Full text of "Heavy horses; breeds and management"

See other formats

Cornell University
Library

The original of tliis book is in
tlie Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http ://www. arch i ve . o rg/detai Is/cu31 924051 110306

rORNCLL UNIVFRSITY LiCjK/

3 1924 051 110 306

Sip 71 . .,<>^..

^'t. C i

tfJUW

CAYLORD

PR.MTEC in u r- A

LIVE STOCK HANDBOOKS.

Edited by James Sinclair, Editor of '^ Live Stock Journal,"
" Agricultural Gazette" &c.

No. III.

HEAVY HORS

BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT

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.

ILLUSTRATED.

^ottirnn :

VINTON & COMPANY, Ltd.,

9, NEW BRIDGE STREET, LUDGATE CIRCUS, E.G.

1894.

X\2^

Fy^'

Hd(S.$-1

s r

a f 1

^^6

CONTENTS.

Chapter I. — The Shire Horse ...

Chapter II.— The Suffolk Horse

Chapter III. — The Clydesdale Horse

Chapter IV. — The Breeding of Heavy Cart Horses for Street Work

Chapter V. — The London Work Horse in Street and Stable

Chapter VI. — Farm Management of the Heavy Horse

PAGE
I

37
75

122
145

159

Chapter VII. — Diseases and Injuries to which Heavy Horses are Liable 183

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Cart Horse, Dodman ...

Shire Stallion, Harold

Shire Mare, Blue Ruin

Shire Stallion, Bury Victor Chief

Shire Mare, Rokeby Fuchsia ...

Shire Stallion, Vulcan...

Shire Mare, Lockington Beauty

Shire Mare, Starlight ...

Shire Stallion, Dunsmore Willington Bay

Shire Stallion, Bar None

Shire Stallion, Staunton Hero ...

Shire Stallion, Hitchin Conqueror

Shire Stallion, Rokeby Harold

Shire Stallion, Prince William

Suffolk Mare, Bounce...

Suffolk Mare, Bramford Belle

Suffolk Stallion, Wedgewood

Suffolk Stal''on, Eclipse

Suffolk Mare, Queen of Hearts

Clydesdale Stallion, Flashwood

Clydesdale Stallion, Macfarlane

Clydesdale Stallion, Prince of Carruchan

Clydesdale Stallion, Top Knot ...

Clydesdale Mare, Laura Lee

Clydesdale Stallion, Laurence Chief

Clydesdale Mare, Sunrise

Dray Horses...

Shire Geldings

English Dray Horses ...

. To Face

PAGE

9
13
14
17
iS
21
22

24
26
28
31
33
35
36
54
56
64
70
72

103
104
106

"5
116
118
121

146

157
I So

HEAVY HORSES.

BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

CHAPTER I.
THE SHIRE HORSE.

The task of attempting to give a short history of the rise
and progress of the Shire horse is by no means an easy one.
It is true that a considerable amount of evidence exists to
show that in days long before the Christian era the breed of
horses in these islands was considered to be, when viewed
from a Roman standpoint, unusually large ; but it should be
remembered that size is always more or less comparative,
and as we have no plates or drawings to guide us when
speaking of the very earl}' horses, we can only surmise
that they were really of very considerable bulk, because their
descendants were decidedly large, and bore a very close re-
semblance to the Shire horse of the present day. It must,
however, be recollected that the horse of a certain period is
naturally moulded so as to be suitable to the requirements
of that time ; and the Great Britain of two thousand years
ago was, of course, a vastly different country from the Great
Britain as we now find it. The nation then was troubled
and disturbed, and the majority of the inhabitants may be
described as warriors. This state of things created a demand
I

2 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

for horses fitted to carry armed men, weighing, together
with their armour, probably about 400 lbs., a fact that in
itself proves that size and weight-carrying capacity must
have been present in the horses of that day. We also have
to bear in mind that the surface of the country at that time was
rough, wooded and rugged, and therefore a fast light horse
would not have been so much in request as one that pos-
sessed strength and substance.

In these suppositions we are confirmed by the written
evidence that exists, and by the other records of the times,
for Cjesar himself recounts the methods of warfare carried
out in Great Britain in those days, and mentions the chariots
full of warriors that were drawn at a rapid rate over the
rough and uneven ground, thus demonstrating that the horses
that drew them must have possessed weight, substance, and
activity. In dealing with this portion of the early foundation
stock, we are sure we cannot do better than refer to Sir Walter
Gilbey's eminently useful and interesting little work on
"The Old English War Horse," known in these latter days
as " The Shire Horse." As far as the actual antiquity of
the breed is concerned, all readers of that book must certainly
have come to the conclusion that Sir Walter Gilbey very
clearly proves the existence in Great Britain of horses of
unusual weight and size at the time of the Roman Invasion,
or, in other words, considerably over 2,000 years ago.

It is not necessary now to closely follow the arguments that
are adduced in " The Old English War Horse " in order to
convince readers of to-day of what may well be taken for
a fact, namely, that large weighty horses existed in very
early periods ; but of course it is not contended that the
Shire horse, as we find him now, prevailed at that period.
Putting, however, this original early foundation stock on one
side for the present, we propose in the first place to pass over
a space of some 1,600 years, which will bring us down to
the year 1505 a.d., subsequently commenting slightly on the
intervening period. In Sir Walter Gilbey's book the earliest

THE SHIRE HORSE. 3

plate to which we are introduced is one by Albert Darer,
dated 1505. It represents a horse of that period with a
soldier in armour standing beside it, and the first thing that
strikes one is that either " there were giants in those days,"
or that the drawing is out of proportion, because the man
towers considerably over the horse, while the conformation
of that animal would lead us to suppose it to represent a
horse of very large size, weight and substance. These, how-
ever, are only minor details, whereas what we really have to
study is the character and class of horse represented. With
regard to these points there can be no doubt or misunder-
standing, for we find plainly placed before us what may well
be termed a " modified Shire." The profuse hair in mane,
tail and fetlocks is present ; the wide hips and slightly droop-
ing quarters, the large spreading feet, the massive shoulders
and swelling muscle, all denote a horse of great size ; still,
one can detect from the class of bone and the sloping pas-
terns that his duties were by no means confined to slow
work, but that the exigencies of war required of him a faster
gait. With these few exceptions, however, we see that the
horse before us, painted in the year 1505, is very similar to
what we now denominate a " Shire," but we must take into
consideration the purpose for which the animal was then
used, the probable hardships he had to undergo, and the
want of that care and high-feeding which have latterly
become part and parcel of his existence.

It is not to be supposed, because we place the year 1505 as
the point of departure, that previous to that time heavy
horses did not exist ; indeed, as we have before pointed out,
written evidence proves the contrary, but we select the year
named merely because the picture in question proves at one
glance what we require, and gives us a starting point from
which we can work backward and analyse the early evidence,
and forward through the pictures and history of those times.
Reverting, then, once again to older periods, we find that
several very interesting extracts occur as far back as the

4 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

twelfth century, and in the time of Henry II. we also observe
that an effort was made to improve the horses of this island,
for in the year 1160 we read of the importation of breeding
animals from abroad, and the probability is that they were of
a heavy class, as in 1154 William Stephanides speaks of a
fair at Smithfield where " Cart horses fit for the dray or the
plough " were exposed for sale. A few years later, in the
reign of King John, we read of a further importation of a
hundred stallions of large stature from Flanders, Holland and
the banks of the Elbe, probably also of the same variet)'.

After this period up to the time of Henry VIII. the record
of progress is hardly so clear and defined ; yet it is worthy of
note that various Acts of Parliament were passed, all intended
to increase the size and weight of the then existing horse.
The picture by Durer, to which we have alluded, was painted
prior to the accession of Henry VIII., and although, as we
have seen, it shows all the characteristics of the Shire, still,
it would seem that the required uniformity of size, height
and weight liad not been sufficiently attained in Henr}'
VIII. 's time, as very stringent laws were then enacted against
the running at large of inferior animals, and further it was
prescribed that if within certain counties any such specimens
were found they were to be destroyed. Another somewhat
curious Act was also put in force in that reign, by which
it became a felony to export anjr horses. Scotland was
one of the countries into which no horses were allowed to be
taken ; and this latter clause is rather interesting to-day when
the antiquity of the Shire and Clydesdale breeds is compared.
About this period we find an extract from a book written by
Sir Thomas Blundeville, and the following quotation occurs in
Sir Walter Gilbey's work : — " Some men have a breed of
great horses, meete for the war and to serve in the field ;
others tried ambling horses of a meane stature for to journey
and travel by the way. Some, again, have a race of swift
runners to run for wagers or to gallop the bucke, but plane
countrymen have a breed only for drafts or burden." Now

THE SHIRE HORSE. 5

this passage, when analysed, affords very strong evidence
that at that time (now nearly 500 years ago) the different
breeds existed much as we find them to-day. They evidently
had the Race horse, the Hackney, and the Draught, or Shire
horse as he is now called.

These, then, are points that are well worthy of notice, and
they furnish a very distinct contradiction of the expressed
opinions of certain individuals that there is only one pure
breed in England, and only one worthy of a Stud Book,
and that that breed is the Race horse. This contention is
clearly ridiculous, because, as far as England is concerned,
everything decidedly points to the original horse having been
very far removed from the thoroughbred, and the efforts
towards improvement carried on for centuries were all in the
direction of increasing size and weight, long before attempts
were made to introduce the Arabian.

Coming still nearer to the present day, it is curious to
note the different values of the several classes of horses in the
year 1620, at which time an estimate was laid before the
Privy Council for horsing a foreign expedition. From this
it would appear that the ordinary class of animal was quoted
at £(^, while the "strong, or great horses" were estimated
at ^15, again proving them to be valued in those days at
nearly double the price of the other varieties. And if we now
compare the ordinary animal of our own time with the best
type of Shire, we find that the comparative values are much
the same, putting, of course, pedigree to one side, and only
calculating the market value of work horses. The point of
similarity between the old type and the present is also found
in an extract from the work by the Duke of Newcastle, pub-
lished in 1658, profusely illustrated with plates of the Great
Horse of that time, and among other excellencies, drawing
attention to action. Now, the Shires at present are especially
strong in this point ; in fact, none of our breeds show the
same large proportion of action, both in the walk and trot,
as does the Shire. This, of course, many will be inclined to

b HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

dispute, but nevertheless, it can be very easily proved at any
time. Those interested in this subject can amuse themselves
by noticing the horses at work in any large town, and they
will soon be convinced that the heavy breeds, the descend-
ants of the " Great Horse," show their shoes fully every step
they take in a very different form to the lighter varieties.

In 1 713, Queen Anne was an enthusiastic admirer of the
Shire, as her state equipages were horsed by long-tailed mares
of this breed ; but about that period it would seem that some
of the ancient methods of locomotion had been more or less
abandoned, and the saddle was giving place more and more
to the coach ; probably, also, the roads were in better condi-
tion than before, and consequently, a new breed was sought
to be established by crossing the Shire mare with the blood
horse, and thus creating the Coach horse.

In 1796, or about one hundred years ago, the Sporting
Magazine, after nine years' existence, speaks of the Draught
horse as being equal to moving a load of three tons singly, and
if we allow for inferior roads, we must admit the Shire of that
time to have been equal in moving power to the Shire of
to-day.

Early Stud Book Records.

Having so far attempted in a shght measure to weld to-
gether the past with the present, and to trace the fortunes of
the original war horse through several centuries, until civilisa-
tion has converted him into one of the principal factors and
aids in our modern commercial life, let us now once more turn
back, for we are getting beyond the region of conjecture and
entering upon a period when we have to deal with indisput-
able facts, to a time when records begin, when we can give
day and date, chapter and verse ; in fact, we shall now have
to turn to Volume i. of the Shire Horse Stud Book. Before
doing so, however, we wish once again to point out that in
dealing with olden times and foundation stock, the account

THE SHIRE HORSE. 7

we have attempted to give has necessarily only been a sketch,
because the evidence existing in very early times is, of course,
only circumstantial and inferential ; still we think it will
generally be conceded that all the history we have on the
subject of the early horse points towards size as being
especially desired, and that as far as antiquity is concerned,
there can be no doubt but that the foundation stock that
originated the Shire was to be found in England over 2,000
years ago. Those who have thus far followed us will no
doubt feel relieved that we have now left behind the days of
war horses and ancient English, and have emerged into the
more congenial atmosphere of modern requirements, when we
have to deal with correct joints, silky feather, hocks well
together, and the other various requisites of the Shire horse
of our time.

Before this is quite possible, we must for a moment glance
at the early Stud Book days, when in fact the work of dividing
the wheat from the chaff really began. It cannot have been
a light labour, and certainly all honour is due to those who
first initiated the idea of a Stud Book, and to those who
devoted their time and brains to turning chaos into order.
No doubt there are many people in some measure interested
in our great breed of Shire horses, who do not devote much
time to studying the early volumes, but rather interest them-
selves in those books in which their names, and the names of
the animals they have bred, appear. Consequently these
have, generally speaking, but little knowledge of the early
entries, and therefore, as we still wish to link the chain of
evidence together as closely as possible down to the present
day, we desire to put in print here the information about some
of our recorded foundation stock, a very essential and neces-
sary thing to do, as it appears to us, especially as it seems
that even now there are those who are so ignorant as to
attempt to throw doubt on the antiquity and purity of this
breed of heavy horses.

In commenting on the first volume, it will be necessary at

O HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the outset to review and repeat portions of the introduction
of that work, which contains the names and other particu-
lars only of animals foaled previous to the year 1877. Mr.
Reynolds's instructive " History of the English Cart Horse"
in the Stud Book, has doubtless been studied by members of
the Shire Horse Society, but it may not be out of place here
to again draw attention to some of the leading points, because
having now been written fourteen years, Mr. Reynolds's views
will well stand repetition, if only as a warning to some breeders,
who to-day would endeavour to entirely depart from the old
traditions and characteristics of the breed, and create a new
Shire horse moulded to suit their own special ideas. To-day
one can hardly properly appreciate the amount of labour it
must have taken to collect the names and breeding of the
2,381 stallions whose pedigrees we find in the pages of the
first volume of the Shire Horse Stud Book, the compilation of
which was made particularly intricate owing to the fact that
every animal was born previous to the year 1877, and that it
went back to the year 1770, thus covering a period of no less
than 107 years.

Before taking notice of a few illustrious and well-known
names that we find within this period, it may be desirable
to review some particulars of the breed in the different
counties as furnished in Mr. Reynolds's carefully prepared
article. It is noticeable that he draws attention to what
of course is an undisputed fact, viz., the admixture of the
foreign element in the composition of the Shire. This no
doubt is so ; in fact we have already pointed out, while
referring to Sir "Walter Gilbey's book, some of the periods
at which importations of stallions from the Continent of
Europe occurred, and we must say it seems rather hard to
accuse the Shire horse of impurity because of the efforts on
the part of our forefathers to increase the standard of size
by the introduction of foreign stallions, particularly when we
recollect that nearly all breeds of domesticated animals, as we
now find them, are more or less the creation of the breeders,

rr-, 'Jl ,—,

J^ ^ on

^ j=: 13

^ <u i>*

THE SHIRE HORSE. g

having been brought into existence through the requirements
of the times and the advance of civiHsation. On the other
hand, it cannot be denied that evidence still exists, and no
doubt years ago existed in a still greater degree, to prove the
prevalence of at least two varieties of the Shire horse. We
refer to those endowed with peculiar hirsute appendages, such
as the moustache on the upper lip, and the long lock of hair
hanging from the knee, and also projecting from the back of
the hock. In this variety the hair is also found in profusion
hanging from the back of every leg. It is also true that in
certain strains we find an absence of the first three peculiari-
ties, and a general lessening of the quantity of hair in other
parts. This latter strain would certainly appear to have an
infusion of light blood of some description, but whether it was
derived from foreign ancestry is open to doubt. Mr. Reynolds
records that the moustache was in older times considered a
peculiarity of the Lincolnshire-bred animal, and as we have
pointed out that the tendency to excessive growth of hair
accompanies this feature, we may conclude that for a very
long period indeed, the Shire horse of Lincolnshire and the
East Coast has been noted for what we now term " sourness."
Having, then, endeavoured to localize the "Horse of Hair,"
let us ask, Whence did the variety probably spring ? For
one moment we again refer to Sir Walter Gilbey's book, and
towards the end we find a plate of the horse Dodman foaled
in the year 1780, and the property of an ancestor of Mr.
Anthony Hamond, of Westacre, Norfolk. This plate of the
horse Dodman shows us the hairlock from the knee growing
clearly defined, and hanging nearly to the fetlocks ; the hair
at the back of each leg being also present in great quantity.
Unfortunately the breeding of Dodman has not been traced,
as his name does not appear in the pages of the Stud Book,
but we think we may take it for granted that he was at
least an East Anglian horse, and a specimen of the old
variety in that locality.

We now propose, therefore, to account, by probabilities, for

lo HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

the origin of these distinctive horses in that portion of Great
Britain, viz., the East Coast. In our opening remarks we
pointed out that the histories and traditions of the early cen-
turies are more or less involved in doubt and mystery ; still,
although we are unable to appeal to historical data, we have a
certain groundwork to go upon, and many probabilities upon
which theories may well be built. Thus, although we have
already mentioned certain years in which importations from
abroad undoubtedly took place, it can hardly be questioned that
long before those periods many horses of the heavy variety
were brought from the Continent. We know that the first
recorded importations from Flanders were in the year 1160,
and it is not unreasonable to suppose that in those early
days transport was surrounded with very considerable danger,
and that the very shortest cut from land to land would be
taken advantage of. By looking at the map, the first thing
that strikes one is that Amsterdam, in Holland, is directlj'
opposite to the Norfolk Coast, and therefore, as we already
know that Holland was the country from which stallions
were selected, the natural conclusion to arrive at is that they
were landed in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, and thence
gradually spread westward, either themselves or through their
progeny, and that the development of the best specimens was
brought about by the richness and suitability of the soil in
the different counties where they made a lodgment. This
proposition is only put forward as theory, but nevertheless it
is a very probable theory, and one founded on a ver}- reason-
able basis. We would not, however, wish it to be supposed
that a horse precisely similar to (let us say) Dodman was
imported, because the evidence we possess bears quite the
other way ; still our idea is that, at least, the required size
and weight came from abroad, and the accessories were
brought about by centuries of crossing on the native animal,
by the nature of the soil, and the fashion of that day, which
probably tended in the direction of cultivating hair because it
was found that hair and substance went together.

the shire horse. ii

Pedigree Influence and Traditions.

The gradual distribution throughout the richer counties no
doubt was slow, and must have only kept pace with the
improvement of the land and the requirements of the farmers;
but there is no doubt upon one point ; that very many years
ago the shires of Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, and Stafford
were celebrated for the excellence of their cart horses, the
limestone in these localities, doubtless, having immense in-
fluence ; in fact, when we turn to the chronological table,
given in the first volume of the Stud Book, we see that the
honour of providing the oldest pedigreed horse belongs to
Leicestershire, the animal being Blaze 183, foaled in 1770.
In 1773, there is Ruler 1905, a Derbyshire-bred one; in
1775' G. 890, a Leicestershire horse; and in 1778, Bald
Horse 93 also hailing from the same county.

Having thus made a start in the heart of the Midlands, it
is not in the least degree surprising to find that the large
majority of the stallions that date back farthest in the Stud
Book had their birthplace in one of the counties mentioned.
Various other names occur incidentally of other horses be-
longing to an earlier period still ; for instance, the Packington
Blind Horse, who is credited with having been in the full
vigour of his existence some fifteen years prior to the earliest
Stud Book record, or, in other words, in the year 1755.
Then we have Mansetter (Oldacre's) who was the sire of
Blaze 183, and who must have been a contemporary of the
Packington Blind Horse. In this connection it is curious to
note that the name "Blaze" occurs no less than thirty-five
times in succession in the first volume, and that only two out
of the whole number of horses that were thus named are
described as having been brown in colour, the other thirty-
three having been black or grey, two colours Mr. Reynolds
draws attention to as being indicative of pure breeding,
colours that, unfortunately, in these days are conspicuous
only by their absence. It would seem that considerably- over

12 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

100 years ago stallions earned remunerative fees, for it is on
record that a grandson of the Packington Blind Horse
travelled at three guineas, and Sweet William was sold in
1778 for 350 guineas ; while a few years later Marston fetched
500 guineas. Thus we see that even then a good Shire sire
was appreciated, and the breeding was doubtless known full
well for many generations back, by the families who kept
stallions. The pedigree table in connection with the Pack-
ington Blind Horse is interesting, as, although his birth was
supposed to have taken place about the year 1760, yet his
direct descendants are traced down to the year 1S32. At the
same time this tracing is only in a measure satisfactory,
because it is confined almost, if not entirely, to animals bred
within a somewhat small area, namely, a portion of Leicester-
shire and Derbyshire. This was, of course, unavoidable, as
the interest in Shire breeding had then been greater in the
Midlands than in Lincolnshire and the East, and, moreover'
better records were kept ; but it would have been well had it
been possible to have gone somewhat further back, and dis-
covered the direction from which these Derbyshire horses
originated. Our idea, as we have before stated, is that they
all came in the first place from the East, and that the old-
fashioned Shire horse was originated there. Here we may
state what is an incontrovertible fact, if a strange one,
namely, that East Anglia has always been and still continues
to be' far in advance of West Anglia in the breeding of every
variety of the horse, and for some mysterious reason the West
never seems to be able to get on even terms with the East.

In looking carefully through certain pedigrees of more
recent horses, we find that nearly all those that have left
their mark in the Midlands — horses to which breeders trace
back with pride — originated in the East, and usually through
the dam they find their way back in that direction. Take, for
instance. Champion 419 (Styche's). He was bred in O.xford-
shire ; his sire, Rippendon's Champion, is, unfortunately, not
traced, and consequently not numbered, and one is therefore

THE SHIRE HORSE. I3

unable to test his origin ; but the dam of Champion 419 was
by Conqueror 529, also an Oxfordshire bred one, but by
Champion 379, bred in Northamptonshire, got by Farmer's
Glory 818, also bred in Northampton. Thus we see the
tendency to revert Eastward to Lincolnshire and Cambridge-
shire, the adjoining counties ; and throughout all these crosses
the same grey colour had been retained during all the North-
westerly wanderings. Now, these same Styche's Champion
419 descendants must be considered as quite in the front
rank of recent Derbyshire Shires, and it is at least probable
that a very considerable proportion of his prepotency arose
from his descent from Eastern ancestors, evidently of un-
diluted origin, this being emphasised by the fact of the grey
colour continuing intact through many generations. K., alias
Lincolnshire Lad, alias Honest Tom 1196 is another illustra-
tion of the same theory. This horse is commonly known as
Drew's Lincolnshire Lad. He, of course, is a direct ex-
ample of importation from Lincolnshire, for he was bred by
Mr. Bassitt, Willoughby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, and sired by
Lister's Lincoln. This horse is unnumbered, but as Mr.
Lister lived at Saleby, Lincolnshire, there can be no doubt
as regards his thorough Lincolnshire origin on the sire's
side, and as the dam was also sired by Mr. Lister's Briton,
and ran back to Competitor 514, the property of Mr. Clark,
Murrow, Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, we find in following this
pedigree that we gradually get nearer and nearer to the
sea. Take, again, William the Conqueror 2343, who was
by Leicestershire i3i7,byBen 120, and so on to Nelson 1609,
tracing to Bald Horse 93, foaled in 1778. On the other
side of the pedigree, the evidence is clear, the dam having
been by William the Conqueror 2340, by William the Con-
queror 2339, by Leicestershire 1321, by Blacklegs 142, by
Derbyshire 577, and lastly by Honest Tom 1062, a horse
foaled in 1806 at Swarby, Lincolnshire, and, on both sides,
of old-fashioned Lincolnshire blood. This old horse was, by
the way, a very noted animal in his time, and went under

14 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

various names, such as Old Tom, alias Little David, alias
Old David, as well as Honest Tom. He evidently was in
those early days — some ninety years ago — as celebrated in
Lincolnshire as his descendant was about sixty years after-
wards in Derbyshire, for we read that he was sold to a
Mr. Casswell when he was five years old for 300 guineas,
and his service fee was three guineas a mare.

Leaving now the counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire,
let us take up a Nottinghamshire celebrity. What's Wanted
2332, and although his sire was also Nottinghamshire-bred,
still we very soon find the same origin cropping out, for his
grandsire. Matchless i6og, was a Lincolnshire horse, and his
ancestry on the dam's side ran back to Honest Tom 1060,
foaled in 1800, and standing next but one in the Stud Book
to Honest Tom, alias Little David, the ancestor, as above
stated, of William the Conqueror.

Before leaving the pedigree catalogue, we are tempted to
insert one more name — that of a famous horse that has,
unfortunately, lately joined the great majority. We refer
to Premier 2646, the most noted son of What's Wanted 2332.
In him we have a curious example of wandering parents.
Premier, as most people know, was bred in Lancashire, and
became famous in Derbyshire, but as his sire was What's
Wanted, and his dam also traced to Eastern origin, we find
still another case verifying our theory.

It would be impossible, and also tend to make this account
very unwieldy, if we were to continue making tables to prove
our point ; space would not permit of it, and therefore the
instances given must suffice. It may be said, however, that
the above names have been taken quite at random. The
reason they were introduced here was simply because they
are, perhaps, as well or better known to most people than any
others. We have, however, perfect faith that were it possible
to trace the pedigrees to the foundation, every horse in the
Stud Book would be found to originate in the East, and the
further back the record went the nearer to the German Ocean

ii 3.

