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than 14 hands high, but the importation of stallions from Spain, Italy, and France improved the breed from time to time. During the Crusades and the consequent general use of heavy armor, which continued up to about the year 1600, large horses came into vogue. A knight in armor, together with his horse-accoutrements, weighed from 350 to 425 pounds, so that during the age of chivalry all breeding was directed toward improvements in the size of the horse. Stallions under a certain size were condemned by law, and in 1217 one hundred stallions were imported from Normandy, and for nearly five hundred years subsequently size was sought for rather than speed; thus laying the foundation of the different modern breeds of British draught-horses. What was the case in England was equally so with the nations of Western Europe and their horses; so that the horse of this period is particularly remarkable for its broad chest, heavy neck, and round buttocks. With the appearance of gunpowder and firearms, and the disappearance of armor, these breeds became useless for the purpose of warfare, which now demanded fleetness as a first essential. They passed, however, to a greater sphere of usefulness, and to-day constitute the heavy draught breeds known as the Dutch and Flemish, the Percherons (q.v.) of France, the Clydesdale of Scotland, and the cart and shire horse of England (see SHIRE HORSE).

Before the days of the tournaments in England large horses were scarcely known, but the needs of the knights compelled the keeping of a sufficient number, so that by intermixture with smaller native animals the size of the British horse gradually increased; but the result proved that, although they were bigger, they did not nearly possess the qualities of the smaller horse. During the Crusades the excellence of the Saracen horses deeply impressed the British Crusaders, who brought many Asiatic horses with them on their return to England. The Eastern horses were Barbs, Turks, Arabs, and Persians, not more than 14% hands high, and it is to them that the English horse owes in part its present conspicuous qualities. Laws were passed to promote the breeding of large horses by improving the type of British ponies. During the reign of Henry VIII. it was ordained by law that no stallion less than 15 hands and no mare less than 13 hands should run wild in the country. Colts two years of age and under 111⁄2 hands high were not permitted to run on any moors, forests, or commons where mares were pastured, and to guard against any mishaps it was further ordered that at Michaelmastide the magistrates of the neighborhood were to search the countryside, the forests, and the commons, for the purpose of destroying all stal lions under the required height, as well as "all unlikely tits, whether mares or foals." Prelates and nobles, and every one whose wife wore a velvet bonnet, were compelled to do their "leaping and riding upon stallions not less than 15 hands high." There were two classes of horses through out the country; the first a "very indifferent, strong, slow, heavy draught-horse," and the second "light and weak." Private matches were often arranged, showing that speed was becoming a greater factor than size and weight.

Although there had been public horse-racing in Elizabeth's time, it was not until James I. ascended the throne that horse-racing was legally established. He introduced into England the

Markham Arab, which was known to be a purebred animal, and in many other ways did much to improve the breed of horses. A distinction was drawn between race-horses and common horses; the race-horses were trained for their competitions, and 140 pounds was the average weight of a professional jockey. During the reign of Charles I. a memorial was presented to the King bewailing the gradual disappearance of stout horses fit for the defense of the country, by stating that the breed of strong horses was likely to disappear unless measures were taken for their propagation. The tournament was no more, the pack-horse had practically disappeared, the introduction of the coach had removed a large part of the pack from the horse's back, and everything was done to encourage cross-breeding with foreign importations. From such ancestors the modern thoroughbred has descended. After the civil wars and during the reign of Charles II. the race-courses at Newmarket and at Datchet Mead, near Windsor, were laid out, and the King himself became the first great supporter of the turf. The most conspicuous English horseman of this time was the Duke of Newcastle, who in 1667 published his celebrated work on horsemanship, the reading of which is said to have so interested Charles that he became the largest individual importer of foreign blood in the country. The Stuart kings maintained magnificent studs and constantly employed purchasing agents to secure the best Oriental blood; but, unfortunately, the pedigree of many of these animals is largely a matter of tradition, owing to the fact that the Stud Book had not been issued. In spite of the infusion of foreign blood, however, the English race-horse in the time of the Stuarts was a clumsy-looking animal in comparison with the pure Oriental type, or with the race-horse of today. He was strong and of large build, but neither as elegant nor as swift on the race-course as was the Barb. The combination of native English stock and such horses as the Helmsley Turk, Byerly Turk, Pace's White Turk. D'Arey's White Turk, Selaby Turk, and by such Barbary stallions as Dodsworth, Carwen, Bay Barb, Greyhound, Compton Barb, and Toulouse Barb, produced a horse remarkable for its well-proportioned locomotive parts, legs, shoulders, etc., strong carcass and deep chest, the typical animal of speed and endurance.

Since the middle of the eighteenth century the practice of interbreeding with Oriental blood has been discontinued, and although half-bred horses were raced until the first part of the nineteenth century, the thoroughbred has ever since the foundation of the 'racing calendar' been the recog nized race-horse, and his pedigree has been strictly and authentically kept. During the seventeenth century speed was not the sole qualification of a race-horse; it was required to have strength and endurance. From racing matured horses at long distances, it was an easy transition to shorten the length of the course and increase the speed of the horse, besides which, the element of gambling entered into the sport, and it soon happened that three-year-old horses were used in the races. It was found, however, that they could not 'stay' the old four-mile course, so that of necessity the distances had to be reduced to accommodate the horses. The result of this policy is seen in modern horse-racing (q.v.), in which two-year-old horses developed for speed

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alone take part in races over courses less than half a mile in length.

