. Breeder and sportsman. Horses. Vol. XXIV. No. 2-5. No. 313 BUSH STREET!. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, JUNE 23,1894 THE UTILITY OF THE THOROUGHBRED. His Relation as an Improving Agent to Other Breeds of Light Horses. The custom of the harness-horse enthusiast is to rail against the thoroughbred; to say that he is a running or gambling machine, and a tolerable rickety one at that; to say that he is too rattle-headed to be useful, and, finally, to ask wh^t the trotter can gain in the way of stamina from a horse that can only run five-eighths of a mile. Suppose for the nonce we grant all this to be
. Breeder and sportsman. Horses. Vol. XXIV. No. 2-5. No. 313 BUSH STREET!. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, JUNE 23,1894 THE UTILITY OF THE THOROUGHBRED. His Relation as an Improving Agent to Other Breeds of Light Horses. The custom of the harness-horse enthusiast is to rail against the thoroughbred; to say that he is a running or gambling machine, and a tolerable rickety one at that; to say that he is too rattle-headed to be useful, and, finally, to ask wh^t the trotter can gain in the way of stamina from a horse that can only run five-eighths of a mile. Suppose for the nonce we grant all this to be true ; that we pass over the fact that one of these same five-furlong platers prompts several of the best and fastest trotters in their best and fastest efforts, in the same afternoon and keeps on prompting as his business day in and day out, while the trotters need rest and recupera- tion before making another great effort; suppose we grant it takes no more staying powers to gallop fonr to six miles at speed every afternoon in the week than it does to trot one fast mile in the seven days; suppose we grant all this, and di- vorce from our consideration entirely the breeding of the light-harness horse for speed purposes, we still find that the world over the thoroughbred is the most useful breed of horses extant to-day. ' A sweeping statement surely, and yet one that is absolutely correct. In the proper consideration of this theme we must not confine our observations to the United States alone, but must extend them to Europe in particular, and to those other coun- tries over which the union jack of Eogland waves as the na- tional flag. To Great Britain, and especially to England, must the creditfor breed evolution be given, as in that little island were brought forth more breeds of improved live stock than in all the rest of the world. Beginning with the thorough- bred we observe that branching from it are all the varying types of hunters and of coach horses. The majestic Cleve-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjecthorses, bookyear1882