THE SHIRE HORSE. 15

would we get, till eventually the evidence would carry us
over the water. This method of investigation would only be
found to apply to any great extent to animals that showed in
their characteristics a pure origin, or, in other words, that
displayed a tendency towards a development of hair in the
form and at the points that have been indicated. Mr. Rey-
nolds would appear to believe that the clean-legged varieties
of the Shire horse owed this cleanliness to the foreign element,
but we incline to doubt that theory, unless he refers to recent
foreign blood (v>rhich probably he does), and not to out-cross-
ing through the old original importations. If the allusion is to
recent importations, his theory is in a measure correct, because
we undoubtedly recognise this adverse foreign influence on
the Clydesdale horse. We believe, however, that this cleanli-
ness and lightness have rather been due to carelessness and
ignorance on the part of a portion of the farming community
themselves, and also to a craze that at one time set in for
clean legged horses, and the result of which time only can
eradicate. During the progress Westward of the original
stock, it, doubtless, was sullied at different points by the in-
fusion of light blood by the way, and the roans that are so
commonly found in Oxfordshire and portions of Cheshire
would seem to indicate that, because, although in them
very often the weight of body exists, we find a tendency to
light and cleanly legs, so much so that when placed alongside
animals bred in the Fens, it would be hard to convince one
that they, at any time, could have been connected.

The success that has attended Shire horse breeding within
the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire,
is not in the least degree hard to account for. As before
pointed out, we turn to Volume i. of the Stud Book, and at
once find evidence that pedigree and breeding have there been
valued at their true worth. Breeders evidently implanted the
original Lincolnshire stock on to the Derbyshire limestone,
carefully preserved their mares from outside contamination,
and what do we find as the result ? Why, a source of genuine

l6 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Shire purity, a fountain head, as it were, to which the breeders
of this kingdom gladly turn to replenish their studs. Unfor-
tunately for the present generation, Derbyshire records are
somewhat involved in the mysteries of the past. Traditions
once handed down with some semblance of care have, in a
great measure, been lost and forgotten, till now apparently
onljr a few fragments remain. Only within the last year or so
there went over to the great majority one of the oldest links
between the present and the past, in the shape of an old stud
groom, whose grandfather in his day was at the head of a
famous stud owned by people of the name of Gallemore, who
for generations had a celebrated Shire stud within two miles of
Calwich Abbey. At the time when Prince Charlie marched
on Derby in the famous '45 (1745), this old retainer was
forced to take refuge from the invaders, and place the stallions
of this stud in a place of safety. This he successfully did,
and if curious readers will take the trouble to investigate
Volume i. of the Stud Book, they will find several of the
original Derbyshire stallions named Gallemore, having been
doubtless in the first place christened after their owners. The
stud was stabled at Croxden Abbey, and from its courtyard
the horses went forth into hiding. Though it cannot be
stated as an absolute fact, all the evidence points to the
famous Packington Blind Horse having been begotten at this
same place.

An ancestor of Royal Albert 1885 was another veteran that
had a varied experience, for John Bull 11 69 was rescued from
the hands of the gypsies wandering by the road-side, and was
in a very sorry plight. The father of Mr. Wright, late of
Tideswell, Derbyshire, purchased this old horse for a mere
song, owing to his having a thick leg, and Mr. Wright being
a veterinary surgeon as well as a stallion owner, patched
him up and travelled him. To this little incident how much
do we owe to-day ? Royal Albert doubtless would never have
come into existence, and the excellence of mares of that noted
strain would never have been known, but for that rescue.

? >^

o ^

THE SHIRE HORSE.

Lord Byron, the sire of Julian 3766 (who is with us still and
is located in East Anglia), was the last stallion that the cele-
brated Chadwick family owned. The}' were quite among the
best known stallion owners of olden times, inheriting the
business from father to son as had been the case in almost
every county in England. At the death of Mr. Chadwick, the
horse Lord Byron, strange to say, was purchased by a tailor,
who in turn sold him to a cloth hawker. Tailors, as a rule^
are certainly not given to horse-dealing, but the fraternity in
this instance, must have seen a source of profit somewhere
in Lord Byron, otherwise he would not have long remained
in the hands of the benchers.

These scraps of information regarding the past of our
famous breed only make us wish for more, and when we
consider what Derbyshire has done in contributing to the
building up of Shires in other counties, and remember that
for years it furnished both mares and stallions to all parts of
Scotland, we can appreciate to the full the foresight of its
breeders who have turned neither to the right nor to the left,
but have stuck to the old blood through good and evil report..

Our Own Times.

We now propose to touch lightly on what has happened
subsequent to the starting of the Stud Book, giving also a
description of what the best types of Shire horse should be
so as to come up to the requirements of to-day. As a very
natural sequence to the registration of Shire horses, a great
impetus was given to cart-horse breeding generally, and
numerous studs were formed throughout the country, while
prices rose rapidly. To the tenant farmer- this has been a
great assistance in one way, because during a period of very
great agricultural depression, the Shires produced on the
farm have been turned into money at exceedingly remunera-
tive prices, and this, of course, has naturally assisted in ward-
ing off depression. Experience, however, seems already to
2

l8 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

have proved that eventually the value of all animals must
depend on the marketable purpose for which they are bred.
Thus, for instance, let us take the case of Shorthorn cattle.
Have we not seen members of certain families selling for
thousands of pounds ; but as beef, butter, and milk may be
called the marketable purpose for which they are bred, so
their values have decreased until they approach the prices
of their less fashionably-bred neighbours. It must be ex-
pected, then, that the Shire will go through a similar ordeal,
and already it has been found that the market (at least for
indifferent stallions) has been flooded, and disappointing
prices have been the result ; while at the same time the
actual work horse has become wonderfully scarce owing to
circumstances that now appear simple but certainly were not
foreseen.

The large studs that have been established by noblemen
and gentlemen have undoubtedly done a very great work and
brought the breeding of the Shire horse down almost to a
science, but in reference to these extensive establishments it
may be questioned if their influence has been entirely advan-
tageous, because, indirectly, the user of the Shire in the
labour for which he is bred has practically been ignored,
owing to the prohibitive prices that breeding animals have
fetched. From this cause in a great measure has sprung the
scarcity of work animals that of late has existed, and con-
sequently a change is even now taking place, and the highly-
bred brood mare is again returning into the hands of the
tenant farmer, destined from henceforth to contribute a share
of her progeny to daily labour.

But although the disadvantage above noticed has been
the natural result of attempting to convert every individual
Shire horse into a breeding animal, the benefits that have
accrued infinitely outweigh the drawbacks. When one looks
back some ten or twelve years to the first shows held at the
Agricultural Hall at Ishngton, and compares the animals
that competed then with those that do so now, the chano-e is

cs.

THE SHIRE HORSE. IQ

marked indeed, and this is undoubtedly due, firstly, to the
efforts made towards the attainment of the best results by
the Shire Horse Society ; and, secondly, to the spirited man-
ner in which the breeding community at large have entered into
the work, and backed them up in ever}' possible way. The
result certainly is most highly satisfactory in many ways.
Formerly unsoundness, round fleshy-legs and upright joints
were the rule, while action was very indifferent. Nowadays,
probably the improvement is most marked in the mares of all
ages, and quality has unmistakably made great strides to the
front in all the female classes, while an endeavour has also
been made to engraft an equal measure of quality' on the
stallions, and for this reason we find that masculine sires
are inordinately scarce. If the Shire horse of the future
declines in character it undoubtedly will be due to this cause,
viz., a tendency on the part of breeders to use stallions
not sufficiently masculine in type, and to lean too much
to smartness, cleanliness, and that fatal quality that some
applaud, " prettiness." It would seem evident that quite
sufficient advance has been made on the side of quality ;
the Shire mare has enough slope in her pastern to soften all
jar entailed in work ; her freedom from side bones is very
marked when compared with pre-Stud Book days; her hind
leg has been studiously improved, and now care onl}' has to
be exercised to avoid converting some of the improvement
into the sole requirements of the Shire mare. As to the
stallions, we would also give a word of warning. Many
people are only too apt to believe that what are excellencies
in the mare are necessarily also merits in the stallion. No
greater mistake could be made. It is essential that the mare
should have plenty of depth in her ribs, and general roominess
in her middle piece, as her chief function is to carry her
offspring during its period of development, and ample room
must be necessary for the proper maturing of her progeny.
On the other hand, a stalhon of this type, viz., with a ten-
dency to excessive middle, is almost invariably a failure at
the stud.

20 heavy horses : breeds and management.

Characteristics of the Breed.

The Shire stalhon should stand 17 hands or over, his legs
should be as big and massive as it is possible to obtain them
consistent with flat bone, which should measure at least 1 1 to
III inches below the knee, and i inch to li inches more
below the hock ; the hair should be plentiful at all seasons,
not wiry, but strong and decided, without any tendency to
woolliness. The action should be most particularly noticed
in the walk, which should be straight, level and true, and
should be the walk of a cart horse, forward and free, but par-
taking in no respect of the jauntiness of the nag. The hocks
should at all times be kept together and in position. The feet
should be wide and open at the heel, with wall of sufficient
depth to avoid any resemblance to flatness of foot ; the pas-
tern all round should have sufficient slope to enable the
machinery to work smoothly, but long and consequently weak
pasterns are to be avoided. The head in the stallion is of
vast importance. It should be thoroughly masculine in
character, and all trace of " ponyness " should be studiously
avoided.

With regard to the attributes of the best type of Shire
brood mare, it is perhaps correct to saj' that breeders and
judges are possibly somewhat at variance, because the mare
that usually produces the best results to the breeder is but
seldom the animal to catch the judge's eye in the show ring.
On the female side great size, or in other words height, is not
only not an essential, but is usually detrimental. The typical
brood mare should rather be long, low and wide, standing on
short legs, with well sprung pasterns and strong open feet,
while the bone should be as wide and massive as can possibly
be had, and the hair should be very abundant and worn at all
seasons; the depth of both the heart and short ribs should be
conspicuously present, and the walk should be true and level,
without any symptoms of rolling ; this latter point, of course,
applies equally to both mare and stallion. This type of animal

THE SHIRE HORSE. 21

being somewhat unpretentious in character, and wanting pos-
sibly in gay carriage and dash, often fails to find favour with
judges, but the breeder of experience will have little diffi-
culty in selecting such animals for the purposes of their studs.

Of all the various influences that of late years have affected
the Shire horse, probably no one thing has done more to
stimulate attention to the breed, and to encourage its develop-
ment in every way than the special Shire Horse Show at
Islington, and also the shows of country societies that have
given liberal prizes to the Shire breed. The show par excellence
of the year, and the one that breeders look forward to and
attend with the greatest amount of interest and enthusiasm,
is undoubtedly the gathering held annually in the Agricul-
tural Hall, Islington, in the month of February, which from
comparatively small beginnings has in late years almost ex-
ceeded the accommodation of the Hall ; in fact, it has been
found somewhat unwieldy, so much so that steps have been
taken with the view of limiting the entries, and thus en-
couraging a higher order of average merit. Apart from this
particular show, almost every corner of the land has in one
form or another had its exhibition of Shire horses. One
effect that these shows have had, is that a certain remodelling
of type has taken place, and the judges doubtless have been
accountable for such alteration.

In former days, as we have seen, our forefathers for years
struggled to foster and encourage the weighty element.
Within the last fifteen years, however, a gradual lessening of
weight has to a certam extent taken place, owing undoubtedly
to the tendency of judges at shows to encourage quahty.
That the horse of former days was in certain instances coarse
and somewhat fleshy-legged is undeniable, but the result has
been, as is often the case, that a proportion of breeders have
occasionally gone to extremes, and bred for quality with-
out regard to weight. The consequence of this innovation
has been that the weighty element is becoming once more in
demand, and signs are not wanting that a revulsion of feeling

22 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

is again taking place in regard to this question, and that
stalhons that possess some of the characteristics of the old-
fashioned type will be sought after, in order to cross with
mares of quahty. Another outcome of the prevalence of
shows has been that a great desire has naturally been culti-
vated among breeders to gain distinction in the show ring, and
this feeling has again stimulated the forming of studs in in-
creasing numbers principally for showing purposes, which has
entailed the maintaining of a large number of animals in a state
of idleness. This, however, is one feature of the Shire horse
question that has been of very doubtful benefit to the breed at
large. The end and object of all Shire breeding must eventually
resolve itself into endeavours to produce the type of animal that
will be the most profitable to the farmer, and experience has
taught us that without weight we are nowhere, for if we pre-
sent to the dealer the nicest turned and handsomest animal
in the world, with sloping pasterns and all the requisites that
of late years have been so much sought after, what do we
find ? Why, that the price offered for such in the open
market hardly repays breeding, and but little exceeds half the
price readily obtainable for one with the requisite weight.
There was also another circumstance that inflicted temporary
injury on the breed, and that was the excessive demand for
Shire stallions that for several years existed. This trade was
" boomed " after the usual American fashion, and everybody
jumped into it, expecting at once to become rich. While it
lasted, certainly vast numbers of Shires left our shores, but
it must be confessed that in many cases the quality of the
animals so taken was quite of secondary consideration. A few
importers then set up a certain standard of horse that was very
far removed from the best class of Shire. This type of
animal was cleanly legged, up-headed and flash. For
such stallions fairly good prices were given, until some
English breeders almost began to imagine that, after all,
probably Englishmen were mistaken in their type and that
the Americans were right. Those who took this view of the

THE SHIRE HORSE. 23

case, and acted on it, found themselves overloaded with horses
that were almost unsaleable, and their condition was cer-
tainly not to be envied. A little reflection should have taught
these gentlemen that one single stallion that is up to the
proper English standard is worth at the very least as much
as several animals of the other sort, while at the same time he
is a benefactor to the breed at large instead of helping to de-
teriorate it. Englishmen are once more rapidly coming to
their senses, and find that in breeding Shire horses they
must not turn either to the right hand or to the left ; they
must not be carried away by passing fancies and fashions,
but at all times and in every possible way endeavour to keep
the Shire horse in the position that he occupies — at the head
of all the draught breeds, by upholding weight, and by recol-
lecting that what is estimable in a mare is almost invariably
a defect in a stallion ; that in selecting a sire true masculine
character throughout must be at all times kept prominently
in view ; and that it is not always the horse whose showyard
career has been most brilliant that is calculated to do the
greatest amount of good at the stud.

Some Modern Sires.

Any sketch of the formation and growth of the Shire breed
would surely be incomplete were the most famous of our
present sires to be left entirely unnoticed. In undertaking
such a description as we have indicated we find ourselves sur-
rounded by many difficulties, for in the first place, it is, of
course, an utter impossibility to chronicle every animal that
perchance has begotten a winner and thus has gained no-
toriety ; and on the other hand, the list might well become
unreadable were we to include many of minor note, and
should any such creep in, owners of stallions of similar merit
might justly complain that they had an equal right to be
brought prominently forward. For these reasons, then, it is
believed that the safest and most equitable course will be to

24 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

give a short sketch of the champion cup winners at the
London Shire Horse Shows, malving only one exception, viz.,
Lincolnshire Lad IL 2365, and the reason for doing so is
that he stands alone as a sire, a grandsire and a great-grand-
sire of winners, while at the same time, although foaled in
1872, he still retains his health and vigour sufficiently to
take his place in the stud and look around at his offspring
down to the third generation, reaping the honours of the
showyard thick and fast. Lincolnshire Lad II. 2365, was
foaled just twenty years ago, and was bred by Mr. Fred
Ford, Locko Park, Derbyshire, thus furnishing another illus-
tration of the excellence of Derbyshire blood. This animal
affords a curious instance of how one may be deceived by
trusting to the eye alone in coming to a conclusion as to
the merits of a horse as a sire, and his career also proves
that it is quite possible to have as good a sire as need
be and still not a Show horse. A grey in colour, the
first point that strikes one about Lincolnshire Lad, is that
although all along his top he is capital, yet his middle
piece is decidedly light — a peculiarity that has very often
been noticed as commendable in a stallion but fatal in
a mare. Commencing once more at the ground, his next
peculiarity is that he wears an enormous quantity of hair,
and that it hangs and grows all down the front of his
shins and fetlocks right over his feet, giving, at first sight,
the impression that he is wanting in joint ; but turn this
hair back, and the mistake is at once apparent. Still,
undoubtedly he is a peculiarly made horse, for he is not
particularly full of muscle, and all over he shows decided
narrowness; he stands, however, 17 hands high, and moves
very well, and is full of courage and fire. We have thus
closely described this horse because the points specially
dwelt upon do not reappear in his offspring, but at the
same time there is a general resemblance in his stock that
make them by no means difficult to recognise, especially as
regards the head, but the strangest thing of all is that the

-) rn

^ (!>

' p

■>

: r

1 5". S

ir.

THE SHIRE HORSE. 25

profuse hair on the shin only reappears in solitary instances,
and a leading feature that follows the strain throughout is
the excellence of the pasterns — a point for which a casual
observer would say the old horse was not remarkable. His
career has been a somewhat curious one, and in him is ex-
emplified the difficulty that undoubtedly exists in ascertaining
the true merits of a stallion when he is kept especially for
the service of mares in any private stud, for Lincolnshire Lad
in the prime of his life was quartered at Worsley, where he
remained some time, but as a whole with rather disappointing
results, although now his son, Lancashire Lad, promises to
perpetuate his father's fame. The expectations that had been
formed of him not having been realised while in the posses-
sion of Lord Ellesmere it was decided to part with him, and
a purchaser was found in Mr. Walter Johnson of Hatfield,
near Doncaster, in whose hands he has succeeded marvel-
lously well, and moreover his stock, not developing early,
began to come into prominent notice shortly after he passed
into Mr. Johnson's hands. Among the most notable of his
direct progeny are Harold in the male line, and Scarsdale
Bonny in the female, but although there are an enormous
number of valuable horses and mares from him, his chief
distinguishing merit would seem to be his power of transmit-
ting good quality through several generations. These could
be extended down in the form of a family tree, far more ex-
tensive than present space would permit us to give ; and
having already pointed out that Lincolnshire Lad is by no
means faultless in conformation, it remains now to discover
whence this extraordinary prepotency is derived. To find
out this, however, we have not far to look, for by turning to
page 259 of the first volume of the Stud Book we notice his
sire K., alias Lincolnshire Lad, alias Honest Tom iig6.
To this horse reference has already been made. He is
familiarly known as Drew's Lincolnshire Lad, and his
breeding has been traced. Still, we would point out that
the accuracy of Mr. Drew's opinion of the breeding qualifi-

26 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

cations of Lincolnshire Lad 1196 is, in these days, being
borne ample testimony to, by the doings of his son, his grand-
son, his great-grandson, and his great-great-grandchildren.
Once more returning to the breeding of Lincolnshire Lad
II. 2365, we find that his dam was by IMatchless 1506 (Dan
Howsin's), and so on down to Lion 1368, who was foaled in
1820. So that on both sides of the pedigree the blood is old
and blue, and much of it has been in the possession of good
men and good judges, both excellent recommendations as
to character. Further than this description of the old
grey horse we must not go, and possibly even in shortly
introducing this account we may have transgressed the rule
laid down, but as he seemed to hold a unique position, it
would have been a mistake to have omitted reference to him.
It may be added that Lincolnshire Lad II. was purchased in
1894 by Mr. F. Crisp, White House, London.

We shall now proceed to give a description of the winners
of the champion cup at the London shows. Beginning with
the year 1880, we find that this trophy was carried off by the
Worsley stud, being placed to the credit of

Admiral 71

who was bred by Mr. Milner, of Kirkham, Lancashire, got by
Honest Tom 1105, dam by British Ensign. Admiral was a
dark bay horse with black points, as grand a set of hard
flat legs as need be, and very flash hair ; in appearance he
was all over a very attractive horse, though in his younger
days, perhaps, he looked rather light in his middle piece. He
remained only one season at Worsley, and sired some useful,
if not sensational, animals ; shortly afterwards he was sold
to Mr. Scott for exportation to Australia, at a very handsome
price.

Spark 2497.
In 1 881 the cup was won by Spark 2497, the property of
Mr. W. R. Rowland, Creslow, Buckingham. Spark was an

THE SHIRE HORSE. 27

entirely different type of horse to the winner of the previous
year. He had commenced hfe well, as we find that as a foal
he gained first at Wycombe, and that in the following year he
was first at Aylesbury, and first at Buckingham. A massive,
big, weighty horse was Spark — what might now be termed
slightly old-fashioned in appearance, but one that showed
himself capable of producing a very useful animal when well
and suitably mated. His bone, possibly, was a trifle round,
and his hair rather strong to suit fastidious tastes, but that
might have been corrected in his produce. His champion win
took place in his three-year-old form, and shortly afterwards
he passed into Sir Walter Gilbey's hands, bringing what
in those days was considered a sensational price, viz., 800
guineas. In 1883 he again succeeded in winning the cham-
pionship for the Elsenham stud. One of his best sons was
a horse belonging to Lord Egerton of Tatton, named Blue
Beard 3472, a roan that had a great deal to recommend him ;
he ultimately went to America, where he distinguished him-
self in the show ring, and was sold for a very high price.
Shellow Spark 3306, who was the property of Mr. John
Rowell, was another of his sons that, as a youngster, promised
well. In Spark's case it would seem that the second genera-
tion were destined to improve on the original, for a son of his
named Royal Spark 4659, that went into Derbyshire, although
in himself a rather plain horse, got some exceedingly useful
stock, of which the best undoubtedly was Scarsdale Rocket
12249, a horse that very narrowly escaped being quite at the
top of the tree ; he was full of class, character and action,
while at the same time he retained some old-fashioned locks
from the knee and other shin characteristics that indicate a
good, old, rough origin. Spark was by The Colonel 2701,
and his dam was a most successful winner, as she carried off
as many as eleven first prizes. She was by King Charles
1207, who ran back to Active 22. Spark was also the sire
of some valuable mares.

28 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Bar None 2388.

In 1882 the winner was Bar None 2388, and probably
no horse of modern times has so successfully upheld his high
reputation for a long period. Mr. Forshaw's horse we thus
find sandwiched in between Spark in 1881 and 1883. This
seems a somewhat strange coincidence, because Bar None was
a totally different type of animal ; he was all quality, but at
the same time he was a big horse ; his bone was beautifully
flat and hard, his feather straight, silky, and plentiful, his
joints, and the angle and side view of his hind leg being
capital. He was foaled in 1877. When seen in his fifteenth
year few people would have imagined that he was that age,
so fresh and clean was he — in fact, only two years previously
Mr. Forshaw seriously contemplated showing him once more
in London, and had he come off with flying colours it would
have been a marvellous performance in a thirteen-year-old
horse. Bar None's fame, however, comes from his success at
the stud ; mares by him are sought for far and near, and they
have undoubtedly one qualification that in a broad sense is
invaluable, viz., that of crossing successfully with so many
different strains. He invariably transmitted quality and
" classy " legs, and his stock are easily picked out anywhere.
He was sire of that very grand filly. Bar Maid, the property
of Sir Walter Gilbey, who bought her at the Scawby sale
for the highest price that had been paid for a female of the
same age. Argosy and Challenge were two others that won at
Islington and at the " Royar' Show, and besides there were the
Worsley mare Golden Drop and Mr. Wainwright's Primrose.
These are some of the most distinguished of his produce, but
were we to attempt to complete the list we should occupy too
much space. In stallions, probably as a sire Air. A. Ransome's
Hitchin Duke 9586, was one of the best ; at the same time
there are others well worth notice, such as Everton X L
5839, Headmaster 4448, Grey Friar 13127, and several
more. Bar None was a Yorkshire-bred horse, having been

>
o

THE SHIRE HORSE. 29

foaled at the farm of Mr. Holmes, Fenwick Hall, near Don-
caster ; he was got by Lincoln 1341, a wonderfully good
weighty, brown horse, bred near Grantham, and a son of
Enterprise 764. On the side of his dam he was still more
Yorkshire-bred, as she was by Great Britain 973 (bred near
Doncaster), and his sire was bred near Snaith. Undoubtedly
Bar None's best qualities came from his sire Lincoln, and
strange to say, although his dam, her sire, and grandsire
were all roans, a roan by Bar None is never seen, the all-
pervading colour being bay.

Enterprise of Cannock 2772.

The year 18S4 brings us to Enterprise of Cannock 2772, a
brown horse with white markings, and at the time he was
exhibited the property of the Cannock Agricultural Company.
The fact of this horse gaining the championship was another
striking instance of how the tastes of judges differ, for we find
the massive Spark winning in 1881, the high quality horse
Bar None in 1882, Spark once more in 18S3, and then still
another reversion back again to quality, in placing Enterprise
of Cannock at the top in 1884. As to the merits of this horse,
opinions at the time widely differed. Undoubtedly, he was
all over what is termed a " tasty " horse ; he was wonderfully
smoothly turned in all his outlines, his head and tail were set
on high, and the former was neat, but not masculine ; his bone
was hard and clean, and he was certainly too devoid of hair ;
the weakest point of all being his knees, which were small, and,
in fact, his foreleg altogether was wanting in substance. On
the other hand he was distinctly a Show horse, for he went in
marvellous form, and with wonderful force and courage —
— doubtless, great aids in the show-ring, and probably to these
qualities he owed many of his successes. As a sire he was not
very successful, but at the same time it must be recollected
that his opportunities were few, because immediately after he
had won at Islington he was sold, together with Harold and
a black horse from the Mirfield stud, to the late Lord

30 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Hindlip, to serve the tenants' mares on his Worcestershire
estate. Owing to the death of Lord Hindlip almost imme-
diately afterwards, he was put up to auction at "the Hall,"
and eventually found his way back to his old Cannock home.
At this time the American trade was at its height, and during
the succeeding winter he was purchased bj' Mr. Galbraith,
of Janesville, Wis., but was destined never to reach his
western home, as, unfortunately, he was killed at sea,
together with many more, owing to the vessel encountering
one of the most violent storms ever known on the Atlantic.

