds and Management. New and revised 8th Edition. 48 Illustrations. By John Wrightson, M.R.A.C., F.C.S., President of the College of Agriculture, Downton. Contents. —Effects of Domestication—Long and Fine-woolled Sheep—British Long-woolled Sheep—Border Leicesters—Cotswolds—Middle-woolled—Mountain or Forest—Apparent Diff- erences in Breeds—Management—Lambing Time— Ordinary and Extraordinary Treatment of Lambs—Single and Twin Lambs—Winter Feeding—Exhibition Sheep—Future of Sheep Farm- ing—A Large Flock—Diseases. II.—LIGHT HOBSES : Breeds and Management. Revised 7th Edition. With 28 Full-page Illustrations. By W. C. A. Blew, M.A. ; W. Scarth-Dixon ; Dr. George Fleming, C.B., F.R.C.V.S. ; Vero Shaw, B.A., &c. Contents.—-Thoroughbreds—Hackneys— Cleveland Bays and Yorkshire Coach Horses- Arabians—American Trotters—Hunters—Hacks—Ponies— Asses and Mules—Management Diseases and Injuries. III.—HEAVY HORSES : Breeds and Management. 6th Edition. With 32 Full-page Illustrations. By Herman Biddell; C. I. Douglas; Thomas Dykes; Dr. George Fleming, C.B., F.R.C.V.S. ; Archibald Macneilage ; Gilbert Murray, and W. R. Trotter. Contents.—The Shire Horse—The Suffolk Horse—The Clydesdale Horse—The Breeding of Heavy Cart Horses for Street Work—The London Work Horse in Street and Stable— Farm Management of the Heavy Horse—Diseases and Injuries to which Heavy Horses are liable. IV.—CATTLE : Breeds and Management. 8th Edition. With 40 Illustra- tions. By William Housman. The Veterinary Section, by Prof. J. Wortley Axe. Contents.— The Ox, Wild and Domesticated : Original Species—The Park Herds—Changes under Domestication. Ancient Horned Breeds : Scotch Highland—Welsh—Kerry and Dexter —Devon and South Hams—Sussex. Improved Horned Breeds : Longhorn—Shorthorn Hereford—Ayrshire. Polled Breeds : White Polled—Galloway— Aberdeen Angus—Red Polled. Channel Islunds Breeds: Jerseys—Guernseys. Management: General Management— Dairy Management and Records. Diseases of Cattle, &c. V. —PIGS : Breeds and Management. 6th Edition. With 24 Illustrations. By Sanders Spencer. With a Chapter on the Diseases of the Pig, by Prof. J. Wortley Axe, and a Chapter on Bacon and Ham Curing, by L. M. Douglas. Contents.—Breed of Pigs—Scales of Points— Selection of the Boar—Management of the Boar—Selection of the Sow—Management of the Sow— Mating—Management of Young Pigs- Exhibition Pigs—Breeding Cross-breeds—Housing Pigs—Experimental Pig Feeding—Pig Census and Value—Diseases of the Pig—Bacon and Ham Curing, &c. YINTON & CO., Ltd., 8, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, E.CA CONTENTS PAGE Chapter I,—The Thoroughbred Horse .„ M «« «. I Chapter II. —The Hackney Horse .„ ... ^ ... 23 Chapter III.—Cleveland Bays and Yorkshire Coach Horses ,« 51 Chapter IV.—The Arabian Horse ... .- M ^. 81 Chapter V.—The American Trotting Horse ... .*. ••. 94 Chapter VI.—The Hunter _ M .«._.*. 105 Chapter VII.—The Hack «. ... — «. ... 126 Chapter VIII.—Ponies m ... «. M ..* 136 Chapter IX.—Asses and Mules. „ «. «» 153 Chapter X.—Management of Light Horses „*. .„ .« 159 Chapter XI.—Diseases and Injuries to which Light Horses are Liable 188 C . ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Thoroughbred Stallion, Orme ... To face 6 Thoroughbred Mare, Plaisanterie II Thoroughbred Stallions, King Herod and Flying Childers ... 17 Thoroughbred Stallion, Birk Gill 18 Thoroughbred Stallion, King's Courtship »» 20 Hackney Stallion, Danegelt 27 Hackney Stallion, Hopwood Viceroy 3« Hackney Mare, Beckingham Lady Grace 43 Cleveland Bay Stallion, Cholderton Luck 62 Cleveland Bay Mare, Madeline... 62 Yorkshire Coach Stallion, Rillington Victor 76 Yorkshire Coach Mare, Harome Beauty ... j> 76 White Arab Stallion, Zoowar ... 86 Arab Stallion, Berk 86 Anglo-Arabian, Khaled >> 9i Arab Stallion, Speed of Thought 93 Thoroughbred Stallion, Mambrino 95 American Trotter 103 Hunters (Group) 109 Hunter Mare and Foal in 1 1 u n icr ••• ••• ••• • # • . « ,,, ii,3 Hunter Mare, Surprise 114 Hunter Gelding, Broadwood ... 114 Hunter Sire ... 116 Hack Hunter 129 or Carriage Barouche Horses ... >» 133 Hackney Harness Horse, Gay thorn 134 Hackney Harness Tandem Team, Grand Volcano and Grand Vulcan, 134 Pony Mares, Snorer and Snorer II. 136 Polo Pony Stallion, Rosewater... 138 Polo Pony Stallion, Sandiway ... 5) 140 Polo Pony Mare, Redstone 140 Pony Stallion, Sir George 142 Hackney Pony Stallion, Sir Horace 144 Hackney Pony Stalliom, Torchfire 144 Dartmoor Pony Stallion, Goblin 146 Dartmoor Pony Mare, Junket... 