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THE HORSE IN AMERICA. According to paleontology, the horse is indigenous to the American Continent, but it is certain that the American horse of to-day is the descendant of animals brought here by Europeans and the first settlers. Cortés used but few horses in his Mexican conquest, but undoubtedly some of them became progenitors of the American wild horse; and similarly, the horses abandoned by the unfortunate Ferdinand De Soto near the Texas border became the progenitors of all the wild horses of North America. (See HORSE, FOSSIL.) The character and action of the American horse will be found fully described under TROTTING and PACER THE COLONIAL PERIOD. The earliest colonists of Virginia were not remarkable for the qualities that make the ideal pioneer, so that it is not surprising to learn that their first supply of domestic animals (including horses) was sumed as food. Although there had been several shipments of horses from London down to about 1640, in 1646 there were only between 200 and 300 horses of both sexes in the colony. In 1656 the exportation of mares was prohibited by law, bu in 1667 the restriction was removed. The horses of the period are described as having been of hardy and strong quality, but undersized, and, like the horses in other colonies, they were branded and turned loose to find their own subsistence. Owing to the rapidity of their increase, they were soon very numerous and became practically wild; so much so that at the close of the seventeenth century it was a common as well as profitable sport to hunt wild horses, for an animal without a brand became the property of its captor. On the island of Chintoteague, off the coast of Virginia, there are still in existence bands of wild horses, and only within recent decades has there been any attempt to domesticate any of their number. They are of all colors, and uniform in size, not averaging over 13 hands, and are accounted for in their present location as being the descendants of a band of Virginian wild horses which located there when it was a peninsula, and had their retreat cut off when time converted what had been a peninsula into an island. Notwithstanding occasional efforts to increase its size, the Virginian horse retained the characteristics of its English ancestor. The settlers of New Netherlands brought their horses from Utrecht. They were larger, better, and more valuable, so far as prices were concerned, than the English horses of the other colonies, but were not regarded as being as good for saddle work. The two breeds soon intermixed, and a larger breed resulted, for at the time of the Revolution the average height was 14 hands and 1 inch. Horse-racing was introduced by Governor Nicholls, of New York, in 1665. He established a race-course on Hempstead Plains, Long Island, which was the first official and properly organized race-course on the Continent. It is supposed that the horses were of the Dutch breeds, because the people attending were largely of that nationality. The English racehorse was not at that time thoroughly developed, and in any case was not imported into New York until nearly one hundred years afterwards. The New England colonies played a very important part in the development of the modern American horse. In 1629 the frst horses were

imported into New England from the proprietary company in London. In 1635, 27 mares and 3 stallions were shipped from Holland, and sold in Salem; and five years later conditions were such that the colonists were enabled to export a shipment of 80 animals to the Barbados. It has been ascertained from an investigation covering the period 1756-59 that the average height of horses was 14 hands 1 inch, and that three-fourths of the total number were pacers and one-fourth trotters. The founders of Hartford, Conn., brought horses with them (1636), and in 1653 the General Court at New Haven ordered all horses to be branded, and instituted a system of public saddle-horses for hire. The average size was 13 hands and 3 inches. Roger Williams and the settlers of Rhode Island Colony (1636) obtained their horses from Massachusetts, and succeeded so well in the breeding of them that in 1690 horses were their principal export, and they shipped them to all the colonies of the coast. Pacers were raised in Rhode Island, and were widely known as Narragansett pacers. Trade with Canada was not permitted, but there is no reason to doubt that an occasional trade was made, whereby a Narragansett pacer changed owners for the consideration of a bale of peltry, such as only the French Canadian could offer. Racing was especially encouraged in Rhode Island, and thus was developed the speed that made their horses famous. In 1768 the average size of a Narragansett was 14 hands and 1 inch. The horses of Pennsylvania were not handsome, but good. In the early part of the seventeenth century the Pennsylvania horse was the largest and heaviest horse in the country; but one hundred years later they seem to have ranked in both respects below the horses of all the other colonies. Up to 1750 the average size in eastern Pennsylvania was about 13 hands and 14 inches. Philadelphia boasted the speediest and finest horses, and pacers were the most fashionable and popular. New Jersey supplied itself from New York and Pennsylvania, and by the beginning of the eighteenth century racing had become so common as to be a nuisance; so much so that in 1748 there was enacted a law for the suppression of 'running, pacing, and trotting races.' The year before the Colony of Maryland, which had in all probability received its supply of horses from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, passed a similar law. North and South Carolina secured their horses from Virginia. In Canada horses were received from Picardy, France, in 1665, and it is assumed they were largely of the English type. Many of them are supposed to have been pacers; but whether they were, or whether, as is sometimes argued, the Canadian pacer is derived from the illicit trading with Rhode Islanders for their Narragansetts, is a question much discussed.