Prince William 3956.

Prince William 3956 was champion in 1885. This horse is
the head of a family that is now famous. He was bred by
Mr. Potter, of Lockington Grounds, near Derb}--, and sired by
William the Conqueror 2343, out of the famous Lockington
Beauty. Prince William won the championship at the early
age of two years, and as in the previous year he was first in his
class, and in 1888 again secured the championship, he may
be said to have done what none had before accomplished. In
type he varied considerably from Enterprise of Cannock;
neither did he much resemble any other members of the same
family. Undoubtedly, there is much about Prince William
that indicates a sire ; he is a strong boned and well haired
horse, though his hind leg and joints could be improved. In
motion, however, he at once catches the judge's eye, as his
walk is true and good, and his action in his trot remarkably
bold and free. At the time -when he first gained the cham-
pionship he was the property of Mr. John Rowell, Bury,
Hunts., who had purchased him from Mr. Potter, after
he won in his class the previous year. Mr. Rowell's judg-
ment in selecting him proved to be quite correct, not only on
account of his winnings, but also because he was able to sell
him to Lord Wantage for 1500 guineas. His progeny at the
Lockinge sale in 1894 were admired, and realized high prices.
Among the most noted of his stock are Mr. Locke Kind's

THE SHIRE HORSE. 3I

British Flag III. 12841, and Mr. Bouch's black filly, that was
first at the " Royal" in 1892, and won many other prizes.

Staunton Hero 2913.

In 1886 the Elsenham stud was once more at the top with
Staunton Hero 2913, another son of William the Conqueror
2343, and bred in Derbyshire by Mr. Chappell, who sold him
as a two-year-old to Mr. Douglas for exportation to Canada,
but as already indicated he passed into the Elsenham stud.
Staunton Hero was a brown horse, not standing quite high
enough to compete in the big class, a very truly set one, with
high-class legs and nice, straight, plentiful hair — in fact, his
character was very much such as one would expect the stock
of " Ould William " to be. His list of show-yard successes
was large, and he won in his class once again in London
subsequent to his gaining the championship. After standing
some years at Elsenham he was sold at auction at one of the
sales there, when the Duke of Westminster secured him for
the Chester district, where he is understood to have proved
a valuable sire, and to have crossed very well with the mares
of that district. The celebrated mare, Dunsmore Gloaming,
champion at the "Royal" in 1893, ^s from a Staunton Hero
dam.

Harold 3703.

1S87 introduces us to the now famous Harold 3703, bred
by Mr. Potter, of Spondon, Derby, and sired by Lincolnshire
Lad II., dam by Champion 419. Harold has been already
mentioned in this sketch of London winners as passing into
Lord Hindlip's stud, together with Enterprise of Cannock.
That was in the year 1884, when he was three years old, at
which time he was the property of Mr. C. J. Douglas, who
intended to export him to America, but instead of doing so
sold him to Lord Hindlip. Harold's position in London
as a three-year-old was not a high one as he got only
highly commended, together with a number of others. Like

32 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

several horses that have been referred to, Harold had his
defects, particularly in his three-year-old form, but afterwards
the principal fault has always been more apparent than real.
To the casual observer he seemed rather short of joint, but
when examined, this, it was seen, was caused by the old
Lincolnshire Lad characteristic of wearing his hair down the
front of his shin and ankle. These are Harold's strong
points : first and foremost he is a thorough stalhon all
through, and there is no possibility of mistaking him for one
of the weaker sex at any point ; secondly, his commanding
size and tremendous bone ; and thirdly, in action he is espe-
cially good when leaving you, and impresses one with the
idea of never-failing courage and fire. These qualities he
certainly transmits to all his produce in a most remarkable
degree, and any one to-day possessed of either a Harold mare
or stallion can find customers by the score, while he possesses
the rare qualification of getting mares and stallions equallj'
good. At all the leading shows it would seem as if this strain
had almost a monopoly of the prizes, as at the conclusion of
any important gathering it is nearly always found that Harold
blood has carried off the greater portion of the spoils. He
now belongs to Mr. A. C. Buncombe, Calwich Abbey, Ash-
bourne, Derby.

Vulcan 4145.

18S9 brought forward a horse to which rumour had before-
hand assigned a high position. This was Lord Ellesmere's
Vulcan 4145, bred by Mr. John Whitehead, Medler Hall,
and got by Cardinal 2407 out of Jessie by Sir Colin 2022.
Vulcan had been a " dark horse " up to his appearance at the
London show, having been purchased by Captain Heaton
from Mr. Shaw of Winmarleigh, who purposely had kept him
in the background. Vulcan is a different type from the last-
mentioned horse ; in make up and appearance he is quite a
Show horse, and when in the ring attracts great attention
owing to his handsome, level appearance, and his flat bone, his

THE SHIRE HORSE. 33

grand feet and pasterns and profuse feather. Differences of
opinion exist as to his action, as he appears not quite to have
sufficient firmness in motion, neither does he quite keep his
hocks together. These may be called his weak points, while
on the other hand he has a most attractive appearance and
taking style that at once arrest attention. One special
feature about Vulcan is his evident soundness, and the impres-
sion he gives one of his being a lasting, wearing sort. Pro-
bably the best female that this horse has sired is the roan
mare, Dunsmore Fashion, that brought in many prizes to
Mr. Muntz's stud. In stallions it is rumoured that a son of
Vulcan out of Princess Louise is a marvel, combining size,
bone, hair and action in a greater degree than any animal yet
bred at Worsley.

Vulcan had the distinguished honour of carr3'ing off the
Elsenham cup in the year i8gi, as well as in 1S89, thus
making a win outright.

Hitchin Conqueror 4458.

This horse secured the coveted position at Islington in
1890. He was bred by Mr. George S. Shepperton, Locking-
ton, Derby, and was sired by William the Conqueror 2343,
out of Flower, by Honest Prince 1058. He perhaps as
closely conforms to one's idea of a big massive Shire stallion
as anything in the list, and succeeded in being prominent
in London more than once. From Mr. Arthur Ransome's
hands he passed to Mr. Freeman Mitford, M.P., and has
ever since remained at the head of affairs at Batsford. He
stands 17.1, on short legs, though in his younger days he
showed a bit of dayhght ; his bone, hair, and the way he
is planted on the ground are all one could wish, but in the
show-ring he does not appear to make the most of himself.
Hitchin Conqueror has got some very useful stock at Bats-
ford, though the district is against a horse distinguishing him-
self. In staUions of his get, the brown three-year-old I'm the
Sort II. 7437, that was purchased by the late Mr. Punchard
3

34 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

from the Cannock Agricultural Co., was undoubtedly up to
that time the best. Then we have that massive son of his,
Mars Victor 9889, out of Lockington Beauty, and now Mr.
Mitford has a most promising one by him out of Madrigal,
by Premier.

Bury Victor Chief in 05.

1892 brings us beyond the Elsenham cup once more to a
challenge cup, which, however, was offered subject to the
same conditions. Bury Victor Chief 11 105 was the Reserve
No. in 1891, when Vulcan carried off the honour, and was
naturally looked upon as dangerous before the contest came
off. This horse was bred by Mr. John Rowell, of Bury,
Hunts., and sired by his own stallion. Prince Victor 52S7, dam
by Chatteris Le Bon 3023. Bury Victor Chief is a black, some-
what gaudily marked with white. As a thorough specimen of
the Shire horse, correctly balanced and truly made, nothing
could have surpassed this young stallion in his two-year-old
form. After being reserve for the championship in London
in 1 89 1, Bury Victor Chief was kept back for the Royal Show
at Doncaster in the same year, when he agam won easily, and
here the highest price hitherto given for a Shire was paid,
when he passed into Mr. Wainwright's hands at 2,500
guineas. He became the London champion in 1892. Bury
Victor Chief's strong points are his correctness of conforma-
tion, his levelness, as opposed to patchiness, all through his
body, the marvellous evenness with which the muscle in arms
and thighs is distributed, as it drops gradually into the big,
hard, flat legs that show no weak point anywhere. The
grandly developed two-year-old stallion seemed in the spring
of 1894 scarcely to have grown on as one could have hoped, as
he had then hardly sufficient length, nor was his action all
that one could desire. But he again won the champion cup
at Islington that year, and no other horse has distinguished
himself so much as he has done at the London shows, having

THE SHIRE HORSE. 35

been first there in his class in four consecutive years, and
having been twice champion.

Rohehy Harold.

In 1893 the champion prize of the IsHngton Show was
awarded for the first time in its history to a yearling, Rokeby
Harold, and it was conceded on all hands that never in the
history of the Shire breed had such a phenomenal yearling
appeared before the judges. He was bred by Mr. A. C.
Rogers, Prebend House, Buckingham, and was sired by
Harold 3703, dam Poppy by Morning Star 1539. Rokeby
Harold possesses all the qualifications of the typical Shire
stallion, as he has size, colour, substance, bone, hair and
perfect action, besides showing throughout perfect masculine
character. In 1894 he very easily defeated all comers up to
the final award for the championship of the show, which he
contested with Bury Victor Chief. The judges for one half-
an-hour were divided, and onl}' at last gave way to the
greater maturity of the older horse. This is the only occasion
on which Rokeby Harold has suffered defeat, and he has all
the indications of continued development up to his fifth year.
His owner. Lord Belper, is certainly to be congratulated on
being the possessor of so promising a stallion, and one likely
to perpetuate the characteristics of the true Shire horse.

In writing this short sketch of the origin and progress of
our greatest English draught horse, we have endeavoured to
show that he is no recent upstart, but has existed in greater
or less degree for at least some 2,000 years. He has had his
ups and downs of fashion ; breeders have at different times in
certain localities, endeavoured to create what they supposed
would prove to be improvements, by introducing alien blood
to a breed that was well founded and established, but all such
attempts have invariably proved anything but a benefit, and
therefore it would seem necessary that any animals that show

HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the slightest tendency to " cleanliness " and smartness should
be carefully excluded from the ranks of breeding stock. If
this rule is generally practised, we shall no longer hear any
complaints of scarcity of weight or deterioration of the Shire
horse, whose future is undoubtedly well assured, provided that
all interested in the breed keep one, and only one, end in view,
viz., the original purity of the race.

Av-^

..V-.

t" o
" y.

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 37

CHAPTER II.
THE SUFFOLK HORSE.

Beyond the brief incidental remarks found in the topo-
graphical works on the county, no attempt to complete a
history of the Suffolk horse appears to have been made pre-
vious to the year iSSo. Young, Cullum, and one or two
others mention the breed, and although what is found in
their writings is by no means unimportant evidence of an-
tiquity of origin, they seem to have recorded little more con-
cerning the subject than their own personal observations
supplied.

That ample material for such a history existed, the Suffolk
Stud Book Committee proved beyond doubt, and in their first
volume is recorded in consecutive form an account of the
breed for some i6o or 170 years, with verified quotations
carrying the history as far back as the early part of the
eighteenth century. Limited in the district of its origin, and
strictly local in its early development, there was no difficulty
in getting at the historical facts which were in existence, if
only time and means were forthcoming for the work.

The Stud Book Committee were singularly fortunate.
The proprietor of the Ipswich Journal has an uninterrupted
file of that county paper from the year 1720, and this was
placed at the disposal of the then editor of the Stud Book (who
also writes this account) for search and extract. Rich in
news and notice of all matters connected with agriculture,

38 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

frequent allusion is made to the Suffolk horse, both in this
and another county organ — the Sujfolk Chronicle. The native
breed of cart horses appears even at that early date to have
been a marked feature in the agriculture of the district. In
the compilation of the history, recourse was had to adver-
tisement cards, sale announcements, records of Michaelmas
auctions, and, later on, the catalogues of the Suffolk Agri-
cultural Association and the Royal Agricultural Society of
England, and what appears to have been a more prolific
source of reliable information, the verbal accounts and de-
scriptions from the oldest grooms and horsemen in the
county. The memories of some of these reached into the
later decades of the last century. Twenty years' tabulation
and preservation on the part of the editor of every scrap
of information thus acquired, the voluntary help of all the
breeders, with the ample funds at the disposal of the Stud
Book Committee, enabled what has since been enchartered
as the Suffolk Horse Society to place in the hands of the
public a tolerably complete history of the native horse of the
county of Suffolk.

So far as the origin of this breed of horses is concerned, little
can be said. He appears to have been as indigenous to the
eastern part of Suffolk as are the blue-black beasts to the Welsh
hills, or the wide-horned, woolly-coated Highlander to the moun-
tains of Scotland. Care and selection have modified his charac-
ter, as they have modified that of other domesticated animals ;
but as regards his marked characteristics, few breeds have
so tenaciously reproduced their salient features of identification
as the original race of Suffolk horses. It is perfectly clear,
and there is reliable evidence of the fact, that many of the
most decided points which distinguished them two hundred
years ago are rarely absent in the Suffolks of the present day.
The short legs, the roomy carcase, the sorrel colour, the con-
stitution, the length of days, and that inexhaustible perse-
verance at the collar are still prevalent features in the chesnut
of our own time.

THE SUFFOLK HORSE.

As far back as the middle of the last century, allusion is
made to the purity of the breed ; advertisements of that
time going back for three generations, and noting that a
horse of that date was " the truest bred cart horse in Suffolk,"
are frequently met with. In fact, in the earliest numbers of
the county papers already alluded to, horses are spoken of as
of the true breed of the county, with no more explanation of
its origin or intimation of recent introduction than would be
found in advertisements of the present day. Writers of our
time have mentioned the fact that there is an element of
Flemish blood in the early forefathers of the present race of
Suffolk horses. Beyond the fact that a former owner of
Holkham had a couple of Flemish horses, no record of any
such introduction seems to be known. The only authority
for even this fact is that there are portraits of two such
animals in the family mansion. If these were used on the
estate, the impression could only have been of local effect,
and we may safely conclude that its influence was of no more
permanent nature than other introductions of extraneous
blood which, through accident or experiment, have had a local
trial. The most recent known introduction of this element
is in the pedigree of the granddam of a celebrated Suffolk
horse foaled in 1846, and this mare must have been foaled
some sixty years ago. Nothing nearer than the fourth or
fifth generation from this horse can be alive at the present
time. Supposing no other alloy is in the pedigrees of his
living descendants, not one part in a hundred of their con-
stitution can be Flemish. From the researches of the editor
of the Suffolk Stud Book, the amount of Flemish blood in
the present generation of Suffolks may be safely set down as
practically nil. Of the introduction of other blood exhaustive
notices are there given, but before these alloys are dealt with
it may be worth while to give a direct quotation in allusion to
the old breed.

Writing on this subject, and alluding to a period long prior
to Young's time, the editor of the Suffolk Stud Book says : —

40 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

" There were draught horses peculiar to the county, and of
standing enough as a distinct breed to maintain their pre-
vailing characteristics through generations of descendants
long after the original type had been considerably modified
by repeated selection, and the introduction of incidental
crosses. How long ' prior to Young's time the breed had
existed we have no evidence to show. Improvement had
been effected even during his life, so that when Sir Thomas
Cullum's work was written, they were occasionally used for
' carriage purposes.' A few more years, and Jery Cullum
records them as good movers. Ten years later, Sir Robert
Harland's sale took place, where as much as £^140 for a brood
mare, and 40 guineas for a foal, were recorded. From that
time detailed descriptions of individual horses of note, taken
down from the lips of dependable witnesses whose memories
extended into the last century, are now extant."

The improvement here spoken of was on the animal of
Young's earlier inquiries. Further on, from the same
authority, we learn that " Young's report of the agriculture
of the county dates from the end of the last century (nearly
a hundred years ago), and if his knowledge of horses was
in keeping with his knowledge of other branches of the sub-
ject, the following description enables the reader to form a
tolerable notion of what the animal was which has since
developed into one of the most popular breeds of the present
day. ' Sorrel colour, very low in the fore-end, a large mis-
shapen head, with slouching heavy ears, a great carcase
and short legs, an uglier horse, as the author says, could
hardly be Adewed.' Quite so'; and the chesnut of forty years
ago (written in 1880) still retained traces of these unsightly
points, enough in many cases to identify his form with that
of his ancestors forty j'ears before that."

Now Arthur Young was a middle-aged man in 1780, and
his memory would have carried him back into the first half
of the century. He speaks of remembering the "old breed."
The expression, the "old breed," has a marked signiiicance.

THE SUFFOLK HORSE.— PEDIGREE CHART OF THE PRINCIPAL WINNERS

CRISP'S HORSE, Waled 1768, 404

I
deed's Horse, of Dicklebrugh, foaled 1775, 587

deed's Horse, foaled 1780, 588

I
deed's Horse, foaled 1790, 589

Smith's Horse

, of Parharn,
1

foaled 1799, 1 1 10

Julian's

1
1 Boxer 755

Old Briton 490

Edward's i

1
Groom's Ramper 636

i
Artiss' Boxer 26

Whitefaced Boxer 299

Manchester Boxer 298

Edward's Young Briton 493

1
Veasy's Horse 1225

Giles' Boxer 582

Keer's Old Briton 761

1
Bush's Albert 229

Partridge's Albert 9^5

i
Allen's Albert 15

H. Biddell's Champion 130

Crisp Gentry's Captain 409
Magnum Bonum 1347

Crisp's Fairheads' Boxer 405

Crisp's Conqueror 413

Crisp's Cupbearer 1416

Cupbearer 2nd 542

IH.

Catlin's Duke 29

Wolton's Champion 1343

i
Bromley's Prince 205

M. Biddell's Capt. Snap 142

M. Biddel 's Ben 139
1

Wolton's Royalty Royal Duke 2nd
1339 1.366

Wantisden Duke

1 1
M. Biddell's Wilson's Vanguard
Jingo 152 . 1327
(B) i

Byford'sLady3035
(c)

C
P

Wantisden Duke

2nd 1673

Chieftain 1534

Garrett's Cupbearer

A. W. Cr

Edgar's Rattle

1776

Edgar's Tittle

Tattle

1 1 1
Hume Webster's Chieftain's Hewett's
Nottingham 1900 Champion 2162 WinjJsor Chieftain

1 (e) 2205
DukeofHamilton's (f)
Toad out of Queen
of Hearts
(D)

Catchpole's

Bramford Belle

3066

(G)

1
Prosperity

1843

A. Smith's

Democrat

2044

(H)

Pratt's

Eclipse 2010

(»

M. Biddell's
Rodney 161

1
M. Biddell's
Foxhall 1423

M. Biddell's
Wadgate 1868

Bar None

1803

Pratt's Earl
2208
(K)

Edgar's

Leiston 1415

Edgar's

Clodhopper

1726

Messrs.

Wilson's

Matchet

2982

(L)

Queen of Queen of

Hearts 2166 Trumps 2702

(M) (N)

1
Morella 2375

(0)

Edgar's
Prattle 2213

1 !

Playford 1677 Catchpole's
1 Champion
Byford's 15 10
Surprise 2259 |

(q) Bramford
Lass 1884
(R)

Hayi

Wils

(A)

Suffolk Model

2289

(s)

A. 1st Prize Foal, Bury St. Edmund's, 1S92.

B. Champion Suffolk Horse, Kilburn, 1879.

C. 1st Prize Three-year-old Filly, Harlow, 1892.

D. 2nd Prize Foal, Bury.

E. Walton's 2nd Prize Two-year-old Colt, Bury.

F. Hewitt's 2nd Prize Three-year-old Colt, Bury.

G. 1st Prize Gast Mare, Bury.

H. 2nd Prize Three-year Colt, Warwick, 1892.

I. 1st Prize Three-year-old Colt, Bury.

J. 1st Prize, Aged Horse, Woodbridge, 1892.

K. 1st Prize Two-year-old Colt, Bury.

L. 1st Prize Two-year-old Filly, Bury.

Duke ^^nilton's ist Prize Brood Mare, Bury.
Ditto, H^Prize Three-year-old Filly, Bury.
Ditto, 'nd Prize Fast Mare, Bury.
2nd Pi»;e Brood Mare, Bury.
I St Prifc Aged Horse, Bury.
CatchiPle's 3rd Prize Brood Mare, Bury.

s. Wilson's 1st Prize Yearling Colt, Bury.

T. 1st Prize Yearling Filly, Bury.

u. 3rd Prize Foal, Bury.

V. 2nd Prize Two-year-old Colt, Warwick, 1892.

OF THE PRINCIPAL WINNERS IN 1892.

Brady's Briton 19

I
L 2375 Edgar's

Prattle 2213

Catlin's Duke 296

Wolton's Champion 1343

I
Bromley's Prince 205

i
M. BiddSll's Capt. Snap 142

I
M. Biddell's Ben 139

I !

Playford i677 Catchpole's

I Champion

Byford's 1510

Surprise 2259 |

(q) Bramford

Lass 1884
(R)

I
Capon's Duke 261

Red Champion 435

I
May Duke 426

A. W. Crisp's Chillesford Dilke 305

I
Hayward's Champion 58o

Light Heart 142 1

Wilson's Old Times 1902

I I i

Suffolk Model Duke of Catchpole's

2289 Hamilton's Foal

(s) Memory 3108 (u)

(T)

Edgar's

Hardware

2249

(V)

Alfred Smith's Wedgewood 1749
I

Plant's Dark Horse 990

I
Cottingham's Horse 373

Plant's Cambridge Captain 952

Barthropp's Newcastle Captain 89

I
Badham's Chester Emperor 32

Harwich Emperor 1025

Ramham's Prince 1002

I
M. Biddell's Prince Charlie 1464

Wedgi^wood Crown Derby Brigadier
2nd 2045 21 7 1 (y)

(W) (X)

i I I I

A. Smith's A. Smith's IT. Showell's A. Smith's

Prince Royal Princess Dainty Dolly Guinea Gold

2284 Royal 2880 3609 2334

(z) (ZA) (ZB) (zc)

Levington Prince
1771

I
Everitt's Warrior

1938
(ZD)

s. Wilson's 1st Prize Yearling Colt, Bury.

T. 1st Prize Yearling Filly, Bury.

u. 3rd Prize Foal, Bury.

V. 2nd Prize Two-year-old Colt, Warwick, 1892.

w. 3rd Prize Three-year-ok

X. 3rd Prize Two-year-old

Y. 3rd Prize Yearling Colt

z. 2nd Prize Yearling Colt

Colt, Bury.
Colt, Bury.
Woodbridge, 1892.
Bury.

z A. 2nd Prize Two-year-old Filly, Bury.

z B. 2nd Prize Two-year-old Filly, Harlow, 1892

z c. 2nd Prize Yearling Filly, Harlow.

z D. 2nd Prize Aged Horse, Bury.

Cir L ? .->^

L-

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 4I

and in following up the history of the Suffolk horse explains
much that bears on the question of the purity of the origin
of the race of Cupbearers, Foxhalls, Wedgewoods and the
rest of the Suffolks of the day.

Americans, colonists and foreigners never fail to notice the
uniformity of character of the Suffolk horse. There is some-
thing in the colour, style and outline, varied, but never
obliterated, which speaks of a common origin. Whatever
the objections to a Suffolk horse may be, no one denies the
marked type of outward appearance he invariably exhibits.
That there have been infusions of extraneous blood, the
history, as given in the Stud Book, shows plainly enough.
The fact is neither concealed, slurred over, nor doubted by
the editor. But one thing is proved, and that is, that not
one of the introductions from outside the county, not one of
the strains of alloy in the male line, could stand before the
influence which the old breed asserts. The produce of the
crosses in some cases stood for years, but sooner or later they
died out, and at the present time there is not a living Suffolk
horse which is not descended from the old breed. But this
fact has a still more extraordinary side to it. Incredible as
it may appear, there is not a single specimen of the breed
now in existence which is not descended from one single
source of ancestry. Every Suffolk in the showyard, home-
stead, or the breeder's stable, is the lineal descendent of a
certain horse of the " old breed " — a nameless sire, foaled in
the year 176S, and advertised as the property of one Mr.
Crisp of Ufford — a village three miles north of the town of
Woodbridge. Nor is this a mere assertion, or the result of
a fair conclusion from rehable data ; it is a proved fact, which
the pedigree chart in the Stud Book proves beyond dispute or
doubt. Every link in the chain is clearly traced and identified,
from the well-known winners at our summer shows in the year
of grace one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, back
into the first decade of the reign of George II. — "a period," as
the author of the Stud Book says, " not much on paper, but a

42 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

glance at what has taken place during those years gives some
idea of the time which the character of the present race of
Suffolk horses has taken to develop. When the old horse
was foaled George II. had been dead only eight years. The
United States of America were then but a colony, whose weal
or woe was at the mercy of some functionary at Whitehall.
France had still twenty years of slumber before she awoke to
the horrors of the Revolution. Snipes abounded within a
few hundred yards of Trafalgar Square, and the route from
Saxmundham to London, for common folks, was by a hooded
waggon and six horses, and the passengers, so tradition says,
wrote home from Melton the first night to tell their friends
that, so far, the journey had prospered. The eastern part of
Suffolk was httle more than a sea of heath with sheep tracks,
which are now good flint roads. Swedes and mangels were
then unknown as agricultural produce. The Norfolk sheep
was the only kind found all over the district, and no beast
was made fat under four or five years old. But the Suffolk
farmer had his Suffolk horse, and through all the years which
saw the long dreary war with France begun and ended ; Pitt,
Fox, Trafalgar, Waterloo, wheat at £\ a coomb, in 1812 and
the sad times of 1822, the first Reform Bill, the old Poor-
Laws, the Repeal of the Corn Laws, the Crimean War —
through all the times of which these events are but the land-
marks of the history they comprise, down to the Show of
the Roj'al at Kilburn, the breeders of Suffolk horses have
been true to the nati^'e stock which their forefathers left
them, but upon which they have gradually stamped their
improvements, and while retaining the characteristic points
of usefulness which 150 years ago had made them famous as
a breed of English horses, have produced the animals now
seen in the Suffolk classes at our annual summer shows."