146 Welsh Pony Stallion, Bleddfa Shooting Star 148 Welsh Pony Mare, Nantyharn Starlight ... 148 Highland Pony Stallion, Skerryvore 150 Highland Ponies (Group) 150 Shetland Pony Stallion, Thoreau 152 Shetland Pony Mare, Bracelet ... »» 152 ; LIGHT HORSES. BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. CHAPTER I. THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE. It is by no means easy to frame a succinct definition of the thoroughbred horse. We know that no horse is accepted as thoroughbred unless he appears duly registered in the Stud Book, and so, to save trouble, we may take this as the criterion. The blood horse, however, like the fox-hound, is after all an animal of composite breed ; that is to say, time was when he did not exist ; and no horse presenting the features of the modern English thoroughbred was, at one period, to be found in England. To show this conclusively, would be to write in detail the history of the English horse—an unnecessary task, inasmuch as this subject has already been fully dealt with in many books. It will, therefore, be sufficient for our present purpose, if we take the time of King Charles II. as an important landmark, and briefly trace the history of the English horse up to that reign, before entering into any sort of disquisition upon what we now call the thoroughbred horse. We need spend no time in enquiring what sort of horses they were which so excited the admiration of Julius Caesar i 2 LIGHT HORSES '. BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. but they were good enough to induce the Conqueror to take a good many away with him. When the Romans established themselves in Britain, they found it expedient to send over a large body of cavalry to assist in maintaining order, and the horses of these soldiers were doubtless crossed with the native stock ; and so the British horse, no matter what it was like, received its first modification or cross. Whether this cross improved it or not, is not to the purpose ; we merely note the fact that it was, so far as known, the first step towards manu- facturing what we venture to describe as a composite breed, more especially as what we have generically termed Roman horses were collected, not only from Italy, but from Gaul and Spain. Then, again, it has been said that the time of the Roman occupation of Britain, saw the first importation of Eastern blood, as Severus is reported to have raced bonafidz Arabs at Wetherby, Yorkshire. This story, however, lacks verifica- tion, and may be passed over without any importance being attached to it. Rather more trustworthy, perhaps, is the statement that Hugh Capet, of France, while courting Ethelwitha, sister of King Athelstan, sent the latter a present of some German "running horses," partly, no doubt, in honour of the event which was soon to take place ; and partly by way of congratulation to the King on his having subdued the rebellious portions of the Heptarchy. At any rate, whatever may have been the motive, we are perhaps justified in concluding that our native horses were crossed with these new comers. This, it may be noticed, is the first mention of " running horses," and the conclusion may be drawn that they were of a lighter build than our own native steeds, though we are still left in the dark as to what sort of an animal the German running horse was. Here, however, was the introduction of another strain of blood. William the Conqueror's own charger is said to have been a Spanish horse, and Roger de Boulogne, Earl of Shrewsbury, is reported to have introduced Spanish horses on his estates. THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE. The Conquest, therefore, brought with it sundry strains of foreign blood, which must necessarily have had its influence in more or less changing the appearance of our native horses. As Eastern blood has admittedly been so potent a factor in making our English thoroughbred the horse he is, we may just pause to point out that in the reign of Henry I., we come across the first recorded importation of an Eastern horse. The story goes that Alexander I., King of Scotland, presented to the Church of St. Andrew {inter alia) an Arabian horse. Mention has already been made of the Arabs Severus is said to have raced in Yorkshire, but we may search in vain for any hint as to how they got here.