The American horse was for two hundred years the sole means of travel, and the great essential to all business in and between the various colonies of the country. Improved roads have made him a driving horse, and none of the inventions of modern times, from the introduction of railroads to bicycles and horseless vehicles generally, has affected his popularity or his value. To the superficial observer it would appear as if improved means of vehicular transport would diminish the breeding of horses, as well as decrease their value, but thus far such has not been the

case. Good horses have a higher value than ever, and as the demand for cheap or poorly bred horses diminishes, the better bred ones survive, and what is lost in number is more than balanced in breed and consequent value. (See BREEDS AND BREEDING.) The principal breeds of racing horses are the Bashaws, Clays, Black Hawks, Hambletonians, Mambrino Chiefs, Pilots, American Stars and Blue Bulls. (See TROTTING and PACER.) The most prominent types of the pony include the Shetland, Galloway, Welsh, Dartmoor, Exmoor, and Canadian breeds. (See PONY.) See also the articles Ass; MULE; SHIRE HORSE; PERCHERON HORSE, etc.

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HEAD-1, muzzle; 2, nostril; 3, forehead; 4, jaw; 5, poll. NECK-6, 6, crest; 7, throttle or windpipe.

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mon to Wales and North Britain. It seldom ranges above 14 or 141⁄2 hands in height, and is not a particularly valuable animal. Specimens below 13 hands are called ponies. The hunter is not required to be a thoroughbred animal, although where the hunting warrants it he is frequently thoroughbred, or half-bred at least. He is chosen to suit the country over which he is hunted, as well as to carry the weight of his rider. In any case he should have the following characteristics: A lean head and neck, firmly set on good oblique shoulders; a strong back and loin, deep body, wide hips, good quarters, and firm legs and feet. Among horsemen

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FORE QUARTER-8, 8, shoulder-blade; 9, point of shoulder; 10, bosom or breast; 11, rue arm; 12, elbow; 13, fore-arm (arm); 14, knee; 15, cannon-bone; 16, back sinew; 17, fetlock or pastern joint; 18, coronet; 19, hoof or foot; 20, heel.

BODY OR MIDDLE PIECES-21, withers; 22, back; 23, 23, ribs (together forming the barrel or chest); 24, 24, circumference of chest-called the girth; 25, the loins; 26, the croup; 27, the hip; 28, the flank; 29, the sheath; 30, the root of the dock or tail.

HIND QUARTER-31, hip-joint or whirl-bone; 32, stifle-joint; 33, lower-thigh or gaskin; 34, the quarters: 35, the hock; 36, point of the hock; 37, the curb place; 38, the cannon-bone; 39, the back sinew; 40, pastern or fetlock joint; 41, coronet; 42, foot

or hoof; 43, heel; 44, spavin-place.

The hackney is bred chiefly for carriage purposes, and is a type indigenous to the eastern counties of England. It is of excellent symmetry of proportion, and is capable of a very true rhythm in action; although it is slower and heavier than the roadster, it is faster and much lighter than the middle-weight draught-horse. A well-bred hackney should be properly balanced in fore and hind quarters and middle piece. Since 1890 there have been large importations of this breed to America, although the hackney has been known here by occasional single importations since 1822. It has been especially valuable in the breeding and development of the American trotter. The cob is a native of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, in England, and is a stoutly built, short-legged animal of from 13.3 to 14.3 hands high. It is smaller than the hack and larger than the pony. The Galloway is a horse com

the following terms are in use: A stallion is a male horse, and when gelded is termed a gelding. A mare is the female. Animals of both sexes when young are termed foals; the male foal is a colt, and the female a filly. Young animals become 'of age' when the outer incisors (corner nippers) are developed. A horse is ‘aged' when in its eighth or ninth year, a fact determined by the front teeth. The period of gestation is eleven months, the foal usually being dropped in the spring.

EXTERIOR PARTS OF THE HORSE. Many excellent works on the anatomy of the horse are published, several of which will be found included in the bibliography of this article. Below will be found described the more important external parts, together with their position and boundaries. The Head. The point of demarkation between the head and the neck may be described as follows: Observing the animal in profile, the head is divided from the neck by an imaginary line drawn from the back of the ear, along the rear edge of the lower jaw to its angle. The upper part of the face is called the forehead, and the forelock is a tuft of hair which, although a part of the mane, lies between the ears. The temples lie on each side of the forehead, between the ear and the eye; the nose is a continuation of the forehead, ending opposite the nostrils. The lower end of the head is called the muzzle; it includes the nostrils, lips, and the bones and teeth covered by them. The bars of the mouth are those portions of the gums of the lower jaw situated between the back teeth and the tushes (or the place usually occupied by the tushes). Just under the bars of the mouth is the chingroove, in which rests the curb chain of the curb bit, when such is used. The neck lies between the head and the shoulders, from which latter it is separated by an imaginary line drawn from

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