Allusion has already been made to the description of the
" old breed." Advertisements of a century and a-half ago
recommended them to " breeders of good stock " for coach
or road. The significance of this recommendation must he

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 43

taken in connection with what the roads were at that time.
What is now the old turnpike from Ipswich to London was
then but a natural way, which traffic had selected as the path
offering the least impediment to travel, but which had no more
artificial foundation than the camel route across the Sahara.
What was required for "coach or road " in those days implied
a strong active animal, less cumbersome than the old black
English draught horse, but which could, and willingly did,
master an unusual depth of sand or other obstructive matter
in the well-worn ruts, and where the roads were better, could
maintain a six-miles-an-hour trot without undue strain on
legs or lungs. The sixty-eight miles from Ipswich to London^
took three days to accomplish, and the six or eight sorrels
which formed the team bore little likeness to what after the
days of Telford carried the traveller over the same route.
Of such was the old breed referred to by Young.

The introduction to the Stud Book (written in 1879) thus
speaks of the old Ufford horse : " The first notice we get of
a horse of the old breed, of whose undisturbed identity there
is printed record, belonged to a Mr. Crisp .... he
was the grandfather of the present generation of that name,
and then for more than a hundred years the family seems to
have been foremost among the breeders of Suffolk horses.
The advertisement appears in 1773. The following year he
is described as ' a fine bright chesnut, full 15^ hands high,
with the additional notice that his owner ' has no occasion to
say anything more in praise of him, as he is so noted a horse
for getting fine colts ; ' and moreover, ' those who were un-
successful with the said horse last year can have the use of
him this season for five shillings.' His route appears to have
been in the district of Woodbridge, with excursions to Sax-
mundham and Framlingham, ' so to continue the season, God
willing.' "

Thus much of the " old breed." Of the various introductions
of outside blood the Stud Book gives detailed particulars.
The first of these, the most important, the last to die out, and

44 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the most potent in effect, was a horse which belonged to a
Mr. Blake, who then resided in the parish of St. Margaret's,
Ipswich. The issue of this experiment were known as the
Blake strain. Blake's Farmer, as he was called, was a Lincoln-
shire trotting horse, a short-legged chesnut, with a pedigree
Lincolnshire throughout, with no Suffolk blood in it. He
was in the county fifteen years, and when the cross had been
tried, Blake advertised the fact that " many of his horse foals
out of cavt mares were sold for twenty-five and thirty guineas."
It appears that Blake had four generations of these horses,
presumably each getting more Suffolk blood in his veins, and
less of the Lincolnshire trotting horse. The fourth genera-
tion produced Young Briton, foaled in 1796. He was the
horse " Squire " Wakefield bought for the Burnham district
in Essex, and is identified as the very animal alluded to by
Arthur Young as a Suffolk horse, for which his owner (the
said Squire Wakefield) had refused 400 guineas. So fashion-
able had the Blake horses become, that this Burnham horse
was one of twenty which at various times were advertised in
the Ipswich Journal. Indeed the old breeders, with whom the
writer of this article was intimate thirty years ago, all spoke
of the Blake horses as the most popular strains of Suffolks
when they were young men. This would be at the com-
mencement of the present century. If not the most popular,
they were, at any rate, the most numerous. To all appear-
ance they had gained a permanent footing as an established
branch of the Suffolk breed. Among the Blakes fifty years
after they were introduced we find more than one winner at
the Royal Agricultural Society of England shows. When the
meeting was in Wiltshire, Mr. Crosse's Shrewsbury Briton
won the first prize as the best horse for agricultural purposes
against all comers, Suffolks, Shires, and Clydesdales. Nine-
teen years after that, in 1864, the late Sir Edward Kerrison
won the first prize for Suffolks at the Newcastle meeting of

the Royal Agricultural Society of England with Ploughboy

a sixty guinea purchase as a foal from a breeder in Essex,

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 45

who liked the sort from over the border even for the stiff
clays of that stiff county. Both these horses were lineal de-
scendants of Blake's Farmer. Twenty years after Ploughboy
won at Newcastle the tribe was extinct ; there was not a
Blake in the county of Suffolk. They became extinct from
no assignable cause ; they did not go out of fashion, for
Shrewsbury Briton was a charming horse, and Ploughboy
had bone enough for a dray. It was the old tale over again,
the fresh introduction vainly striving against the power of
the old parent stock — a fact of which the annals of breeding
again and again give the proof. It is simply this, that the
power of assertion, the extent, the tenacity of retention of
its characteristics, is in proportion to the antiquity and the
purity of origin. From the year 1780 to the year 1880, just
the 100 years, the Blake strain was in existence. Steadily
making its way for thirty years, in the ascendant for thirty
years after that ; in thirty or forty years more the tribe was
extinct.

Running side by side with the old breed, intermingling in
after years, the lineal descent gradually disappeared ; but the
influence had a permanent effect. The description of the
old breed is well known. The handsome fore-end, the
activity, the neater outline, came in with the short-legged
chesnut trotting horse, which Blake introduced.

The next important infusion of extraneous blood came
through yet another Lincolnshire horse, or, at any rate, a
horse which was bought in that county. This was Wright's
Farmer's Glory, sometimes known as the Attleboro' Horse.
He was a clean-legged chesnut, and as an old horseman,
from whom the writer had the description, said, " he might
have been a half-bred Suffolk." From the description given
he probably was. At one time, between 1803 and 1807,
there were eight of the Farmer's Glory stock at the stud.
Four generations later we find Nunn's Boxer, foaled in 1821,
credited with seven sons for service between 1824 and 1830.
This was before the days of agricultural shows, and it is

46 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

not till several further generations onward that we meet with
names of this strain as winners in the show-ring. Chelmsford
Champion, the property of Mr. G. Mumford Sexton, who had
not then transferred his love to the Shire-breds, took the first
prize for two-year-olds when the Royal Agricultural Society
held their meeting in Essex in 1856. Coulson's Royal George,
another of the same tribe, but of a different branch, beat
Shires, Clydes, and his fellow Suffolks, when the Royal met
at Norwich in 1849. Barthropp's Albert was second at York,
and his Hercules was first among the Suffolks when the
county show was held at Bury St. Edmunds. Garibaldi was
first as a two-year-old at Newcastle in 1864; and Lewis
Duke, yet another descendant in the tenth generation, took
the first prize as a three-year-old at the Suffolk show at
Ipswich in 1869, winning the champion cup as well, and was
sold to go to Australia then and there. This list by no means
completes the catalogue of winning animals descended from
Wright's horse, but it serves to show that the tribe had got a
footing, and numbered many showyard celebrities, albeit with
the exception of the last-named the quality of the best was
not over high. But like the Blakes they died out, and a
dozen years after Lewis shipped his colt to Australia there
was scarcely one of the breed in existence. They are totally
extinct now. They were introduced some forty years after
Blake's Farmer came into the county, and died out about the
same time as did the descendants of Blake's horse.

These are the principal instances of the introduction of
outside blood. The effect of the second cross was of no value.
The animals named were more after the style of the first of
the tribe — tall, angular horses, and heavy boned, but with less
of the compact neatness of the Blake's, and it is well they
gained no more footing. There were, however, other intro-
ductions, but as these were more ahen to the character of the
stock they were grafted on, they died out far sooner than
either of those named. The best known were the Shadding-
field stock. They date from about the time Wright's Farmer's
Glory came into the county — about the year 1800

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 47

The Shaddingfield stock were the produce of a trotting
horse, the son of a thoroughbred owned by one of the ancestors
of the present proprietors of the Benacre estate. They were
very distinct in character, much whited in the leg, dark
chesnuts, with thin shoulders, hard, clean limbs, and light of
heart, with spirits that took them through many a day, which
would have killed a hairy-legged heavy horse. They lasted
but seven generations. They were in the land for nearly fifty
years, the last of them being Mrs. Catchpole's Proctor, foaled
in 1846. Old Moyse, an authority frequently quoted in the
Stud Book, gives a quaint description of their origin. The
first of the tribe was Barber's Proctor. Moyse tells the
editor : " The sire of Barber's Proctor was Winter's Stormer.
The dam of Barber's horse was a chestnut mare. Barber's
was originally intended for a riding horse, but they
broke his tail off when they nicked him, and he was then
travelled as a cart horse. Winter's Stormer was a trotting
horse of great substance ; he was a son of Gooch's blood horse,
brother to Thunderbolt." Mark the tale of these broken tails.
The riding horse, to make him in fashion, was nicked, and
this gave the upward turn we see in the hunting pictures of
the last century. The Suffolk cart horse at that time was
what was called "bung tailed " — the dock barbarously cut off
close to the hind quarter. The accident in nicking Barber's
horse made it necessary to amputate the tail altogether, and
then, as Moyse tells us, " he was travelled as a cart horse " !
Then follows a curious note in the Stud Book, singularly
corroborative of the information furnished by old Moyse.
" All this," says the editor, " occurred sixty years before
Moyse related the story to me." That he was correct about
the breeding of the sire of Barber's horse there is little doubt,
for in the year 1789 one P. Winter advertises "a blood bay
colt, full fifteen h., by Gooch's horse Stormer." He stood at
Snape. Nothing is said in Winter's advertisement either of
Gooch's Stormer being a blood horse or of his being brother
to Thunderbolt ; but the very year that he advertises his colt

48 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Gooch advertises the blood horse Thunderbolt as brother to
Stormer. On turning to Weatherby's Stud Book I find
Stormer was bred by the Duke of Grafton in 1774. The age
is exactly right, and what more probable than, if useless as a
race horse, he should have been sold for a country stallion
close by home ? Now it matters very little whether Winter's
Stormer was, or was not, the son of a certain horse, but it is
of no little importance to test the credibility of an authority
so often quoted as our old friend from whom this history
comes. (Suffolk Stud Book, vol. i., p. 49.) Well might the
Shaddingfield mares have their light hearts, wiry legs, and
thin shoulders, for the pedigree of Gooch's Stormer, bred in
the year 1774, takes us back over six generations of the direct
male line, through Flying Childers to the Darley Arabian,
brought from Aleppo about the end of the seventeenth cen-
tury. Thence came the white legs, the dark colour, and
the indomitable spirit that made the stock famous among
the breeders in High Suffolk fourscore years back.

The stock had well nigh become extinct before the show-
yard era had commenced. One of the tribe, however, was
sold for 400 guineas to George IV.—" a sweet pretty horse "
as old Moyse described him. Some of these Otley Bottom
Proctors, as they were called (there were four generations
of Proctors, all owned by Barber, of Otley Bottom), were
heavy horses, dark, copper-coloured chestnuts, almost black,
with gaudy facings, white legs up to the hock. The last of
any note — one of which the writer of this article well re-
members—was the property of Mr. William Wilson, of
Baylham Hall, still to the front with colts of the highest
class at the present day, and yet, strange to say, he was the
owner of Proctor 67, whose sire was foaled in the year 1824.
Nearly sixty years' uninterrupted ownership of Suffolk sires
should give him a standing in authority that few can claim.

The mares and geldings of the Shaddingfield strain were
smart walkers, thin in the shoulders, had upstanding fore-ends,
with rare bottom, but they were light below the hock, with a

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 49

bit more daylight under them than the Suffolk should have.
But like the Blakes and the Farmer's Glory, they are clean
gone now, and their influence on the old breed was practically
nothing. The last actual lineal descendant was IVIr. Manfred
Biddell's old Brag Mare 59, who died some years ago with-
out living produce. The only reference to the strain which
appears in the pedigree of any horse of note, was in the blood
of Wilson's Goliath, a prize winner at the Royal Society's
Meeting at Norwich in 1849. His dam was by the last of
the Proctors, already referred to.

There is yet another infusion of extraneous blood, the cir-
cumstances of which are so strongly corroborative of the
theory already noticed, that it is worth mentioning. It is so
far remarkable, inasmuch as the horse travelled the county
nineteen years ; had the run of the heart of the Suffolk head-
quarters ; was under the charge of one of the best and most
popular horsemen of the day, and yet failed to make his mark
on the district where he was used. The fact is accounted for
by the violence of the cross attempted. Although a Suffolk
to look at, and travelled as such, he had apparently no Suffolk
blood in his veins. As affecting the history of the breed,
this introduction of strange blood is of no weight ; but to
those who care to look into facts bearing on the theory of
breeding, the history of this horse is worth notice. He was
the son of a rough-legged, timber carter's horse, out of a
black blood mare. Such a cross was not likely to have any
effect on a breed of horses of at least two centuries' stand-
ing, but it is a singular proof of the theory that not even a
grandson is found, in advertisement, sale catalogue, or other-
wise mentioned in any record, printed or verbal. The name
appears in the far-away branches of two mares on the Stud
Book registry, otherwise there is no mention of him in the
pedigree of any animal now living. Full particulars of this
horse will be found under Martin's Boxer 868, on page 71 of
the Suffolk Stud Book.

Before the institution of the Suffolk Stud Book Association,

50 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND iMANAGEMENT.

before any pedigrees were recorded, the Suffolk Agricultural
Association offered prizes for the best horse for agricultural
purposes, and although the competition A-ery rarely indeed in-
cluded anything beyond the prevailing chesnut, there was a
feeling that it was time to have some restrictions as to breed-
ing when the entry appeared under the county colours. The
effect has been to render the breed secure against further ex-
periment of engrafting other kinds on the native stock. As
years go on the breed gets more consolidated, and even if a
cross were tried now, in all reasonable probability the effect
would be exhausted in two or three generations. On the
Martin's Boxer cross the editor of the Stud Book remarks:
" It seems as if the blood thus introduced was so foreign to
the original stock that the parent stem rejected it, repelled
it, refused to alloAv it to mingle with the ancient family strain
upon which it was for twenty years persistently grafted. It
reads as if Nature forbade the alloy. In the case of Blake and
Wright, it seems as if the foreign element they introduced had
some slight affinity, or at least some outward similarity, to the
Suffolk stock. But in the case of Martin's Boxer 868, the
infusion was so foreign to the nature of the old strain — the
cross so violent — that it never gained a footing."

As regards domesticated agricultural animals, colour is
generally a distinguishing element. The Welsh beast is
invariably a black, with an occasional tendency to blue grey ;
but unless a cross is clearly traced, a red hair never appears.
All shades and combinations of red and white, or red, or white,
are met with in our pure-bred Shorthorn classes, but black is
unknown. The West Highlander is of many shades of red,
pale ochre or black, but white is ncA'er seen. No one ever
bred a pure Hereford otherwise than red and white, and a
Devon rarely varies his whole-coloured red coat.

As regards colour in horses, there is no shade known that
has not been found in the EngUsh thoroughbred. There was
a kind of blue roan that at one time distinguished many of
what were termed Norfolk trotters ; they have, however, been

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 5I

now so mixed with other Hackney strains that, Hke the tho-
roughbred, the high-stepping show Hackneys are as varied in
colour as the ingredients of white, black, bay, chesnut and
dun can produce. The Shire-bred man is in no wise par-
ticular. Watching the ring at the Royal, one sees black,
brown, grey, bay and chesnut ; with or without white, whole-
coloured, blotched and sandy roan. The l^reeders of these
fashionable horses on this point are totally without prejudice,
and stopping short of sky blue or emerald green, they appa-
rently claim all shades as the " true colour" of the Shire-bred
proper. But the SufTolk man will have none of this. "Ches-
nuts all, and all chesnut, with white facings as few as pos-
sible," is his creed, and right braA-ely is this idea carried out.
It is between forty and fifty years since a bay horse has been
advertised as a Suffolk, and in this case it was acknowledged
that on the dam's side there was a supposed infusion of other
blood. When the Suffolk Stud Book Association was formed
the committee rightly insisted on maintaining the original
colour, thenceforth excluding every entry not of the recognised
chesnut. But no shade of this one colour was objected to ;
nor does the white face or white leg act as an obstacle to
registration. There are many shades of chesnut, ranging from
the dark copper hue of Old Cupbearer, to the lightest sorrel.
Crisp's Old Ufford Horse was bright in colour, but one of his
sons at the stud was advertised as a dark chesnut. Forty
years afterwards — in the fifth generation — Smith's Horse of
Packam had a great run, and through him come all our Suf-
folks of the present day. He was a dark chesnut, " without
white of any account." From that date to the day of Mr. Wil-
son's Old Times, the sire of the first prize yearling at Bury
St. Edmunds in 1892, the dark chesnut has cropped out. In
this case, in the paternal line, that colour lay dormant for
eleven generations.

Those who remember so far back — they must be few now —
must pass over Light Heart 1421, Hayward's Champion 680,
Chillesford Duke 395, May Duke 426, Red Champion 435,

52 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Capon's Duke 261, Catlin's Duke 296, Manchester Boxer 298,
Catlin's White-Faced Boxer 299, Artess' Boxer 26, Groom's
Ramper 636, — " a nice little pretty horse of common bright
chesnut, a little white on forehead " (Moyse) — on to Brady's
Briton 198 foaled in i8og, " a very dark chesnut, with a bit
off his dock," before we again meet with that shade in the
paternal pedigree of Old Times.

Old Cupbearer was, at certain seasons of the year, almost
copper coloured ; from him we get, through a third generation,
a numerous tribe of winners in the showyard. Few of these
are dark, and like the ancestry of Old Times, there are many
generations before we meet with one of a dark shade. The
effect of colour on sales is more than its effect in the prize ring;
there, if of equal merit, the bright chesnut would have little
advantage over his darker competitor. But in a sale ring the
bright chesnut would command most money and most bidders.
Many of the best buyers would not ask the price of a colt who
showed signs of turning dark in his coat. The Stud Book
describes many different shades of chesnut. The most objec-
tionable is the dull, mealy chesnut, fading off at the flanks,
muzzle and lower extremities, to a dirty white, sugar-paper
hue, indicative of a weakly constitution, and want of fire and
stamina. The cherry-red of sherry, strong beer tint, denotes a
remote bay strain, but there are not many of this description.
The real red chesnut, a few degrees darker than the standard
bright chesnut, is a fa\'ourite colour with many. Crisp's Red
Champion and Cordy's Marquis were both beautifully red,
and kept their colour in all seasons. The dark chesnuts vary
in different times of year, but the authorised bright chesnut,
with tail and mane to match, never alters, in spring, summer,
autumn or winter. It is by far the most prevalent shade in
the best studs, and there are large stables of Suffolks where
this is the only colour allowed. That champion Suffolk, Mr.
Alfred Smith's Wcdgewood, a son of Mr. Manfred Biddell's
grand Prince Charlie, is of the orthodox true colour, and
till we get back to the tenth generation in the male line, till

THE SUFFOLK HORSE.

we meet with Plant's Dark Horse, a grandson of Brady's
Briton, the " very dark chesnut with a bit off his dock," there
is nothing in the line but bright chesnuts.

Crisp's old Highnecked Captain, a son of Liverpool Cap-
tain, the winner of the Royal Argicultural Society's prize
when they went there in 1841, was almost lemon colour, and
left some capital fillies of what is called a yellow chesnut
tint.

The silver-haired chesnut, a mixture of white hairs in a
bright chesnut coat, has been a marked feature in some of the
most noted Suffolks. Badham's Chester Emperor inherited
this from the sire of his dam, Catlin's White-faced Boxer.
The celebrated Cupbearer 3rd had a good many white hairs
in a coat inclined to be dark. But all Suffolk breeders reject
a horse if these silver hairs are plentiful enough to amount to
a roan.

The late Earl of Stradbroke, who had known the breed
many years, and was an exhibitor of Suffolks at the county
shows, held that the dark chesnut was the most hardy
colour, and regarded it as a sign of a good constitution.
Others speak of the white mane and tail as a 'characteristic
of the original breed, but these are not fashionable, and, as
before stated, nothing is so good as the bright chesnut, with
mane and tail of the same colour.

The date of the institution of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England marks the commencement of a wider field of
improvement in all breeds of agricultural animals in the
British Isles. Long previous to that the Bakewells, CoUings,
Ellmans and other pioneers in stock-breeding had made their
names known. Such men stood out in bold relief among
even the best farmers of their day. They were head and
shoulders above other stock-breeders, and could be named
and numbered by anyone connected with agricultural pur-
suits. The meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society drew
their successors together, and humble imitators took their
products as models to work on. In a few years the leaders

54 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

among these improvers no longer had the field to themselves.
The Suffolk Agricultural Association was started some eight
years before the first meeting of the Royal Society of England
was held at Oxford. What the National Society did for
England the County Association did for the district where the
Suffolk horse had his home. The Crisps, the Catlins, the
Cottinghams provoked a rivalry on the show ground which
brought numberless competitors into the field, and defects
which the old men had passed over as of little consequence, or
had altogether failed to detect, were brought to light, and if
the general character ^vas not greatly improved there was one
point, and that a vastly important one, to which the public
drew attention. The outsider, the foreigner, the breeder's
best customer, began to ask for a sound horse as well as a
good-looking one. The judges in the showyard took a less
lenient view of the matter than did the guests after dinner
who strolled into the paddocks and said complimentary things
of all they saw. Many an animal which at home was
supposed to carry all before him, and did so up to a certain
point in the showyard, was rejected by the veterinary, and
some competitor with less to be said on his behalf on other
points was ultimately placed first on the judge's list of awards.
The element of soundness began to be an important item.
Loud and long were the complaints against the veterinary.
But the committee of the Suffolk Agricultural Association
adopted a drastic crusade against the side bone nuisance;
rejecting bad eyes, roaring, and every ill that could be cata-
logued under the head of hereditary disease. For j^ears the
Association has ruled that no prize in the horse classes shall
be awarded till the judge's selection has passed a veterinary
examination. Well would it be for all breeds of horses if the
National Society would thus take the buh by the horns and
put the foot down on disease in this way. Unfortunately—
incomprehensibly— many think the Council extend their ex-
amination only to certain classes, leaving the point of un-
soundness in other classes to be decided by the judges, callino-

o a

^ 3
g o

> M

CO o

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 55

in professional assistance only in such cases as they deem
necessary. No judge should have this responsibility thrown
on him, and the upshot is that animals which their owners
dare not even enter for the county meeting have been sent
to the Royal and have taken the first place in their class.

The effect of this salutary measure has been of the greatest
service to the breeders of Suffolk horses. Thirty years ago
the complaint of unsound feet and side bones was justly
made in regard to Suffolk horses. It was this that stirred
the County Association to combat the evil. The veterinary
was chosen at the same time that the judges were appointed.
The list of veterinaries who have acted for the Association
comprises many of the very highest names in the profession.
At a meeting some time ago one of the latter made the
observation that although he had examined first, second and
third in eight different classes, " he had not laid his hand on
a side bone that day." As regards soundness, so far as feet
and legs are concerned, the Suffolk at the present time stands
at least on a level with the best breeds of draught horses in
the United Kingdom. It was not always so. Those who
believe that the defect is still there should take a look at the
Newbourne Hall, Rendlesham, Playford, Glemsford Court
and other large studs in the county. They will find no side
bone curse there, and as good feet as the best stables in other
counties can show.

As a horse for strictly agricultural work, as a farm horse
pure and simple, there are few who will dispute the claim of
the Suffolk to be among the very best in Great Britain.
Active, of medium size, with perseverance at a dead pull,
and capacity for a long day's work, he stands pre-eminent.
The practice in Suffolk is very trying to a horse's constitution.
From 6.30 to 3 o'clock is a long while to be at the collar,
even with the half hour's rest (mostly without food or water)
at eleven o'clock. There is no doubt the Suffolk stands this
kind of treatment better than any other. In fact, it is doubt-
ful if any other breed could stand it long at all. Whether the

56 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

system is a commendable one is open to question. He
certainly works from year's end to year's end on rations that
would reduce to a skeleton the larger specimens of the Shire-
bred found at the Royal Society's meetings.

It was formerly said that a pair of Suffolks could plough
more land (mixed soil probably preferred) than any other
breed. They used to do so. Much of this kind of thing
depends more on what follows than on what leads the plough.
A horse's pace greatly depends on the man behind. Although
no horseman can get through a great day's work with a pair
of lazy drones, the most active, the best walkers, readily lose
their pace if the ploughman is allowed to tie both, or even
one, back to the whippletree. There is far too much of this
going on in the county of Suffolk, and if the farmers there
do not take the matter up the Suffolk horse will not long
maintain his character as a plough horse.

A great deal has been said about the Suffolk horse not
being adapted for the stones of the London streets. Another
cry is that the Suffolk would be more saleable if he had a
brown coat on. Both these assertions are open to question.
Considering that the Shire-bred and Clydesdale supply to the
metropolis is the gathering from Carlisle to Southampton, and
from North Lincolnshire to the Land's End, and that the
field for Suffolk horses is limited to three or four counties,
the proportion of Suffolks seen in London, is far larger than is
commonly supposed. But granting that the latter are not
numerousl)' represented in London, the reason has nothing
whatever to do with his feet, or his legs either. In standing
wear and tear they are a match for the rough-legged breeds
anywhere in the world. The Suffolk horse is not of weight
enough for London. As a rule he is not big enough. For
the lighter vans nothing is better, but he has not power
enough, he is not built on a scale heavy enough, for the stiff
work of starting a two-ton load for the Manchester warehouse
or the London dock. When he is found of massive build to
compare with the Shire-bred, London work suits him well

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 57

enough ; but if to breed for the market, regardless of his
worth as an agricuUural horse, is the object of the farmer,
probably he will get his best return from the Shire-bred mare.
As for the feet and legs not standing town work, nothing can
be wider of the truth. For eight years a pair of good, roomy
Suffolk geldings trotted side by side in a large railway A-an in
one of the towns in the eastern counties. They were out
early and in late ; they were always in condition, and the
work they did would have sorely tried those mammoths
shown at Islington Hall in the spring ; their tremendous knee
action would have worn them up in half the time the chesnuts
were on the stones in the town referred to.

It is said that the chesnut colour militates against the sale
of a cart horse. It is a curious circumstance that those in
Suffolk who have their best and largest geldings to dispose of
never complain of this being the case. Not many months
back a farmer sent a large Suffolk gelding to a local fair. He
made eighty guineas of him. Before twenty-four hours he
was sold for a hundred. The Suffolk breeder will not readily
believe if he had been a bay he would have made more money.

Some years back, out of curiosity, the writer of this article
went into the neighbourhood of London to see a stable of
contractor's horses sold by auction. They were all Suffolks,
out-sized specimens certainly, but they were pure-bred ones.
They were just from hard work. They made enormous
prices, and on inquiry they were found to be nearly all
bought by dealers. One came from a farm near Ipswich,
and was well known in that neighbourhood. The horse was
eleven years old. He made ninety guineas. Others were sold
at corresponding figures. Probably there are few Shire-bred
geldings at eleven years old that would have made more.
There is no doubt but these were exceptionany large, full
boned, sound horses. It was, however, a proof that, if of
size and substance enough, there is as ready a sale for good
light chesnuts as for bays and browns. It must, however, be
admitted that for the under-hmbed, over-topped, neat little

58 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Suffolk, there is no market for other than agricultural pur-
poses in his own county.

It is, however, merely a matter of selection and attention
to breeding. If horses of the pure Suffolk pedigree, with the
substance and size of bone of Mr. Quilter's The Czar, Mr.
Alfred Smith's Queen's Diadem, Foxhall (now in the United
States), Prince Charlie (dead), and others that could easily be
named ; if sires of this calibre were put to picked mares of
like size and substance, plenty of horses would be bred in the
county of Suffolk which would command as ready a sale in
London as the bays and browns found there. But all stock
breeders of experience know that the attempt to breed out-
sized animals too often results in breeding disease. The pure
Suffolk is not a large horse, but he is thick through him ; his
bone is much larger than his clean legs would lead a stranger
to suppose, and his being so close to the ground makes him
look smaller than he is. The old breeders in the county
rightly prefer to keep to such a model. As long as America
was ready to take his produce, while Australia and South
Africa open their markets to him, he can afford to let the
Shire-bred breeder have the markets which London, Liver-
pool, and the railway companies always present to the larger
horses. There is room for both kinds — and both deserve all
the encouragement they meet with — a fact it would be well
if some who deprecate the chesnuts at the Hanover Square
meetings would remember.

The old men in the county of Suffolk are apt to speak of
a generation of horses dead half a century ago as being
superior to those of our own time. Fifty years have probably
made them more particular in their fancies ; and if what their
recollections place before them were here in the flesh, they
would probably see faults and shortcomings long ago forgotten.
In all probability there have been better horses of all breeds
produced during the last twenty years than were ever pro-
duced before. It must be the case with Suffolks. These are
sounder horses, better proportioned horses, better actioned

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 59

horses. The type has been adhered to, but the veterinary's
hard blows have not been without effect. In fact the Suffolk
breeder owes much to the rough treatment the exhibits of
five-and-twenty years ago underwent at the professional's
hands.

One fact speaks volumes for the Suffolk horse. The best
prices at the sales of the best animals are nearly always given
by the county men. At the sale of the Butley Abbey horses
in October, 1891, many were bought for distant counties and
for Ireland, but it was the Suffolk breeders who gave the
highest prices and made the average for mares a high one,
and who made the twenty-nine foals reach an average of
forty-four guineas each.

The winners of the principal prizes at the shows of 1892
sprang from four different branches of the old breed. The
chart given herewith shows lines emanating from Smith's Horse
of Parham. Through his direct descendants, Edwards' Old
Briton 490, Crisp's Fairhead's Boxer 405, Catlin's Duke 296,
and Newcastle Captain 89, we have four distinct tribes, three
of the heads of which will be remembered by many of our
breeders of the present day. There are some yet in the county
who remember Edwards' Old Briton, but not many. Of this
horse the late Mr. Barthropp, of Cretingham Rookery, used
to say, " He was the best cart stallion I ever saw." What the
heads of our veterinary departments would have said to him
we know not. Some magnificent descendants of this horse
had the side bone curse, but of the produce of the two branches
by which he is now represented, no complaint in that way is
ever heard. The nine generations between Mr. Edgar's first
prize foal (Tittle Tattle by Flatt's Wantesden Duke) and Mr.
Edwards' horse have little showyard honours to their credit.
Mr. Flatt's horse was in the county many years, and was
occasionally seen at the local shows, but he never quite
reached a prize-winning standard. He had much of the true
Suffolk character, but there was a lack of power in his limbs
and joints. He was a beautiful chesnut, with a roomy car-

6o HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

case, short legs and iron constitution. This made him a
favourite with many of the breeders in High Suffolk. The
Wantesden Duke strain has no Cupbearer blood in it, but
Mr. Edgar's Prattle, the dam of Tittle Tattle, the Bury prize
foal, is a daughter of Cupbearer fll., and the infusion of that
popular blood may bring the stock of Edwards' Briton to the
front again. There is room for a good horse of this tribe,
but unfortunately Mr. Edgar's colt will be no cross for the
numerous Cupbearers, inasmuch as that blood is already
there. Unless Mr. Edgar's colt grows into a horse good
enough to be kept in the county, or his sire, Rattle, leaves a
popular son, in all probability the Edwards' Briton line, the
JuKan's Boxer branch of the old breed, will become extinct
in the male line.

In the year 1879, the champion prize for the best Suffolk
horse at the Kilburn meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society
of England was won by another descendant of Edwards'
Briton. This was Mr. Manfred Biddell's Jingo, a passingly
handsome two-year-old colt. He had won at the home shows
the only times he was shown — at Woodbridge and Lowestoft.
Unfortunately his owner was tempted to sell him at the Kil-
burn meeting, and for years he was in Surrey. There he had
no chance, and to make matters worse, bad care, bad feeding,
or ill luck, sent him all wrong. A few years ago he was
bought out of a coal cart, a wreck of his former self, and he
was tried on the old stock at home. He left a few beautiful
fillies, and was afterwards bought by the Duke of Grafton ;
but he rapidly became too lame even to get out of his box, and
he was shot, without leaving a son to perpetuate what some
good judges thought was the handsomest Suffolk ever sent
out from that stable at Playford from which so many good
ones have emanated.*

* Since the above was written Mr. Edgar's colt won the first prize for two-
year-olds at the Woodbridge spring show in 1894. But the champion prize
went to Mr. Pratt's Eclipse — yet another Cupbearer III.

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 6l

Of this branch of Edward's old stock there is yet another
horse in the county, or, at least, there was a year or two
back. He, too, was bred at Playford, and was a half-brother
to Jingo. For year after year, under the colours of the
veteran Mr. Wilson, of Baylham Hall, Wilson's Vanguard
travelled the Eye and Framlingham district. Year after year
he left winning foals in the local shows of that part of Suf-
folk ; possibly there may yet be a remnant of this branch to
perpetuate the stock now so nearly extinct. A daughter of
this horse appears in the chart as Lady 3035 — Mr. Byford's
three-year-old filly, which, although passed over at Bury St.
Edmunds, stood first in her class at the show of the Essex
Agricultural Society held at Harlow in July, 1892.

Wolton's Royalty 1339, a horse of which there is an ex-
cellent portrait by Duvall in the first volume of the Sufiblk
Stud Book, was of the strain of Edward's Briton. He
travelled many years in Suffolk, left quite a number of
winners, and was afterwards sent to Ireland. There may yet
be a Royalty horse in the Newbourne Hall stables, for that fine
old homestead has a large collection of Suffolks. If so, we
may see a revival of the Julian's Boxer tribe through his son
Edward's Old Briton, for Royalty comes in as a son of
Magnum Bonum on the extreme left of the chart.

This Edward's Old Briton was a son of Juhan's Boxer,
one of the two branches through which Smith's Horse of
Parham brought down the old breed in the direct male line.
The notes in the Suffolk Stud Book under Julian's Boxer are
very explicit. As the founder of a tribe for many years in
the ascendant, and after figuring prominently nearly ninety
years is still extant, we give the extract. Juhan's Boxer
was — " A bung-tailed horse, one of the four short-tailed sires
his owner was in the habit of driving in a team together — ' a
nice upright red chestnut, with a white star.' The four were
all advertised in 1815 [the other three were Briton, Bumper,
and Bly] to travel the country 'till July ist, if weather per-
mit.' By all accounts he seems to have been an excellent

62 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

horse, and of what is still understood as the Suffolk type.
He lived till he was close upon thirty, and travelled twenty-
five seasons. One of his old leaders is still alive (1880), and
his description of the horse is quite in keeping with that of
others who have given the editor their personal recollec-
tions. He left some fifteen sons, all of more or less public
repute, but it is through Edward's Old Briton 490 t hat the
blood is represented at the present day. Julian's Boxer 755
was bought by David Wight, of Barningham (near Thetford),
and travelled several years as Wight's Boxer 1388. Much of
the best blood in West Suffolk comes through him and his
son, a younger Boxer 1389, which Mr. Weight travelled in
that part of the county. In Julian's Boxer the original strain
of Crisp's Old Horse of Ufford 404 was united with direct
descendant of Blake's Old Farmer 174."

Of this tribe, too, came the stock of Captains, one of which
took the first prize at the Liverpool meeting of the Royal
Agricultural Society of England, held there in 1841. Crisp's
Conqueror, the sire of the first of the Cupbearers, came of a
mare by a Crisp's High-necked Captain — the yellow, lemon-
coloured horse, so well known for manj? years in East Suf-
folk, who was also a son of the Liverpool prize horse. This
tribe is now extinct in the male line.

The Prince Imperials (a charming horse, light in his
middle, but with round ribs, and extremely handsome),
Wilson's Bismarck (a very large horse), Byford's Volunteer,
Wolton's Monarch, Garrett's Viceroy, and Wilson's Heir
Apparent, were all from the Liverpool Captain branch, but
it does not appear that there are any descendants of these
horses left at the stud.

We must now go back to Brady's Briton, the dark ches-
nut son of Smith's Horse. It is from this branch that by far
the most numerous of the Suffolks of to-day take their origin.
Turning to the extreme right of the chart, there are eight
generations in the male line without any branches till we get
to the sons of Mr. Biddell's Prince Charlie. Through one of

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 63

these we get what is now apparently one of two hnes whicli
bid fair to monopohse the fashionable strains in the show-
yards. In strong contrast to the line on the left of the chart,
we have here link after link in the chain well known at home
and at the Royal Agricultural Society's meetings as first-prize
horses. Of the horses on the left of the chart, Bush's Albert,
Partridge's Albert, Allen's Albert, and H. Biddell's Champion,
not one was a winner at home or abroad, and, with the excep-
tion of the latter, not one even saw the inside of a show-
yard. On the other side, since the days that agricultural
shows were instituted, from that grand filly. Dainty Dolly,
now in Mr. Henry Showell's stud at Playford, to the eighth
generation backward, there is but one name which is not
found in the catalogues of the Royal Agricultural Society,
and the Suffolk Agricultural Association. Plant's Captain
was exhibited at the second meeting of the Royal, held at
Cambridge in 1S40, and although the winner turned up in a
Lincolnshire horse, Captain was sold into Essex, and when
twenty years old again changed hands, but still remained in
that county. He was first at Saxmundham in 1837, and
second a year before at Wickham Market. A note in the
Stud Book says " He had his elbows turned in ; a bright
chesnut, with short legs, and was a good horse of his time."
He was foaled more than sixty years ago. The next genera-
tion was a noted horse for many years in Suffolk. This was
the late Mr. Barthropp's favourite old Newcastle Captain,
with which he won the £^0 which the Royal gave as first
prize among the cart horses (all breeds) when they visited the
north in 1846. He was rather a small horse, somewhat light
in his body, but round in his ribs, with a fine upstanding fore-
end and magnificent hind-quarters. He, too, was a little con-
fined in front, a fault he transmitted to his son bred at Thurls-
ton, near Ipswich, when the late Mr. Badham lived at the
Sparrow's Nest. He was first at the meeting of the Royal
Society in 1858, and was afterwards known as Chester Em-
peror. There is a portrait of this horse in the Suffolk Sttid

64 ' HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Book, taken from a photograph. He had no more hair on
his legs than Blair Athole, but they stood the wear and tear
of a constant round on the hard roads for years, and at the
time of his death, after carrying an immense mass of fat
from year's end to year's end, those legs were as clean and
puff-less as they were when he was a two year old.

His son, Harwich Emperor, was as fine a horse as ever was
bred by anyone in any county, but his forefeet and ankles were
faulty. He, too, was a Royal winner, and for a time carried
everything before him in his own county. He was first at
Oxford, when the Royal Agricultural Society paid their second
visit there in 1870, and was then bought by the Stonetrough
Colliery Company, and under that ownership he appeared
as " reserved number " at the Wolverhampton meeting a year
or two afterwards. A son of this horse was bred at Greeting,
near Stowmarket, in the year 1871. This was Rainham's
Prince 1002. His breeder was the late Mr. Maurice Mum-
ford, from whose stables, first and last, many a good Suffolk
was sent into the showyard, or sold to go abroad. But
Rainham's Prince never figured before the judges, and was
the solitary exception of the family in that respect. But he
left a son who, had he lived, would probably have made up
for his sire's obscurity.

Mr. Manfred Biddell's Prince Charlie was a grand horse
indeed. He took first prize at Shrewsbury and first prize
the next year at the Woodbridge Spring Show, but died the
month following. He lived long enough, however, to leave
two excellent sons ; one of them was Mr. Everitt's Warrior,
well known in the show yards of the present day, and the
other Mr. Alfred Smith's Wedgewood — a horse that since he
was a two year old has never been beaten. It is sufficient to
say that at the summer shows although his oldest colts were
only three years old, they numbered eight among the winners
at the Royal and County exhibitions of the year 1892. A
photograph of this most charming horse will be found in the
sixth \'oluine of the Suffolk Stud Book.

II ill

^"1^^ "^ 'K\

I >l l|

II
1

O 'X -X

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 65

The third line by which the stock of Smith's Horse comes
down to us is through Groom's Ramper, another son of
Brady's Briton. At the fifth generation the stream divides
and we have the two sons of IVIanchester Boxer — Cathn's
Duke and Crisp's Fairhead's Boxer. At one time the former
was by far the most popular horse of his day. In proof of
this the large Stud Book chart shows forty-one of his sons,
all of which appeared in the showyard catalogues of their
day, or were at the stud. He was a great prize winner. He
was first among the aged horses at the Windsor meeting of the
Royal Agricultural Society held there in 1851. He was a very
handsome, bright chesnut, with a snip on his nose and a small
star on his forehead. His back was cloven all the way along,
with the muscles lying up side by side like a ram. With
great girth, round muscular quarters, and a fine temper, he
was a vast favourite with those who clung to the real Suffolk
type ; but he was a little small in the second thighs, and
although his hocks were sound and bony they were not large.
He was bred at Butley Abbey, and at the death of Mr. Catlin
was sold for 260 guineas. He was then far beyond his prime,
but he was in Essex some years, and died in the possession of
Mr. Fisher Hobbs. His sons and grandsons were legion,
but the showyard celebrities of the present daj' come through
only two of them- — Wolton's Champion and Capon's Duke.

From Capon's Duke through seven generations of popu-
lar horses — showyard winners for the most part — we get
Wilson's Old Times, a thick-set, dark chesnut, of genuine
Suffolk build, but of a grade just missing the iirst rank. His
young stock are taking first places all along the line. Fore-
most among these is Mr. Wilson's Suffolk Model, bred at
Baylham Hall. He was first in a class of thirteen capital
yearlings at Bury, and, moreover, looks like growing into a
future winner. Memory is a superb yearhng filly ; she, too,
was bred at Baylham, and was sold as a foal at the Fram-
lingham Show to the late Mr. Hume Webster. At the
Marden Park sale the Duke of Hamilton's agent bought her

66 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

for his Grace, and although the price was a long one, there
was nothing to regret in the purchase. The Old Times foal
out of Bramford Lass was third in a large class, and so
altogether Mr. Wilson has good cause to be satisfied with
the future prospects of Old Tunes as a Suffolk stud horse.
Here too we may note the oft-repeated circumstance that
the blood of a noted horse is carried on through generations
when apparently the line looks like dying out, and then a sire
comes into notice and once more the strain takes a foremost
place. CatHn's Duke may yet be the favourite blood in
Suffolk, and if Mr. Wilson's horse gets a good season or
two through his yearling victories, in all probability, it will
be so.

The next branch of the chart we have to notice is the other
son of Cathn's Duke. In the year 1850 the prize foal at the
Suffolk Society's show, held in Christ Church Park, Ipswich,
was a tremendous out-sized red chesnut, bred at Newbourne
Hall. He grew up with much quality, but of a size too big,
a hand too high, for East Suffolk. Mr. Wolton sent him into
the west side of the county where he left some very good colts.
One of these, bred at Wickham Brook, some ten or twelve
miles south-west of Bury St. Edmunds, was a remarkably
heavy horse, with great bone, but on much shorter legs than
his sire. In his declining years he was bought b}' the late
Mr. Crisp, and after being freely used in the Wickham Market
district he was sold at the Butley Abbey sale to Mr. Catchpole,
of Bramford, in whose possession he died. His best son was
undoubtedly Captain Snap, a horse bred by Mr. Manfred
Biddell, used some years at the Lux Farm, Playford, and
then bought with six other Suffolks to be shipped across the
Atlantic. Fortunately Captain Snap had a cold, and was
kept at Glasgow for a later shipping. Of the other six, four
were so knocked about by a fortnight's terrific weather that
they died and were thrown overboard ; two only of the half-
dozen being landed alive. Captain Snap was heard of again,
and was always referred to as a great catch for the cart horse

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 67

breeders in America. But Mr. Biddell had a colt in his
yards at the time he sold the old horse destined to take a
great part in the show-ring and at the stud. There was Ben
— Biddell's Ben, as he was termed— a very splendid specimen
of the Suffolk breed. A beautiful portrait of this horse, by
Duvall of Ipswich, adorns the dining room at the Lux Farm-
house, and from which a capital lithograph was taken for one
of the illustrations of the first volume of the Suffolk Stud
Book. He was a large horse, as handsome and full of quality
as he was big, with a bone below the knee of something con-
siderably over eleven inches. He was good enough to win the
Hundred Guinea Challenge Cup at the Ipswich meeting of the
Suffolk Agricultural Society in the year 1878. He was sold
to Mr. Kent, and ended his days somewhere by the banks of
the Thames.

But there was yet another generation of the same family,
and he too was bred at Playford. This horse was sold as a
yearling to Mr. Hurrell, of Newton, near Cambridge. Here
he stood year after year. At last that astute business man,
who does so much for Suffolks in the Cambridge and Essex
corner of the county — Mr. Byford, of Glemsford — took a fancy
to him, put him in show order, won a prize with him at
Lowestoft and another at the Ro3''al at Windsor, and then
sold him to go to Sweden. And Mr. Byford bought a son of
Playford, bred by Mr. Hurrell, out of a mare also of his own
breeding. This was the massive colt Surprise, a Playford-
bred horse on both sides, for his sire was foaled at the Hill
P'arm, and the sire of his dam, Biddell's Champion, was the
stud horse there for several years. Surprise has all the
muscular frame and short legs of that long line of heavy
Suffolk horses, reacliing back to the old Wickhara Brook-
horse of Mr. Bromle3''s. He was first among the aged horses
at Bury. Here is another chance for Mr. Catlin's Duke
strain, for those who aim at breeding horses of size enough
for town work will no doubt patronise Mr. Byford's Bury
prize horse.

68 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

But Ben had yet another son, like Playford very dark in
his coat (a shade strong in the pedigree of Ben's dam, for she
was a daughter of Law's Farmer, quite a black chestnut).
This was Catchpole's Champion — a short-legged, thick-set
horse, good enough to gain the first prize in his class at the
Suffolk show at Ipswich in 1884, as well as the Waveney
Cup as best horse in the yard. As he is, or was till lately,
still in good preservation, there may yet be another Hne of
Catlin's Duke horses to remind those who remember him of
the old Butley Abbey favourite. From Mr. Catchpole's he
was transferred to the Rendlesham stud, where he had a fine
chance, and was then passed on to Mr. Lewin, of Dunning-
worth Hall.

We have one more line to follow in the chart. In 1846,
the then Duke of Manchester bought of old Mr. Catlin a
wide-eared, finely built son of old White-faced Boxer. This
White-faced Boxer was perhaps the last horse of note which
bore strong likeness to the old breed described by Young. He
was rather a small horse, low in the back, very short in the
leg : had a large carcase, and was bent in the hocks. Man-
chester Boxer was larger, a grander horse to look at, but his
ears hung out in so unsightly a fashion that he had to have a
bridle made on purpose to keep them in position. Besides
being the sire of Catlin's Duke, he left another son which
became famous in his day, although he never won a prize.
This was Crisp's Fairhead's Boxer, so called to distinguish
him from the numerous race of that name. He was bred by
a miller, three miles from Woodbridge, who had a small farm
as well as his mill. He passed into other hands, and after
being located for some time in the district where the sires
from Newbourne Hall, Kesgram Bell Farm, the Playford
stable, and John Lewis' little place at Foxhall, got all the best
mares, he was bought by the late Mr. Crisp. He was not a
handsome horse, and up to his last change of owners had
never been seen in show trim. But ^Ir. Crisp gave £"100 for
him. \Mien his time came, and he had some of the best of

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 6g

the mares in the Crisp district, the produce fully l)ore out Mr.
Crisp's judgment in buying him. He was a particularly
square-made horse, but his hocks were bent, his arms were
small, and there was a want of muscle on his back ; but he
was a short-legged, wide horse of beautiful quality, and with
the temper of a pet lamb.

Among other capital horses owning him as their sire was
an immensely heavy horse, but with bent hocks, if possible
more noticeable than his father's. This was Crisp's Con-
queror, the son of a charming mare bred by one of the
Messrs. Toller, since so famous among the Sufiblk breeders.
He was sold to the Prussians — then, perhaps, the best cus-
tomers for Suffolks — at three years old. But he left a son,
bred at Marlesford, destined to be the first of three genera-
tions of one name, all of the highest character and prestige.
This colt was bought as a foal by Mr. Crisp, and never
was sanguine hope more fully realised than the purchase
proved. This was "old" Cupbearer — Crisp's Cupbearer — a
copper-coloured chestnut, winning local, county, and Royal
prizes till long after Mr. Crisp's death. He had immense
girth behind the shoulders, great width in front, and had a
wonderfully free and bold action in the ring, but he too, was
bent behind, was a little light in the flank, and as a noted
all-round judge of horses — long since "gone over" to the
Shire-breds — once remarked, " He had quite as many faults
as a good one ought to have." Suffice it to say he won first
prizes at home time after time, won the three-year-old prize
when the Royal Society came into Suffolk in 1867, and after
Mr. Crisp's death was sold by auction to Mr. Richard Garrett
for 370 guineas. In his hands he won the first prize at the
Royal when the show was at Wolverhampton, the first at
Beccles the same year, and afterwards passed into the hands
of a clergyman in Suffolk who took to stock-breeding, and
died in his hands.

From this horse the late Mr. Frost bred Cupbearer 2nd,
afterwards the property of Mr. Catchpole. He was a finer

70 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

horse than his father, had fewer fauhs, and was a beautiful
bright chesnut. Unfortunately, he died shortly after he was
bought by Mr. Catchpole. He had, however, won prizes
enough to make his mark in the showyard. He was first at
the Bedford meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, and
first at the County Show at Stowmarket in 1875. He left
two sons, Garrett's Cupbearer the 3rd and Wolton's Chief-
tain. The former was, perhaps, even better known in the
showyard than either his sire or his grand-sire. He was
bred by Mr. Frost, the breeder of the second Cupbearer, and
was sold as a yearling at a sale of his colts at Ipswich for 200
guineas. Mr. Garrett never regretted the purchase, for his
winnings in prizes amounted to nearly three times that amount.
He was a remarkably heavy horse, very short-legged, wide
almost to a fault, and not very bright in his colour. He had
the bent hocks of his ancestors, a weakness from which his
sire was free. At Mr. Garrett's death he was again sold by
auction, and made double the price he cost as a yearling. As
a stud horse, judged by the number of winning colts and fillies
he left, he was almost unequalled, and, singular enough, almost
to the last he left as good stock as ever. Mr. Austin, of
Brandeston, gave 400 guineas for him, and he afterwards
passed into the hands of Messrs. Pratt, in whose possession
he died about three years ago. A glance at the chart will
show even at the most recent shows how strongly he was
represented in the prize winners. At Bury St. Edmunds
in 1892, Pratt's Eclipse was first as a three-year-old, and
was awarded the cup as best horse in the yard ; the Duke of
Hamilton's Queen of Hearts was first as a brood mare ; his
Grace's Queen of Trumps was first as a two-year-old, and his
Morella won second honours in the gast mare's class. Mr.
Edgar's Prattle was second in the brood mare class, and
these were all sons and daughters of Cupbearer 3rd. Among
his grandsons at the same show, Messrs. Pratt's Earl was
first among the two-year-old colts, and Mr. A. Smith's Demo-
crat was a prize winner at Warwick.

- ^

D ^

1-1 Fd

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. ^I

Through a son of Cupbearer 3rd, Rodney, we get that mag-
nificent horse, Mr. Biddell's Foxhall, a Royal winner at
Shrewsbury, and a frequent winner at the county shows. He
was a rare stamp of horse with the large bone, muscular
frame, and fine action which take with the Americans, and
to America he went, under the colours of Mr. Galbraith. He
came of a mare by Captain Snap, her dam by Crisp's Old
Cupbearer, a double strain of a popular tribe, and he fully
bore out her breeding.

A son of Foxhall, another of Mr. Biddell's, won first prize
at the Woodbridge Show in March, 1892, as neat a specimen
of a thick-set, medium-sized Suffolk as can be found in a day's
drive. He had a great season that spring, and was only
placed third at Bury in the summer.

From Cupbearer 2nd there is another branch of the strain
in Wolton's Chieftain. The first prize brood mare at Bury,
the second prize three-years-old colt, the second prize two-
years-old colt and the sire of the third-prize foal are all sons of
the handsome Chieftain, Few more beautiful horses than this
have been led into a show ring. He was first at the Royal
at York in 1888 and has won much in the home county also.
He was a little taller than the Suffolk breeder thinks right.
He was light in the hind-quarters, and had too much daylight
below, but he was a noble horse in good condition, and has
left some superb, bright chesnut, high-spirited mares. He
died at Newbourne Hall some years ago.

This must conclude the sketch of the ancestry of the
winners of 1892. To have taken in all the previous winners
of the strains we have followed would have been beyond the
space of a reasonable sketch, and the chart would have be-
come an unmanageable sheet. It gives some idea of the
origin and development of the tribes now in fashion, and may
be useful to some for that purpose.

In Suffolk, as in other horse-breeding districts, the further
restrictions on the imports of live stock to America have given
a check to the exportation of prime animals from the county.

72 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

The Suffolk breeders have felt the effect of this, but the
AustraUan colonies and South Africa are still open markets.
The depression in the agriculture of East Angha, the drop
in rents, the serious reduction of the incomes of the landed
proprietors who have no resources beyond their estates, have
prevented many from keeping up their studs of Suffolk horses.
The Duke of Hamilton has a splendid collection of Suffolk
mares, and still buys when there is anything of marked value
for sale. Mr. Quilter, the member for the Sudbury Division,
takes good care to have a Suffolk horse for his district, and
has some excellent mares of his own besides ; but beyond
this there is no great support given to the tenant farmers to
encourage the breeding of the horses which have made the
county famous, in so far, at least, as active participation in
the pursuit is concerned. The county gentlemen do, however,
subscribe liberally to the prize fund for Suffolk horses at the
meetings of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, and in this
way help to keep the breed before the public. But with the
exception of the Duke of Hamilton already mentioned, there
are no patrons of the breed to inflate the prices of the Suffolks,
as many noblemen and other wealthy patrons do the Shire-
breds. The agent of His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales makes no sign, and with the exception of a purchase
made at the Kilburn show Her Majesty's name is never seen
in connection with Suffolk horses. The exhibitors of Suffolks
have an idea that they are treated with scant justice by the
Royal Society. Certain it is that year after year the ches-
nuts are hid in the far, far away of the showyard ; and but
for the admirable representative the breeders have on the
Council in the person of Mr. Alfred Smith, whose magnificent
stud at Rendlesham is known all over the world, the over-
whelming preponderance of Shire breeders on the Board
of Management might forget the respect due to a class of
horses which, till the breeds were separated, carried all before
them year after year in the Royal Showyards.

Allusion has been made to the persistent adherence to

THE SUFFOLK HORSE. 73

characteristic type which the breed of Suffolk horses has
always asserted, in spite of the repeated attempts to engraft
outside blood on the parent stock. Many a failure can be
traced to disregard of the rule Nature in this way has so
emphatically pronounced. She insists that the breed shall
retain the salient points which marked the original stock.
They were never large. Mark the result of those whose
efforts have been directed to the attainment of more size.
That is easily obtained by selecting for use out-sized stallions.
But thence come disease, roaring, and the over-topped legs;
perchance a grand animal ofthand, but one which sooner or
later the judge or the veterinary most surely rejects — a type,
it may be added, which has done more to prejudice the breed
than any other.

The bone of the Suffolk horse looks small, but denuded of
hair and skin, more is left than on many a rough-legged rival.
Those who, years ago, attempted to introduce what they took
to be more substance, invariably failed, for with the big bone
comes what is too often mistaken for it, the thick skin, the
coarse hair, and the disease which seems indigenous to the
lower extremities of the larger breeds. Marked instances of
this will occur' to those who watched the efforts of the breeders
who, before the Stud Book was started, tried the effect of an
outside cross. Failures in the opposite direction may occa-
sionally be traced to in-and-in breeding from one strain of the
pure breed ; but by careful selection of the best stallions,
breeders in the county of Suffolk now send into the showyard
horses with feet and legs which no unprejudiced judge can
find fault with.

No, the Suffolk horse is a short-legged, clean-boned animal,
of ample size for any agricultural work in any district in
England, and admirably fitted for active town work as well.
He should be deep in the carcase, wide in front, square behind,
with hard, short legs, close-knitted joints and devoid of all
tendency to coarseness. Unless extremely well put together
anything over i6-i should be viewed with suspicion. If

HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

those who make trial of the breed will keep such a type
in their eye, the significant signs of antiquity of origin will
take care of themselves. The chesnut colour, the marked
capacity of thriving on a scanty diet, and long hours in the
collar will be there. And so will the docile temper, the never-
ending patience at the dead pull, and the many days so re-
markable in the age of the Suffolk horse.

Fortunately the Stud Book has saved the disappointment
which the introduction of the out-sized cross has so repeatedly
inflicted on the experimental breeder ; but the hints here
given may serve to warn those who, in starting a stud, imagine
that by selecting flashy seventeen-hand specimens to breed
from, they are going to produce a more powerful animal
suited for town work.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE, 7J

CHAPTER III.
THE CLYDESDALE HORSE.

So much has within the past twelve or fourteen years been
written regarding the history of the Clydesdale breed, that
there does not appear to be much room left for anyone to
advance new theories or unearth unknown facts on the sub-
ject. The records that have been examined and the views
that have been advanced by various writers have generally
gone to support the popular conception — that the breed is a
composite one, and that the first recorded element in its com-
position was the use of Flemish stallions on the native mares
of Lanarkshire about the close of the seventeenth, and in
the first quarter of the eighteenth, centuries. There is, how-
ever, reason to believe that Flemish stallions had been intro-
duced into Scotland long before the date mentioned, and
records of an earlier period show that Scotland was recognised
as a breeding district for horses during the early Stuart reigns.
There was a trade in horses between Scotland and the Continent
of Europe in those days, in which the Douglases — the ancestors
of the Hamilton Ducal line — played an important part ; and
so extensive was the trade, that while in the reign of King
James I., the Poet King, in the fifteenth century, all horses
over three years old, were permitted to be sold for exportation,
during the Regency of the Earl of Moray in 1567 an Act was
passed prohibiting exportation. During the intervening
century and a half great efforts had been made to improve

76 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the breed, but we can hardly think that these could have had
much uniformity of success, especially as it would appear
from the records, the instrument of improvement varied
according to the tastes of the reigning monarch. At one
time a horse capable of bearing heavy armour was the object
aimed at, at another something very like what we would call a
draught horse, and at a third a horse whose leading qualification
was speed. Sir Walter Scott must be quoted as a believer in
the view that the Flemish horse was in use in Scotland at a
very early period, because in the " Fair IVIaid of Perth,"
chap, viii., he represents the gallant smith as riding "on a
strong black horse of the old Galloway breed," and the honest
bonnet-maker as perched upon "a great trampling Flemish
mare, with a nose turned up in the air like a camel, a huge
piece of hair at each foot, and every hoof full as large in cir-
cumference as a frying-pan."

Of course, the popular novel is not history, and Sir Walter's
opinion may be of small value in such a case, but the historical
setting of his writings is so generally conceded to be in the
main accurate, that the probabilities are that he had good
grounds for the opinion he plainly held. However, the class
of horse, in use in Scotland before the Revolution settlement
of 1690 gave the land rest, is not of any more than antiquarian
interest, because the horse bred after 1690 would be required
for a very different purpose than that of conflict and war. And
therefore, we may safely conclude that the eighteenth century
importation of Flemish stallions, if it can be established,
has a much more important bearing on our present inquiry.
Indeed, it seems to us that the history of draught horse-
breeding in Scotland may be divided in three sections : the
traditional, ending with the Revolution settlement ; the his-
torical, confined mainly to the eighteenth century, and having
its records in the Old Statistical Account prepared under the
superintendence of Sir John Sinclair, Bart., and completed in
1810; and the systematic, embracing the period from that
date until now. We have now exhausted all that need for the

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 77

present purpose be said regarding the first, and in connection
'ith the second the question to be considered is, the introduc-
tion of the foreign influence which, conjoined with the condi-
tions of agriculture in Lanarkshire, produced the modern
breed of Clydesdale or Lanarkshire horses.

The introduction of these foreign influences are variously
credited to the Duke of Hamilton of the period, and a farmer
named John Paterson, of Lochlyoch, in the Upper Ward of
Lanarkshire. The importation made by the Duke of Hamilton,
is placed about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the
place where tradition locates his six fine black " Stallions from
Flanders " is Strathaven Castle. This theory or tradition is
adversely criticised by Alton, a Lanarkshire lawyer, who wrote
much on the Agriculture of some of the Western Counties of
Scotland, about the beginning of this century ; but it is accepted
by the writers of several of the Statistical Accounts. A
modified form of the tradition, and probably the fact which
forms its kernel, was held and regarded as an established fact
by the late Lawrence Drew, tenant of the farm of Merryton
Hamilton, who died in March, 1884. His theory was that
James, the sixth Duke of Hamilton (1742-1758) imported a
Flemish stallion, dark brown in colour, which he kept for the
benefit of his tenantry, who were granted its use free of
charge. The grounds on which this theory was held by Mr.
Drew are such as will be regarded as satisfactory in dealing
with historical data, and it may, therefore be concluded that
such a Flemish stallion was in use in Lanarkshire about the
middle of the eighteenth century. Another tradition of a similar
character, and equally well authenticated, is that to which the
compiler of the Introductory Essay to the Clydesdale Stud
Book (1878) is committed. This is the tradition which con-
nects the introduction of the Flemish stallion with John
Paterson, of Lochlyoch, in the parish of Carmichael, about
the years 1715-1720. It is undoubted that the Lochlyoch
mares had a special reputation during the latter half of the
last and the first quarter of the present century ; and the

78 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

family tradition is all the more credible because it was a proved
custom of the Paterson family to chronicle important events
in their history. As late as the year 1836, an Edinburgh
newspaper in reporting the doings of a day's ploughing given
to one of the Patersons, who removed from Lochlyoch to
Drumalbin, refers to the fact that it was a brother of the
grandfather of the new tenant of Drumalbin who brought the
notable stallion from England to Lanarkshire, which had
founded the famous Clydesdale breed of horses. We may,
therefore, at least conclude, in view of these various traditions,
that the Flemish stallion had something to do with the mould-
ing of the type of draught horse known as the Clydesdale.

But while admitting to the full all that may be urged in
supporting this view we are of opinion that there are certain
circumstances connected with the development of the Clydes-
dale breed which have not received the attention which their
importance merits. What first strikes one in an historical
inquiry about the breed is its name. Why Clydesdale, and
not Scottish ? As is generally well-known, Clydesdale is the
old name for the valley of the River Clyde, or in other words,
for the most fertile portions of the great county of Lanark.
"Paisley shawls" and "Kilmarnock bonnets" tell at once
that the particular patterns of shawls and bonnets referred to
are, or have been, in some particular way identified with the
great industrial centres whose names they bear, Clydesdale
horses, in the same way, must be regarded as horses, the
development of whose type and qualities must, in the first
instance, be traced to the conditions of agriculture in the
county of Lanark. In other words our theory is, that the new
conditions of fife to which the peaceable and industrious
inhabitants of Avondale and Clydesdale were permitted to
apply themselves after the close of the Covenanting struggle,
enabled them to improve their stock of horses to such a degree
that the horses of Lanarkshire were famous at an earlier
period than were those of any other part of Scotland. The
climate and the soil of the Avon and Clydes dales are admir-

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 79

ably qualified for stock breeding and rearing ; and while the
Flemish stallions and the later reputed English staUion,
Blaze, which came on the scene about the close of the cen-
tury, undoubtedly contributed much to the development of
the breed, their influence was greatly enhanced by the favour-
able character of the soil on which it was exerted. It is clear,
from recent experience, that external influences alone will not
ensure improvement in the horses of a district or county. Sires
that are credited with most favourable results in one locality
have but indifferently distinguished themselves in others ; and
it is not necessarily in the district in which agriculture is most
advanced that the best results in horse-breeding are secured,
but rather under somewhat more primitive conditions. A
pastoral country is the most favourable for horse-breeding ;
and until the mineral deposits of Lanarkshire began to be
developed few districts could have excelled many parts of it
as pastoral lands. The supremacy of Lanarkshire, and at
the same time the restricted area of horse-breeding in Scotland,
are well illustrated in the Old Statistical Account from the
summary of which, in Sir John Sinclair's account (1812), we
make the following quotation ; vol. i, p. 143 : —

" From the high prices of horses a number of farmers
endeavour to rear on their own farms a considerable propor-
tion of the stock they require, though in many districts they
depend on the western counties of Scotland and the northern
counties of England for a supply."

This refers chiefly to the great agricultural areas of the
Lothians and Berwickshire. And at page 146 in the same
connection there is the following interesting passage : —

" It has been very justly observed that farms dedicated to
the sole purpose of breeding horses, would certainly pay well
at present if the necessary attention were paid to the breed
and management. Such farms are very much wanted as an
important link in Scottish husbandry, for the breeding of
horses in the west of Scotland will be always diminishing as
the farmers become better acquainted with improved arable

8o HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

management. There might probably be suitable situations
found in the northern districts for that purpose, especially if
more winter food could be obtained by the cultivation of
florin or of Swedish turnips."

In advancing to consider the next stage in Clydesdale
breeding, it will be seen that the surmise of the writers as to
the issue of improved methods of agriculture in Lanarkshire
came to be fulfilled, and the horse-breeding area was to a very
large extent transferred to the pastoral and turnip-growing
counties in the south-west and north-east of Scotland.

Breeding : Early Sires.

The consideration of the progress of horse-breeding in Scot-
land, under the somewhat more systematic conditions of the
nineteenth century, is greatly simplified by the work that has
been done in connection with the compilation of the Clydes-
dale Stud Book. In fact, no line of treatment is possible in
this connection which does not presuppose the existence of
the pedigree record.

The earliest known Clydesdale head of a family is, of course,
Glancer 335, generally known as "Thompson's Black Horse."
It is significant that most of the best known modern Clydes-
dales trace their descent in at least one line, and some in more
than one line, from this celebrated horse ; and if the theory of
the writer of the Clydesdale Introductory Essay already
referred to be correct, it is an easy matter thus to connect most
of the leading families of Clydesdales in the present day with
the old Lochlyoch breed, descended from the black stallion
brought from England by John Paterson, about the time of the
first Jacobite rising. The theory referred to briefly is : that
the Lochlyoch family of Paterson's and the Shott's Hill Mill
family of Clarkson's being related, and continual intercourse
being kept up between them in trade, there is every reason to
beheve that the Lampits mare — the dam of Glancer 335 —
which wasbought at the displenishingsale at Shott's Hill Mill,
in 1808, was descended from the Lochlyoch breed.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 8l

From all that can now be learned, Glancer 335 seems to
have been a horse with more than a merely local reputation.
According to the entry in the Clydesdale Stud Book he was
foaled about 1810, but we are strongly of opinion that this is
too early a date. According to the declaration of John Carr,
who claims to have exhibited Paton's Horse of Bankhead at
the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show, at Edinburgh,
in 1842, where he gained second prize, Thompson's Black
Horse was the sire of Paton's horse, and the latter was six
years old at the date of the Show. He would thus have been
foaled in 1836, and his dam would have been served in 1835.
John Carr knew and wrought his dam, and held her when she
was mated to Glancer 335. If this horse then had been
foaled in 1810 he would have been twenty-five years old at
the date of this service, and there is hardly any proba-
bihty that this would be the case. A travelling card for him
is pubHshed in the Introduction to the second volume of the
Clydesdale Stud Book, from which it appears that his terms
were one guinea, and a shilling to the leader. Unfortunately
there is no date on the handbill. The next epoch-making
horse is more notable, or perhaps it would be more correct to
say, that the records regarding him are more complete. This
was Broomfield Champion 95. In spite of the comparative
familiarity of his name there are very few mares amongst the
prize-winners of his time that are claimed as his progeny.
His reputation rests more on his having been the sire of
one pre-eminent horse, Clyde alias Glancer 153, or Fulton's
Ruptured Horse ; and several of his female progeny have a
reputation, if not for showing, at least for breeding. One of
them was a Haughhead mare, the dam of Farmer 283.
Another, and quite a celebrated one, was the Lumloch mare,
dam of Farmer 284, the sire of Victor 892 and Salmon's Cham-
pion 787, while yet a third was dam of the noted Highland and
Agricultural Society's first prize horse Grey Emperor 369.
There was another well-known breeding mare got by him in
the possession of Mr. Paterson, Waterlee, Honston. She was
6

82 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

dam of the Waterlee Famous Horse 903, or Scotchman 749,
and, we are disposed to think, granddam of Lofty 467. There
still lives (June, 1892) one who had two colt foals got by
Broomfield Champion 95, Mr. Archibald Bulloch, Milliken,
New Kilpatrick, Dumbartonshire. These two colts were of
some repute in their time, but from causes which need not be
detailed, their identity is somewhat lost in the pedigree
records. The omission will be best supplied by explaining
first that Glancer 338 and Superior 836 are duplicate entries
of one horse. The former is the more accurate entry of the
two. He was bred by Mr. Duncan, Glendivine, Winchburgh,
who sold him to Mr. Joseph Bulloch, now tenant of Low
Leathes Farm, Aspatria. Mr. Bulloch sold him to the
gentleman named as owner of Glancer 338, and from him he
passed into the hands of Mr. Frame, Broomfield, and there-
after was owned, according to the particulars in the entry of
Superior 836. The sire of Glancer 338 was one of the colts
bred by Mr. Archibald Bulloch, and got by Broomfield
Champion 95. He is registered as Young Champion 937, and
was foaled about 1843, when his breeder was tenant of the
farm of Brainzet, in Baldernock parish. Students of pedigree
will have observed from what has been now advanced that
Drumore Farmer 284 was a somewhat in-bred horse, and
older breeders affirm that, in spite of his many undoubted
good qualities, he was not free from a disease which authorities
are agreed is accentuated by injudicious in-breeding.

Another celebrated horse got by Broomfield Champion was
Bowman's Colt 1078, who was foaled in 1841, and was winner
of second prize at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show at Glasgow in 1844. He will be best remembered through
his connection with a very fine race of mares in the Croy-
Cunningham stud, and the family of Clydesdales represented
by the Campsies and the Wellingtons. The Croy-Cunningham
Jess was bred by Mr. Alexander Galbraith, and was a well-
known figure in the show-ring. Her descendants are numerous
and her son, Johnnie Cope 416, the Highland and Agricultural

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 83

Society's first prize three-year-old in 1857, was the sire of the
first Carapsie 119. The blood of Bowman's Colt was also
introduced into the Haughhead stud. A colt got by him,
named Thompson's Horse of Boghead 1330, was sire of
Surprise 846, an animal of great reputation, and the sire of
Wellington 906. Bowman's Colt, it is understood, was
"foundered" at an early age and passed from the scene with
a comparatively limited, but an enduring record of success.

Clyde alias Glancer 153 is, however, when the best is said
for all else that Broomfield Champion bred, the flower of the
flock and the pearl of the tribe. He was probably not a
beautiful horse ; hence the foregoing similes may be some-
what inappropriate. His praises are not sung in show reports,
and indeed those who remember him, while the key in which
their remarks are pitched is not a minor one, do not become
unduly enthusiastic in his praise. He was a " mickle strong
horse." That seems to be the summit of his praise, and from
this it is fair to conclude that he at least was virile. If a
stallion is not that, he had better never have been born. A
masculine female and a feminine male are solecisms in whatever
section of animal life they may appear, and the old ruptured
horse can afford to lack the meretricious adornment which the
show-ring imparts, seeing that he possesses the enduring renown
of a tribal head, and that one of the greatest the Clydesdale
breed can boast. He was bred by Mr. Forrest, the Hole,
Lanark, and there is every reason to believe was the produce
of a first-class Clydesdale mare. It is of importance to notice,
as corroborating the view just taken of the means that oper-
ated to the improvement of the breed of horses in Lanark-
shire, that as early as 1823, writers in standard works on
agriculture mention the Clydesdale breed under that name as
the best-known breed of cart or heavy draught horses. It is,
therefore, no straining of the imagination to conclude that a
horse so widely recognised as a leading sire as was Fulton's
" Ruptured Horse," was out of one of the well-defined tribes
of mares generally known as Clydesdales.

84 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

From 1 844- 1 850 it may safely be said that the leading
honours of the show-yard went to the produce of Clyde ahas
Glancer 153. Several of his sons were even more successful
than himself in getting prize stock, and it is an evidence of
what has been regarded as his leading characteristic that a
greater number of his sons are of historical reputation than
there are of his daughters. His name occurs eight times in
the 1,044 pedigrees recorded in the retrospective volume of the
Clydesdale Stud Book, and only one of these has reference to
a mare. Seven stallions recorded were his sons. Baasay 21,
so-called because of his broad white face, was a Renfrewshire
horse, and maintains his hold on the present-day Clydesdale
through the descendants of Barr's well-coupled and typical
Clydesdale, the prize horse, General WiUiams 326, and the
descendants of Clark's Prince Alfred 619, a grand big horse
that gained first prize at Glasgow, when three years old, in
1870. He was bred by Mr. Allan, Inches, Eaglesham, who
owned a very fine tribe of old-fashioned Clydesdale mares.
Their influence has been wholly for good in the Clydesdale
breed, and if not the most fashionable, they are certainly not
the least useful of Clydesdale families.

The other horses got by Clyde alias Glancer 153 were much
better known than Baasay, and almost all of them were noted
prize winners. They were (i) Clyde alias Prince of Wales
155, first prize aged stallion at the Highland and Agricultural
Society's show at Glasgow, in 1844, and starting with which as
a text, a fairly complete history of the modern Clydesdale might
be written ; (2) Farmer alias Sproulston 290 which, although
not so well-known in the show-yards, did splendid work in
improving the breed of horses in Bute, and also to some extent
in Wigtownshire. (3) Erskine's Farmer's Fancy 298, a pro-
minent prize winner; which served for many years in Kintyre
district. He was not quite as good as he ought to have been
in the essential ground points, and while his influence was not
by any means all for evil, he imparted an inheritance to the
Kintyre Clydesdales which they could very well have dis-

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE, 85

pensed with. (4) Muircock 550 — a black horse bred by a man
celebrated in Clydesdale lore, Mr. John Stevenson, Rakerfield,
Beith — travelled in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, and is
generally regarded as having been in point of individual merit
the equal of the best of the progeny of the " ruptured horse."
He is represented to-day by the sons of the Merryton mare
Kate, Luck's All (510), &c., and in the blood of McKean's
Prince Charlie 629, and all the other numerous descendants of
the Milmain Jess alias Beauty 355. (5) Prince Charlie 625, a
grey horse that did good service in Wigtownshire, was under-
stood to have come from out of a stud of the old Lanarkshire
grey sort : and the last recorded son of the " Ruptured Horse."
(6) Barr's Prince Royal 647, was a phenomenal horse in many
respects, but one concerning whose merits as a breeding horse
there is some diversity of opinion. He was third at the
Highland Society's Show at Aberdeen in 1847, and second
at the same show at Edinburgh in 1848. In outline he
was strong, big and weighty — in fact inclined to be coarse.
His merits were great, but he was unequal both in re-
spect of individual points and as a sire. At the same
time his progeny were much more distinguished in the
show-ring than were the progeny of any other contemporary
sire, and indeed all the principal prize-winning mares for
some years about 1850 were got by Prince Royal. It is
possible that he was not too purely bred, as there was great
diversity amongst his progeny in respect of colour. It is even
alleged that the only colour which did not appear amongst
them was black. He certainly bred several of a chestnut
colour, and this goes to confirm the suspicion current in some
quarters that there was a flaw, from a Clydesdale point of
view, in his dam's breeding. One of the most famous of his
progeny was the mare bred by Mr. Kinloch, Kilmalcolm, and
owned by Mr. Andrew Logan, Crossflats, Kilbarchan, which
gained second prize at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show at Perth in 1852, and first in the brood mare class at
the same show at Berwick-on-Tweed iniS54. Her daughter, got

86 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

by Clyde 155, was also first in the two-year-old class at Perth
in 1852. A full sister of Logan's mare was dam of the horse
Sir William Wallace 804, which in a very marked degree was
instrumental in later days in improving the breed of horses
in Islay. Apart from this connection, however, and the lines
of descent that pass through General Williams 326, and
Logan's prize mare of Netherton in the Blackhill stud it must
he acknowledged that there is but little impression remaining
on the Clydesdale breed from Prince Royal. At the same
time it is to be observed, that wherever that influence is pre-
sent there is to be found as a rule exceptional size and weight
of bone.

With these foundation strains arising from Clyde alias
Glancer 153, it may be said that the whole modern Clydesdale
race, in so far as it is related to the family of Thompson's
black horse, Glancer 335 is identified. But in order to the
creation of certain of the best known modern tribes this great
trunk line was fused with other outlying strains, and it is
needful that something should be said regarding these, and
how the fusion was effected.

Galloway Clydesdales.
The part of Scotland in which the Clydesdale may be said to
have found a second home was the pro\-ince of Galloway, and
especially the county of Wigtown and the Stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright. It is significant of the rapid strides which that
locahty has made as a Clydesdale centre, that while in 1845,
when the Highland and Agricultural Society's show was held
at Dumfries, there was scarcely a single exhibit from the
two counties named, the show held in the same place in 1886
would have been like " Hamlet " with the principal part
omitted, had the Galloway contingent been absent. It is
comparatively easy to fix the date when the modern era in
Gahoway Clydesdale breeding began, and to name the men
who played the leading part in introducing that era ; but there
were Clydesdales in the Stewartry before the Muirs went.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 8?

about 1840, from Sornfallo on the slopes of Tinto to the Banks
Farm, Kirkcudbright (which has gained a world-wide celebrity
in these later days in the hands of Mr. WiUiam Montgomery),
and there were Clydesdales in Wigtownshire before Mr.
Robert Anderson, Drumore, introduced the black mare, Old
Tibbie and her neighbour, and the stallion. Old Farmer 576,
in 1835, from Lanarkshire. In 1830 Farmer 292, the Bal-
scalloch horse, gained a ;^30 premium at the Dumfries Show
of the Highland and Agricultural Society, and his sire was a
Wigtownshire horse, named Clydeside, foaled very early in
this century. This horse's name is suggestive of a Lanark-
shire origin. It is indeed difficult to account for such a name,
except on the supposition that the horse was either bred in
Clydesdale or was of the type which had at that early period
become identified with the Clydesdale district. There is some
reason to believe that Comely, the grand-dam of Garscadden
Lovely 40, or her dam was also a prizewinner at the 1830
show, where she is believed to have been purchased by
Colonel McDowall, of Logan, an enthusiastic horse-breeder.
In this connection we hazard the theory, based on the well-
founded report of the keen rivalry that prevailed between Mr.
Anderson, the tenant of Drumore, and the laird of Logan,
that the reason for the 1835 excursion of Mr. Anderson into
Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire in company with Mr. William
Fulton, Sproulston, was to purchase animals in Clydesdale
or its neighbourhood that would defeat the Galloway-bred
Clydesdales exhibited by Colonel McDowall. In view of the
acknowledged success of Mr. Anderson, the probabilities are
that the horses reared in Wigtownshire, being what Americans
would call "graded up" by means of Lanarkshire stallions from
the original Galloway nag of which Shakespeare speaks, were
not equal in size and weight to the horses bred in Clydesdale ;
and by introducing both stallions and mares from Lanark-
shire, Mr. Anderson practically introduced a new breed into
Wigtownshire. This breed or tribe largely dominated the
Galloway draught horses for many years, and formed the

60 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

foundation on which the splendid modern reputation of the
Wigtownshire Clydesdales has been reared.

It is not, however, to be supposed that to this revolution,
from which Wigtownshire derived great benefit, it contributed
nothing. As has been proved to demonstration within recent
years, the most divergent results appear in foals which, starting
life on equal terms, have been reared respectively in Galloway
and in the West of Scotland. The climate and soil of
Galloway are formidable elements in the competition for show-
yard honours amongst young Clydesdales ; and given the
possession of the advantages of a Galloway up-bringing, the
young Clydesdale starts on its life journey with a considerable
advantage over its neighbours.

The early draught horses of Kirkcudbright were, we think,
of a lighter type than those of Wigtownshire, and possibly the
"grading-up" process, by means of Lanarkshire horses was
there begun at a later date than in Wigtownshire. In Sir John
Sinclair's " Account of the Husbandry of Scotland," published
in 1812, vol i., p. 120, several of his correspondents discuss at
considerable length, the relative merits of horses and o.xen for
agricultural work, and they indicate that the question was still
in doubt as to which was the more profitable kind of labour.
A pair of horses, they say, cost £6-\. 15s., and three oxen, which
were apparently regarded as equal to two horses, cost £^2.
Horses, they alleged, yearly diminished in value, whereas the
oxen increased annually until they were six years old. The
latter they regarded as fit for every kind of farm labour, but
unfit for walking on turnpike roads ; and while the horse was
admitted to be superior for harrowing, the ox excelled in
the plough. A Penrith gentleman, whose opinion Sir John
quotes at p. 126 of the same volume, eulogises the Scottish
farm horse, and characterises him as preferable to any he had
ever seen m England. They were of greater weight than
blood horses, and better adapted for draught. Dr. Singer,
who wrote on the agriculture of Dumfries, about the close
of last century, states that the work horses in use there were

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 89

the results of many crossings of different breeds, being larger
than the real Galloway, but less than the pad-formed dray-
horse of Glasgow and its neighbourhood. He indicates,
however, that there was a growing feeling amongst farmers in
some districts, for the stronger, if slower, cart-horse ; while
at the same time, in other places, on account of the necessity
that existed for the horse being able nimbly to make his way
along narrow bridle-paths, and, mayhap, to lend speed to the
smuggler, a dash of the blood of the saddle-horse to give clean
limbs and mettle was preferred. He further indicates that the
nature of the soil to be wrought had an important bearing on
giving direction to the tastes of the farmers in regard to
draught-horses. The farmer whose land was light found a
comparatively light horse preferable ; because he was at once
more easily maintained, and performed his work with greater
ease and rapidity ; while the farmer who had a heavy and
deep clayey soil to manipulate called for a heavy, powerful
horse to do his work.

A notable book on the early agriculture of Galloway, is the
Rev. Sam. Smith's " Survey," published in 1810. The
reverend chronicler is eloquent in his praises of the old
Galloway nag, and seems almost to regret that the old days
of what he calls " predatory excursions " had come to an end.
At page 290, he shows himself to have been a Darwinian
before Darwin, by his accounting for the hardiness of the
ancient Galloway on the principle of natural selection and the
survival of the fittest ; and at page 269 he discourses thus on
the Galloway horses of his own time : —

" It is much to be regretted that this ancient breed is now
almost lost. This has been occasioned chief! 3' by the desire of
farmers to breed horses of greater weight and better adapted
for draught ; and very little value attached, in times of
tranquillity, to horses well calculated for predatory excursions.
The horses, which in the lower districts are employed chiefly
for draught, do not appear to be a distinct breed from the
ponies of the moors ; but are a variety occasioned by breeding

go HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

from those of the largest size, and gradually improved, from

being kept on the superior pasture The breed has

seldom been preserved pure, but yet it is not difficult for con-
noisseurs to distinguish those which have much Galloway
blood. They are deservedly held in estimation as being
peculiarly adapted for the different purposes of husbandry.
They are round in the body, short in the back, broad and
deep in the chest, broad over the loins, .... level
along the back to the shoulder, not long in the legs,
nor very fine in the head and neck : their whole appearance
indicates vigour and durability, and their eye commonly a
sufficient degree of spirit.

"Though inferior in size to the dray-horses of many other
districts, they are capable of performing as much labour and
enduring still more fatigue ; they are more easily kept and less
liable to disease."

Mr. Smith goes on to say that the size of these native
horses had been increased by the introduction of well-boned
stallions from England and Ayrshire, and, to a less extent,
from Ireland.

The raw, strong, and coarse product of this union formed
the material on which the influence of the Clydesdale from
Lanarkshire was first impressed. Their size was from
fourteen to sixteen hands high, and at four years old they
were sold at prices from ;^i5 to ;^5o.

The first of the Lanarkshire breed hired by farmers in the
Stewartry was Samson 1288, himself foaled in 1827 or 1828,
and his grandsire, Smiler, foaled very early in the present
century. He was the property of Mr. John Muir, Sornfallo,
Lanark, and was bred by Mr. John Paterson, Grange,
Pettinain, Lanarkshire, out of a black mare which gained
many prizes at Lanark. He was hired in 1831 or 1832, and
again in 1833 or 1834. fn the intervening year Mr. Frame's
Clyde, from Broomfield, was hired, but in view of the multi-
plicity of horses of that name in early Clydesdale annals, it
seems hopeless to attempt to identify this horse. It may.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 9I

however, be a fair guess that he was Young Clyde 949. Sam-
son 1288, as may be seen from the Stud Book, left a number
of colts which were good enough to be kept as stallions in
Galloway. One of these was Young Samsonalias Borgue 1372,
a horse bred in the parish whose name he bore. He died
when young, but left one foal, Lofty 1187, foaled in 1836 or
1837, bred by Mr. Jas. Muir, Maidland, Wigtown, who sold
him to his brother, Mr. John Muir, Sornfallo, by whom he was
brought back into Galloway when Mr. John Muir entered on
the lease of the Banks farm. Lofty's dam was a mare, Darling,
purchased from Mr. Jas. Frame, Broomfield. This Lofty
1 187 was sire of another Darling, the dam of another Lofty
456, and he finally was the sire of Jean, the dam of the famous
stallion Lochfergus Champion 449, in whose veins the blood
of the Wigtownshire and the Kirkcudbright Clydesdales
were thus blended, his sire being the Drumore-bred horse
Salmon's Champion 737.

The Ayrshire Race.

We have thus brought down the record of two great trunk
lines of Clydesdale breeding to a point which renders it com-
paratively easy to connect them and show in a large measure
the development of the leading families of modern Clydesdales.
But there are still more than one family of somewhat ancient
lineage whose association with the most brilliant achievements
in Clydesdale history has been very marked and to which
some attention must be paid. One of these cannot be traced
any further back than about 1840, and indeed even that date
issomewha t doubtful. The known origin of the tribe was a
mare Bell, owned by the late Mr. John Scott, Barr Farm,
Largs, Ayrshire. She was mated in 1842 either with the
Lanarkshire-bred horse Scotsman 754, or with a two-year-old
colt, and the produce in 1849 was Old Clyde 574, the first
horse owned by Mr. David Riddell. If Scotsman were the
sire of this horse, then the connection of the Ayrshire tribe

92 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

with the old Clydesdale breed is well established, but if the
two-year-old colt were his sire, the origin of the tribe is hardly
even within the region of conjecture. Although we are con-
scious of the strength of the criticism that may be urged
against our view, frequent and somewhat extended intercourse
with those who are qualified to speak on such matters warrants
us in concluding that Scotsman really was the sire of Old
Clyde 574, and therefore the first known ancestor on the sire's
side of Prince of Wales 673.

KiNTYRE Clydesdales.
The evidence connecting the native Clydesdale breed of
Kintyre with the old Lanarkshire breed is well brought out in
the Introductory Essay to the Clydesdale Stud Book.* The
later development of the breed in the Peninsula was mainly
associated with three horses. To one of these, Farmer's Fancy
298, reference has already been made. The second was a
notable old horse Rob Roy 714, whose pedigree is a little like
that of one of the characters in "Guy Mannering." He came
somewhat irregularly into the world, but on the whole per-
formed excellent service after he had once entered it. It is
impossible now to fix definitely the date when Rob Roy was
foaled. He was the sire of the dam of Alma 9, and that
horse was foaled in 1854. Consequently he must have been
foaled as early as 1845 or thereabouts; certainly not later
than 1847. He was undoubtedly descended from the old
Lanarkshire breed, both his sire and his dam and grand-dam
having been purchased in Clydesdale, and his descendants
are in a marked degree true to characteristics which have
invariably been associated with the Clydesdale name. He

* The retrospective volume of the Clydesdale Stud Book was presented to
the Clydesdale Morse Society by the Earl of Dunmore, who made special
acknowledgment of the labours of Mr. Thomas Dykes, the first secretary,
stating that he had collected the traditionary matter embodied in the Intro-
ductory Essay. — EDITOR.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE.

formed a link of connection between the Clydesdales of Gallo-
way and the Clydesdales of Kintyre, and there seems to be
good reason for believing, on the basis of a comparison of
dates, &c., that several of the progeny with which he has been
credited in Kintyre should be rather ascribed to his son Rob
Roy 2379. His influence on the breed of the present day
has been marked and some of the most valued families for
breeding purposes are of his tribe. His most notable sons
were Merry Tom 536, in his turn the sire of Drumflower
Farmer 286, and Hercules 378, the sire of Lord Lyon 489.
His daughters were eagerly sought after as highly successful
breeding mares. A defect common to the old horse, which
has followed most of his tribe with remarkable fidelity, was
undue length and easiness or hollowness of the back. Those
who are acquainted with the produce of Drumflower Farmer
know that his female progeny have a tendency in this direction.
Rob Roy, in fact, was locally known in Kintyre as " Sandy
Campbell's laigh backit horse," just as the third Kintyre horse,
to which we mean to refer Largs Jock 444, was known as
" Sandy Campbell's straight-legged horse." The quality of the
feet and legs of Rob Roy was thoroughly up to the standard
pithily described by his breeder, Fulton, of Sproulston, in the
phrase "razor legged," and the same remark holds good in
respect of the produce and family of Drumflower Farmer and
Lord Lyon. The breadth and flatness of the bones in the
majority of the produce of these horses were quite marked, and
the excellence of the Lord Lyon hind leg is proverbial. Largs
Jock 444 was a horse of the same tribe as the famous Sir
Walter Scott 797, the Clydesdale champion at the Highland
and Agricultural Society's Show at Dumfries in i860 and at
the Royal International Show at Battersea in 1862, and of
course was in this way also of the tribe which afterwards pro-
duced Prince of Wales 673. The produce of Largs Jock were
characterised by great substance, and one of them. Prince of
Kilbride 660, was first three years in succession at the High-
land and Agricultural Society's Shows. His daughters also

94 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

about the same period, that is, late in the sixties and early in
the seventies, were quite prominent in the show-ring, and on the
whole it may be safely affirmed that few classes of mares were
more popular than those got by Largs Jock. On this account
previous to the advent of the Stud Book, he divided the
honour with Lochfergus Champion of being the innocent cause
of a good deal of misrepresentation on the part of horse
dealers, a Largs Jock mare or a Lochfergus Champion mare
being a conveniently hazy way of setting forth the pedigree of
an eligible looking brood mare whose ancestry was unknown.

Horses in Cumberland and Aberdeenshire.

There are two districts which enjoy a very favourable
reputation for the character of the draught horses bred in
them, which, at the same time, have not from amongst the
strains that may be regarded as native to the localities, pro-
duced anything exceptional amongst breeding animals. We
refer to Cumberland, and Aberdeenshire or the north-east of
Scotland generally. The quality of the work-horses reared
in these localities is regarded as first-class, and it may safely
be affirmed that Cumberland and Aberdeenshire geldings sell
for the highest prices of any horses that are in the market for
purely draught purposes. Both tribes have clearly-marked
lines of descent from the Lanarkshire breed of horses ; but
with both there has been intermingled the blood of other
breeds in a way which has not been equalled in any of the
other tribes of Clydesdales to which reference has been made.
The consequence in our opinion is the pre-eminence they
have gained as work-horses, and their comparative lack of
distinction as breeding animals.

The writer of the Introductory Essay to the Clydesdale
Stud Book clearly enough establishes the claim of the Cum-
berland horses to be ranked as a branch of the great Clydes-
dale family, and subsequent researches have only tended to
strengthen this claim. At the same time he indicates that

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 95

several of the leading horses were believed to have had
southern blood in their veins through their dams. It seems
to us that it is impossible to think that horses in a district
like Cumberland or Westmoreland could, in the absence
of stud books and in days before there were railways, have
been kept as pure as those in localities like Galloway and the
west of Scotland. And the vim and energy of the Cumber-
land work-horse, in our view, clearly points to an intermingling
of hotter blood than that of the comparatively phlegmatic
Shire horse with the Clydesdale. This blend is strikingly
illustrated in the case of the grey horse, Blyth 79, which,
although bred in West Lothian, was largely used in Cumber-
land. His sire was the Broomfield horse, Clydesdale Jock 172
— a half brother of Broomfield Champion — and his dam was
Jess, got by Julius Caesar, a coaching stallion, which served
mares in Cumberland and in Scotland. Blyth was one of the
best horses of his time, and gained second prize at the
Highland and Agricultural Society's Show in 1840, and first
in 1 841. Curiously his son, Young Blythe, alias Sampson
923, also a grey horse, gained first prize at the Highland and
Agricultural Society's Show at Edinburgh in 1859, when
seven years old, and was for many years located in Aberdeen-
shire. He was an out and out Cumberland horse. His dam
was got by Old Bay Wallace 572, bred in Ayrshire and foaled
as early as 1827. He gained premiums, and travelled in
Cumberland in 1832, 1833 and 1834, ^nd died in 1838. Both
his sire and dam were prize winners. The former, named
Clyde, was first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show in 1828, the premium horse for Stirhng in 1829, and
twice winner of premiums in Aberdeenshire after that date.
Old Bay Wallace was a whole-coloured bay horse, standing
16-2. The grand-dam of Young Blythe 923, was got by the
celebrated Cumberland horse. Old Stitcher 577, whose breeder
was Major Millar, of Dalswinton, Dumfries. He was foaled
previous to 1815, and was owned successively by Mr. Muir,
Sornfallo, Lanark, and Sir James Graham, Bart., Netherby.

g6 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

He went to Netherby in the year of Waterloo, and had gained a
£i,o premium at Linlithgow before that ; so that it is safe to
conclude that he was foaled not later than 1810.

The greatest of the earlier Cumberland horses was, un-
doubtedly, Old Stitcher's grandson, Young Clyde 949. He
was bred near to Hyndford Bridge in Lanarkshire in 1826,
and was got by the Cumberland-bred Lofty 453. After pass-
ing through the hands of Mr. Frame, Broomfield, he became
the property of Mr. Pringle, Jerriestown, Carlisle, and was
thenceforth until he died the leading Clydesdale stallion in the
North of England. He was a horse of great size and strength,
but a little short in rib. He was a dark bay, with a white
spot on his forehead, and white hind feet. His fore-feet were
dark coloured. There were few better horses.

As a show horse, the best known of the older Cumber-
land Clydesdales was, undoubtedly, Philhps' Merry Tom 532.
This was a grey horse, foaled in 1848 ; winner of first prize at
the Glasgow Show in 1852; first at the Highland and Agri-
cultural Show at Berwick-on-Tweed in 1854 ^ ^"^ A'^st at the
Royal Agricultural Society of England at Carlisle in 1855.
He was the premium horse for the Glasgow district in 1852,
and has been described as the best looking and the worst
breeding stallion that ever gained the Glasgow prize. In all
probability there is something of prejudice in the second item
of this description, but we have never met with anyone who
had aught but praise for his individual merits. He left fewfoals,
but amongst them was a second prize winner at the Highland
and Agricultural Society's Show. It is interesting to notice
that Merry Tom was descended on both sides from Old
Stitcher. His sire was Merry Farmer 531 by Young Clyde
949, and his dam was Jean by Batchelor 1056. Batchelor
was a brown horse foaled about 1829, and his sire was Scotch
Miracle 750, foaled in 1820, and got by Old Stitcher. Merry
Tom was a singularly rich looking horse ; and there is some
reason to believe that Maggie alias Darling, first prize brood
mare at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show at
Glasgow in 1857, and dam of General 332, was got by him.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 97

The Cumberland line of Clydesdales was represented for
many years by one of the families in the celebrated Keir Stud.
They have, however, long been absent from that collection ;
and the best known representative of the tribe in recent
years was the Kintyre horse, Lome 499 ; which left stock
with first-class tops and good legs, but, unfortunately, very
deficient in their feet and pasterns. As if these faults were
not bad enough when found in one, he was one of the most
prolific sires Scotland has ever produced. When in the Keir
Stud, the merits of the representatives of this particular tribe
were briefly summed up in the words : " Individually good,
big, useful horses, but most disappointing as breeders."

Another link of connection between the horses of Cumber-
land and the north-east of Scotland is to be found in the fine
race of the grey Glenelgs. The best stallion of this tribe was
Glenelg 357, winner of first prize at the Highland and Agricul-
tural Society's Show at Dumfries in 1845, beating the Kintyre
Farmer's Fancy 298. He travelled latterly in the north of
Scotland, where his descendants can still be traced. He was
a grandson of Young Clyde 949, and like Merry Tom was
descended on the dam's side from Old Stitcher through Scotch
Miracle. He was owned in 1858, when 19 years of age, by
E. and M. Reed, Beamish Burn, Durham.

Our view, that the Cumberland and north of England horses
were somewhat of a mixed breed, has in the main been a matter
of conjecture based on the geographical position of the breeding
area. We are, however, able to point now to a notable well-
bred Lincolnshire horse as one that was used in the county
for some years. This was Farmer's Glory, owned by John
Robinson, Wallace Field. The card of his son Royal Farmer's
Glory 5312, contains the following eloquent tribute to his
worth :— "Farmer's Glory was a never-to-be-forgotten Lincoln-
shire bred horse, the property of John Robinson, Wallace Field.
He gained first prize at the Royal Agricultural Society's Ex-
hibition at Windsor, and in the following year the Manchester
and Liverpool prize ; and at Ayr in 1857, a prize of £s°^ and in
7

gS HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

1858, a prize oi £50. His sire, Seward's horse, Major [1447
(S.S.B.),] gained first prize two years at Wisbech; grandsire,
Bingham's England's Glory [705], took the prize three years
at Lincoln ; great grandsire, celebrated horse, Wiseman's Old
Honest Tom [1060], purchased by Mr. Wood, Cottenham, for
400 guineas."

West of Scotland readers will have ere this identified the
foregoing reference with Andrew Hendrie's Farmer's Glory,
which travelled two seasons in Ayrshire, in the first doing
splendid service, and in the second, with a result that was
practically nil.

The view that the older race of Aberdeenshire draught
horses were a somewhat mixed breed is not so much a theory
as the result of an examination of the history of horse-breeding
in Aberdeenshire during the first half of the present century.
The characteristics of the Aberdeenshire geldings are their
endurance, cleanness of limb, hardness of bone, and size com-
bined with activity.

Clydesdale stallions tracing directly from the Lanarkshire
breed were used at an early period in this century in Aber-
deenshire and the neighbouring counties of Kincardine and
Banff. In 1823, a horse named Young Glancer, owned by
Mr. Thompson, Glasgow, travelled in the counties. He stood
barely 16 hands high and was first at Hamilton as a three-
year-old. His sire was Glancer, and there is good reason to
believe that this was Thompson's Black Horse. From 1846 to
1854, Young Champion of Clyde, a horse foaled in 1840 and a
prize winner in the West of Scotland, travelled as the property
of Mr. Milne, Mill of Ardlethen, Udny. A dark brown horse
named Farmer's Fancy, foaled in 1847, and got by Old
Glancer, travelled for some years after 1851. He was owned
by Mr. J. Ironside, Bruxiehill. The old horse Justice 420
was, under the name of Emperor, travelled for some years by
Mr. Peter McRobbie. A strong but coarse fine was intro-
duced by an Earl of Kintore in Old Samson, the sire of Noble
1230. He was a black horse, standing over 16 hands, with

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. gg

a Stout, well-coupled body, but curly-haired legs. The well-
known Mr. Barclay, of Ury, introduced a dun-coloured ches-
nut— a Strong-boned big horse bred in Dumfriesshire — about
1836. Two of his sons. Black Tom and Rattler, bred by Mr.
Henderson, Savoch, Foveran, were for many years popular
horses in the locaHty. The reputation of these animals, how-
ever, is completely eclipsed by the two horses Grey Comet
192 and Lord Haddo 486. These were without doubt the
most distinguished, and left the best stock of any Clydesdale
horse at that time in use in Aberdeenshire. Comet was foaled
1849, and was first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show at Inverness in 1856. He was a horse of excellent
merit, very thick and short-legged, and his reputation is still
green. He was destroyed at Dalkeith in i856, having got his
leg broken by a kick from a mare. His descent from the
Lanarkshire breed is very clear on his sire's side, and the
name of his dam, Lanark, suggests that she too came from
Clydesdale.

Lord Haddo 486 was a younger horse than Comet. He was
foaled in 1853, and gained second prize at the Highland and
Agricultural Society's Show at Aberdeen in 1858, and died in
1874 o'' 1875. He was got by the Ayrshire Old Clyde 574,
and judging from his portrait, which formed the figure-head of
stallion cards in Aberdeenshire for many a day, he was of
prime quality, and built as a draught horse should be built.

While the flow of English stalhons to Scotland swept past
the Galloway and Clydesdale preserves of the native breed, it
made quite an invasion of Aberdeenshire. And not only were
what are now known as Shires imported north, but about 1816
we find that Mr. Ferguson, of Pitfour, kept Suffolk stallions.
They are said to have been very different from the modern
Suffolk, having hair to the knees in front and to the point of the
hocks behind, and it is therefore possible that they were not
real SufFolks at all. At any rate Mr. Ferguson had a high
opinion of them, and was so anxious that his tenantry should
patronise them that he fixed the terms to them at 2s. 6d. each,

lOO HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

and 13s. each mare to all others not his tenants. In 1818 and
for some years afterwards, a Suffolk horse named Captain was
kept at Newe, and about the same time a strong dark brown
horse with black legs, of the Durham breed, was kept at
Mains of Gight, Fyvie. Suffolk horses continued to be used

the district for some years, the last of them being a ches-
nut horse named Suffolk Champion, which ended his days
somewhat ignominiously driving coals.

A writer in the Aberdeen Journal of ist March, 1880, to whom
we are indebted for some of the foregoing information, ex-
presses the opinion that the extinction of the race of Suffolks
was of little consequence, as they neither wore well, nor suited
the climate of Aberdeenshire. It may be so, but we should
not be surprised, if the endurance and cleanness of limb so
marked in Aberdeenshire draught horses were proved to be
the result of the use of these or some of these East Anglian
stallions.

Several good Shire horses were in use in Aberdeenshire in
the first half of this century. One of the best of these was
Stanmore, bred in Lincolnshire about 1832. His importer
was Mr. Boswell, of Kingcausie, and he was greatly admired
during his lifetime. Obviously the breeders of those days were
not very particular about colour, for Stanmore was quite white.
He is described in these terms : — " He was a very complete
horse, perfectly white, with a wide forehead, large open
nostrils, and small sharp ears. He had a curly mane reaching
past his knees, and his tail almost touched the ground. He
stood only about 16 hands, but was very strongly made, his
worst fault being that he was rather straight in the hind legs."
The influence of the blood of Stanmore is chiefly to be traced
through Rory O'More 718, a grand grey horse, 16-1, and of the
best quality. Although he left many foals, none of his produce
was regarded as quite equal to himself.

The only other English horse to which we will refer is
Black's Champion of Cairnleith, a grey horse foaled in 183S,
and bred by Mr. Jacob St. John Ackers, Prinknash, Painswick,

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. lOI

Gloucestershire. This was a magnificent animal, and by
general consent one of the most valuable stallions ever used in
Aberdeenshire. He bred many foals during his long life, and
altogether was a horse that did a power of good. It is however
to be noticed that there is very little of his influence to be
traced in the blood of leading Clydesdales during the past
twenty years, the most notable quarter in which it appears being
in the Mearns mare Jean by Eclipse 268, the dam of What
Care I 912, and of something like half-a-dozen other stallions.

Modern Clydesdales and their Characteristics.

The sketches that have been given of the various tribes and
families of Clydesdales will have rendered it comparatively
easy to tell the story of Clydesdale breeding during the past
ten years. A chapter might have been devoted to the work of
Mr. Lawrence Drew, and the effort which he made to found a
distinct class of Scotch draught horses through an amalgama-
tion of the modern Clydesdale and the modern Shire ; but his
untimely death in 1884 cut short the experiment at a time
when his friends had hoped that he was about to establish, by
practical results, the truth of the theory that he had advanced,
and consistently adhered to. That theory, briefly expressed,
was that the Clydesdale and the Shire are one and the same
breed, and that the best draught horse is to be bred by a fusion
of the two. The two divisions, he argued, were not represen-
tative of two breeds, as the Aberdeen-Angus and the Short-
horn are two breeds, but of two wings or sections of the same
breed as the Booth and the Bates cattle are alike Shorthorns.
No one who attended Scottish Shows during the years from
1875 until Mr. Drew's death, could deny that he bred some
marvellously good horses and mares from Prince of Wales
673, and what are now well known to have been a particularly
good class of Shire mares. The important question, however,
was, " Will these excellent results be perpetuated by a con-
tinuance of the same methods of breeding?" and that is

102 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

precisely the question which it has been rendered impossible
to answer satisfactorily on account of the abrupt termination
of Mr. Drew's career. The results of the past six or eight
years have gone to show that several of the animals — male and
female — bred by Mr. Drew or on his lines, have done very well
as breeding stock when mated with reasonably pure-bred
Clydesdales — that is, Clydesdales in which the blood of the
old Lanarkshire breed was predominant in a marked degree.

Leading Tribes.

Taking the results of the showyard for the six years,
1886-91 inclusive, as a fair means of knowing the principal
factors in modern Clydesdale breeding, we find that the great
majority, indeed all the successful sires, are easily summarised
under six heads : Darnley, Prince of Wales, Lord Erskine,
Drumflower Farmer, Old Times and Lord Lyon. Amongst
the first dozen sires represented by prize stock at the principal
shows in these years, there is not a horse which cannot without
violence be easily included as of one or other of these families.
The Darnley interest, during the period mentioned, is strongest.
He himself heads the list of winning sires in 1886, 1887, 1888
and 1889, and in three of these years his son Macgregor stands
second to him, while not less than four and as high as seven
of the successful sires in each of the six years are either his
sons or grandsons. This speaks strongly in favour of a high
uniformity of excellence in his stock, and it is of importance
therefore to see of what constituents his own pedigree is
composed.

Darnley 222 was bred by the late Sir William Stirling
Maxwell, Bart., at his Keir Stud Farm, in 1872 ; and was
owned by Mr. David Riddellfrom the time he was three years
old. He had a very distinguished showyard career up to his
twelfth year, when he was champion male Clydesdale at the
Centenary Show at Edinburgh. He died on the 30th
September, 1886. His sire was Conqueror igg, a Kirkcud-

.7;

rf.

■^

< ^

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. IO3

bright-bred horse, somewhat undersized, and having some-
what defective action behind — in other words he walked
wide behind. He was got by the massive, big and some-
what " raw " Clydesdale, Lockfergus Champion, whose
blood constituents have already been described. The
dam of Conqueror was a Galloway Clydesdale — that is, she
gave evidence of having been " graded up " after the manner
already briefly described, from the native stock of Galloway.
Her sire's name does not appear in the Stud Book, but we
have good reason to believe that he was Jack's the Lad 400.
She was a well-known mare in her time, and of so much note
that there is to be seen to this day in a " bog " in the croft,
on the farm of Culcaigrie, in the parish of Twynholm, a moss
oak which marks her grave. In every way she was a good
example of the older race of Galloway Clydesdales, having
good feet and legs, and a very hardy, durable constitution.
Conqueror 199, her son, was the Dunblane, Dovme, and
Callander premium horse in 1871, and as Iveir Peggy 187, the
dam of Darnley, had been served all season by the Iveir stud
horse, and had not been stinted, as a last resort, and with no
other thought than that of getting a foal out of her somehow,
she was, at the close of the season, mated with Conqueror.
The result was the greatest of all her produce, and one of the
greatest stallions of the century — Darnley 222.

Keir Peggy and her tribe have a long and honourable Clydes-
dale history. She was a dark bay mare of great size, weight
and strength, foaled in i860, and bred by Mr. Hugh Whyte,
Barnbrock, Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire. Her prize record in
her youth was a very formidable one, and she was widely and
favourably known as the " Barnbrock filly." She was bought
for Sir William Stirhng Maxwell, Bart., by that enthusiastic
Clydesdale fancier, his factor and friend, Mr. Alexander
Young, and her career as a brood mare was wholly confined to
the Keir Stud. She died at Keir on 24th November, 1888,
having produced ten foals. Of these, three, the stallions
Pollock 592, Newstead 559, and Darnley 222 were first prize
winners at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Shows.

I04 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

The sire of Keir Peggy was one of the most remarkable
staUions that ever was foaled. He was a comparatively
insignificant beast himself, and his local sobriquet of " Logan's
Twin " sufficiently indicates the cause. The other side of
his history is equally well brought out by his recognised
name Samson 741, for he was a veritable giant in respect of
his breeding record amongst Clydesdale sires. His breeder,
Mr. Andrew Logan, Crossflats, Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire,
deserves to be ranked amongst the very foremost breeders of
Clydesdale horses. Between the years 1850- 1865 no name
more honourably figures in the prize lists, and it says much
for his success that he bred Samson. At the Perth Show of
1852, he showed very successfully, but the mare which did
him most service was the first prize yearling filly at that Show,
then shown by her breeder, Mr. Jack, Balcunnock, Campsie.
This filly was got by Hilton Charlie 381, a son of Samuel
Clark's Clyde 155, out of a mare by Clydesdale Jock 172, and
her dam was a chestnut mare of unknown pedigree, bought at
a Falkirk Tryst. She was purchased later by Mr. And.
Logan; was second in the three-year-old class at the next
Show of the Highland Society, held at Berwick-on-Tweed in
1854, and became dam of Samson alias Logan's Twin 741, and
a much more noted horse as a prize-winner, Logan's Lord
Clyde 477. Samson was for a time located at Mr. Calder's
farm of Colgrain, in Cardross, Dumbartonshire. He was
stud horse at Keir for several years, and was also at one time
owned by Mr. Riddell. He died in the possession of Mr.
Oliphant Brown, Shiel, New Galloway. Not a few of the
best breeding mares in the Stewartry were got by him : and,
taken all in all, he may be described as the most impressive
Clydesdale sire up to his own time, and many of the most
impressive bred since have been descended from him. Doubt-
less his dam owed not a little of her success to the strength of
the old Hilton blood inherited from her sire. But that the
success of Samson is not altogether to be attributed to his dam
is clear when the fact is recalled that her other son, Logan's

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. IO5

Lord Clyde, far surpassing Samson as a show horse, and
winning many prizes, was inferior to him as a breeding horse,
and consequently some credit must be given to Samson's sire,
the Glasgow premium stallion of 1856, Lofty 455. This fine
horse was bred in Kintyre, out of an old stock, and his sire was
Erskine's Farmer's Fancy 298, to which reference has more
than once been made. It will thus be seen that Samson was
a distinctly in-bred horse. His grandsire on the top line.
Farmer's Fancy, and his great grandsire on the dam's side,
Clyde 155, were half-brothers; both, as we have already seen,
having been got by Clyde alias Glancer, the Ruptured Horse.
This fact is specially worthy of notice, because no less than
three of the heads of families specified by us as leading
amongst modern Clydesdales, are the produce of mares got
by Samson. These are Darnley, Prince of Wales, and Old
Times.

The dam of Keir Peggy 187 was Jean, bred by Mr. James
Holmes, Auchincloich, Kilmalcolm, Renfrewshire. She was
got by Erskine's Farmer's Fancy 298, and her dam was reared
off a stock of Clydesdales kept on the Sclates Farm, Kilmal-
colm, whose history dates from the beginning of the present
century at least. It will thus be seen that the pedigree of
Darnley dates from an early historical period, and except the
origin of the Balcunnock mare is easily traceable to a Clydes-
dale original. Whether the Balcunnock chesnut mare was,
as some think, of English extraction is a question which there
are now no data to settle. The colour certainly lends strength
to the supposition.

The characteristics of Darnley's family are well-known to
all frequenters of Scottish showyards. Generally they are
well-coloured, inclined to be dark rather than light brown or
bay, and dappled, with few white markings, but with almost
invariably at least one white foot and a white mark of some
kind or other on the face or forehead. The action of the old
horse himself when walking was as near perfection as one
could wish for. He took a long, steady step, and got over the

I06 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

ground with marked celerity. His trotting action was
defective. He cast or dished his fore-feet, but moved well
behind. His feet were fully up to the standard requirements,
and his bones were of the best wearing material. He was as
clean in the limbs when he died as a two-year-old colt. He had
long pasterns, and indeed, as it is expressed in Scotland, he
was uncommonly good at the ground. His weak points were in
the development of his forearms, which were somewhat lacking
in muscle, and his thighs were also open to the same objection.
He had a splendid formation of shoulder and neck, well-
rounded barrel, and a good straight back, but drooped a little
in his quarters. His head was considered to be rather small
and pony-like, and his ears especially were thought to be
too small. His own characteristics have been reproduced
with marked fidelity in his descendants to the third and fourth
generations, and have consequently been the means in many
respects of improving the breed. He — and this is generally
true of his descendants — arrived at maturity slowly ; but
when fully grown and on his season, he weighed over 20 cwts.
Prince of Wales 673, the great rival head of a tribe, had
a much longer life than Darnley. He was foaled in i855 and
died December 31st, 1888. His breeder was Mr. James
Nicol Fleming, then of Drumburle, Maybole, Ayrshire. He
was got by a Highland Society first prize stallion, and his
dam was a Highland Society first prize mare. Not only so, but
his sire. General 322, was got by a Highland and Royal
Agricultural Society first prize stallion, and his dam was a
Highland Society first prize mare. It is a curious coincidence
that both of his grand-dams were grey mares. As a show
horse Prince of Wales may be said in his prime to have been
practically without a rival. No doubt he was placed second
on one occasion, just as Darnley was, but although both
decisions may have been correct at the time they were given,
no one presumes to affirm that either Prince of Wales or
Darnley was inferior to the respective horses which beat them.
Prince of Wales was owned until he was three years old by

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. IO7

his breeder. He then passed into the hands of Mr. David
Riddell, Blaclchall, Paisley, who sold him to the late Mr. Drew.
He remained in that gentleman's possession until his death,
and at the Merryton dispersion sale held consequent on that
event, on April 7th, 1884, he was sold by public auction for
900 guineas, and again became the property of Mr. Riddell,
in whose possession he died.

The sire of Prince of Wales was General 322. He was
a big strong horse, bred by Mr. Thomas Morton, Dalmuir,
owned by Mr. Riddell, and exported to Australia when rising
four years old. Although, as we have said, a Highland and
Agricultural Society's first prize winner, he is not remembered
for anything but the fact that he was sire of Prince of Wales.

His sire was the celebrated Sir Walter Scott 797, a son of
the old horse Old Clyde 574, referred to in a previous part of
this paper. He was the most active, neatest and most stylish
horse of his time and possibly of any time. The gaiety of his
action is proverbial, and although not a horse of the largest
size or greatest weight he was so evenly balanced that none
could gainsay his title to first rank. He was placed second
once — his successful opponent being Barr's General Williams
326. Sir Walter Scott is one of the most purely-bred Clydes-
dales the records of horse breeding can boast.

The dam of General 322, was Maggie, alias Darling, Icnown
locally as the Wellshot Grey Mare, from having been owned
first in the West of Scotland by Mr. Buchanan, Wellshot,
Cambuslang. She was a mare of great weight and many
good qualities, and because of her relation to Prince of Wales,
her antecedents have given rise to a good deal of controversy.
Various theories have been advanced as to her origin — and
the fact that the appearance of Prince of Wales 673, especially
about the head, indicated an English strain in his blood has,
doubtless, had something to do with the formation of an
opinion held in many quarters that both of his grand-dams
came from the south. On the whole, having heard all the
theories that have been advanced regarding the dam of

I08 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

General, and seen the evidence by which they are supported,
the writer is disposed to attach most importance to the one
which traces her origin to Cumberland and names her sire as
Merry Tom 532. The authority for this statement was the late
Mr. Wilson, farm manager at Wellshot, who purchased the
mare from the late Wilham Giffen, horse dealer, Newton
Mearns, Renfrewshire, and was aware at the time of purchase
that Mr. Giffen had got her in Dumfries. It may be of in-
terest in this connection, as showing the significance of the
terms used in the West of Scotland regarding horses, to
remark that Merry Tom himself by the older breeders in
the Glasgow district, was always called " the English horse
that came from Carlisle."

The dam of Prince of Wales 673, was named Darling.
She was a magnificent dark-coloured mare, with the best of
feet and legs, and lived to a good old age, and died at Merry-
ton. She was bred by Mr. Robert Knox, Foreside, Neilston,
and was got by Samson, alias Logan's Twin, being thus half-
sister to Keir Peggy. Hawkie, her full sister, was a Highland
Society prize winner like herself, and was dam of the well-
known Old Times 579, about which we have yet more to say.
The dam of Darling and Hawkie was the grey mare Kate,
which Mr. Knox purchased from Mr. William Giffen, horse
dealer, Newton Mearns, who purchased her in Dumfries.
Like the other grand-dam of Prince of Wales, various
theories have been advanced regarding her antecedents, but
nothing certain is known. If she was, as is believed by some,
a mare purchased in the Midlands, she was of the same type
and character as some of those which the late Mr. Drew pur-
chased in later years about Derby. Another opinion that is
held is that she was bred in Dumfriesshire, and that her sire
was Blyth 79. She was a somewhat quick-tempered mare,
and consequently was not popular in work, but she bred
several first-class foals.''

* Mr. Nirol Fleming (the Ijveeder) and Mr. Lawrence Drew (Ihe owner) of
Prince of Wales placed on record their belief that both the grand-dams of that
horse were Shire mares. — Editor.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. IO9

Prince of Wales was a dark brown horse, with a white
stripe on face ; the near fore-foot and fetlock and the off
hind-foot and fetlock were white, as was also the near hind
leg half-way up to the hock. His off fore-foot and leg were
wholly dark-coloured. At the ground, in respect of feet and
pasterns, no possible fault could be found with him, and so
perfect was he that at these parts he has always been
regarded as the model. He had broad, clean, flat bones,
with the sinews very clearly defined. His hocks, and con-
sequently his hind legs, were too straight, and this was his
worst defect. The formation of his fore-feet and legs was
perfect. His neck and head were carried with great gaiety
and style ; his shoulder was set at the proper angle and his
back was firm, while his ribs were well sprung from the back,
but not deep enough, especially behind. His quarters and
thighs were well developed, and, indeed, the general outline
along the top was very pleasing. His head, as we have said,
was a little " sour," that is, inclined to be Roman nosed :
it was of proper length, but not as wide between the eyes
as the typical Clydesdale head. The most striking feature
of all in Prince of Wales was his marvellous action, and
this was all the more remarkable in view of the straightness
of his hocks which one would have thought would have been
inimical to easy movement. Both at walking and trotting
pace the action was perfect. This feature generally charac-
terises his descendants, and the straightness of hock is
sometimes also apparent, accompanied in not a few cases by
the action called in Scotland "going wide behind." The
parental formation of head is also unduly prominent amongst
his progeny and their descendants, but it is a feature which
in many cases appears less marked as time goes on. The
family are, as a rule, characterised by a striking immunity
from hereditary disease, and this, combined with their fine
wearing qualities and generally easy action, has caused them
to be highly popular.

Lord Erskine 144 is a much younger horse than either of

no HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

the two that have been named. He is, although remotely, in
touch with Prince of Wales, through Sir Walter Scott being a
common ancestor, and with Darnley, through Lochfergus
Champion being a common ancestor, to all intents and pur-
poses the head of a distinct family of the Clydesdale breed.
Lord Erskine was foaled in 1879, and was bred by Mr. W.
S. Park, Hatton, Bishopton. He was got by Boydston Boy
III, a short-legged typical old-fashioned Clydesdale stallion,
a prize winner at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show, and bred from a combination of Wigtownshire and
Kintyre blood. The dam of Lord Erskine was Hatton Bella
626, a Renfrewshire prize mare, got by the noted horse. Time
o' Day, 875, and his grand-dam was a good old Clydesdale sort,
got by Young Wattle 1042. The Lord Erskine family are
marked by these characteristics : substance, shortness of
limbs, breadth of bone, fairly good feet and pasterns, excellent
tops, exceptionally good quarters and thighs, and first-rate
typical Clydesdale heads. A goodly number of them are
somewhat light in colour, and perhaps some are rather
straight in the formation of their hocks, and move somewhat
widely behind. They are a particularly healthy tribe, and
most valuable for crossing purposes, on account of their weight
and substance.

Farmer 286, or as he is usually designated, to distinguish
him from the numerous other horses of the same name,
Drumflower Farmer, was an out-and-out Galloway Clydes-
dale. He combined the best of the Wigtownshire blood with
the advantages of a dam bred and reared in Kirkcudbright, and
his general characteristics continue to this day to be common
to Clydesdales bred in the south of Scotland. He was a
notably in-bred horse, and yet of all the horses that have
been specified as heads of families, he was the strongest,
biggest, most powerful, and altogether of the greatest sub-
stance. This we think is to be attributed to the circum-
stances of his breeding and rearing. Whatever defects
Farmer's stock and descendants may have had, lack of sub-

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. Ill

stance was and is exceedingly rare amongst them. He was
bred by Mr. Robert Frederick, Drumflower, Dunragit, and
was foaled in June, 1869. He passed through various hands,
but died in the possession of Sir Robert Loder, of Whittle-
bury, Bart., in 1883, who purchased him at the Cambus dis-
persion sale in July, 1881. He was a bay horse, with white
markings on face and feet and legs. His sire was the
Drumore horse, Merry Tom 536, got by Rob Roy 714, out
of Tibbie, the dam of Victor 892, and Salmon's Champion
737, and his dam was Mary, bred by Mr. W. Rain of
Miefield, Kempleton, Twynholm, and got by Lochfergus
Champion 449, out of a mare owned by Mr. Rain, and bred
in the Stewartry. Lochfergus Champion, as has already
been pointed out, was got by Salmon's Champion.

Merry Tom was the least-known, but in the opinion of the
best judges, the most successful breeding stallion produced by
Drumore Tibbie. He inherited his sire's fault of an "easy"
or hollow back, but his progeny were wonderfully sound
animals, with excellent feet and limbs, and favourite breeding
stock. All the three sons of Drumore Tibbie that have been
named, travelled in the Stewartry, and there is a consensus of
opinion that Merry Tom was the best of the three. The
breeding of Farmer is an example of the closeness of mating
that was not uncommon in the Stewartry, when, in the ab-
sence of a stud book, the premium horse was engaged for
service of mares, without much regard to relationship. It is
almost certain, in harmony with the views that then pre-
vailed, that had it been known how closely related the three
Drumore horses and Lochfergus Champion were, they never
would have been patronised as they were, and such horses as
Farmer never would have been bred. And yet there seems
to be no reasonable doubt that the breed of mares, of which
Kirkcudbright has long been able to boast, would never have
existed but for this unwitting close-breeding. Drumore Tibbie,
the dam of Merry Tom, was a remarkable mare. She was
invincible in the showyards, and bred at least one other

112 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

stallion besides the three named above — Prince Charlie —
which has not been registered, because he was exported to
Australia when two years old off. He is, however, admitted
to have been the best of the lot, and was first at tlie Highland
and Agricultural Society's Show at Glasgow in 1857. Her
dam, Drumore Susie, was even a greater wonder. She was
in her dam, Old Tibbie, the black mare which Mr. Anderson
purchased from Mr. Young, Brownmuir, Lochwinnoch, at the
same time as he purchased Old Farmer 576, at the date of
purchase, and her sire was never known. She was foaled in
1836, and died in 1859, from first to last giving birth to nine-
teen foals, and twice she produced twins. Old Tibbie herself
was first prize winner at the Highland and Agricultural
Society's Show, held at Ayr in 1835. Bred so deeply from
first-class blood, it is not to be wondered at that these
Drumore horses should have been so greatly sought after, and
that their influence should be so enduring.

Farmer 286 was a horse, marked, as has been said, by much
substance and weight. He travelled in several widely sepa-
rated districts, and in every case his female progeny have been
in high favour. As breeding stock they are almost unrivalled,
and many good — indeed, first-rate — animals have been out of
them. The worst defects to which the tribe are liable have
been inherited from their head. One of these has been men
tioned — that of being rather long and easy in the back. This
is a Rob Roy feature which reappears often when it is not
wanted. Another failing which occasionally appears, is that
of having rather thin and soft feet. The hoof is not formed
of the toughest material, and its formation is possibly some-
times not compact enough. The prevailing colour of the
tribe is a good red bay — what the Americans aptly term
" mahogany bay," and although four white legs and a white
face are not uncommon markings, they are not unduly
prominent.

Lord Lyon 489 was a cross-bred stallion. He was got by
Hercules 378, out of an English, and we presume a Shire,

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. II3

mare. He was bred, and with the exception of a short
interval of three seasons, 1871-2-3, owned from his birth in
1867 until his death in September, 1881, by Mr. John
McMaster, Culhorn Mains, Stranraer. He was a masculine,
breeding-like roan horse, and when mated with Galloway mares,
especially those got by Victor 892, Glenlee 363, and Farmer 286,
he bred some of the most extraordinary showyard animals
seen during the years from 1874 until 1883. His progeny
that acquired distinction were mainly females, and of almost
all of them it may be said that they inherited the typical
Galloway Clydesdale features of their dams, intensified by the
mysterious property which marks the dividing line between
the good beast and the prize winner. In one respect Lord
Lyon undoubtedly added something to the betterment of the
Clydesdale. His progeny were marked by a peculiarly
pleasing formation of hind leg, and this has continued amongst
their descendants. Amongst prominent prize horses of recent
years, bred from a combination of Prince of Wales, Darnley,
and Lord Lyon blood, the influence of the Culhorn Mains horse
has been very clearly seen in the absence of the defects in
thighs and hocks to which we have referred in our notes on the
two leading families, and in the presence of that almost ideal
formation of hind leg by which Lord Lyon's stock were dis-
tinguished. Perhaps the chief defect in the Lord Lyon
tribe has been a tendency to softness. At the same time
several of his daughters are amongst the healthiest, hardiest
and soundest mares in Galloway and in Angus.

The Old Times tribe have contributed as many superior
mares to the Clydesdale breed as any one, or perhaps as any
two, of the families previously specified except that of Darnley.
He was bred by Mr. Robert Knox, Foreside, Neilston,
Renfrewshire, and was foaled in 1869. If he is dead the event
must have taken place in Wigtownshire about two years ago
(1890). He passed through the hands of various owners, and
his stock are to be found in many districts of Scotland, but
chiefly in Ayrshire, Wigtownshire, and Kintyre. We have
8

114

HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

already sufficiently indicated his breeding on the dam's side.
He was full cousin to Prince of Wales 673. His sire was a
noted horse, Lord Clyde 478, winner of first prize at the
Highland and Agricultural Society's Show at Aberdeen in
1868, and soon thereafter exported. In his veins there
blended the blood of an excellent English horse, Proudfoot's
Emperor, bred in Cambridgeshire, and a capital old Clydes-
dale tribe, owned by Mr. Duncan Macfarlane, Torr, Helens-
burgh. Old Times gained first prize at Glasgow when three
years old, and was generally regarded as the best three-year-
old stallion of his season. He was a horse of great substance,
with wide, open feet ; broad, big, flat bones ; good, strong,
clean joints ; powerful forearms and thighs, a fair shoulder, a
good Clydesdale head, a long easy back, a tendency to flatness
of rib, and what is called in Scotland, " lowness behind the
shoulder." He had only fair action, and moved in front with
a peculiar step, putting down the heel in a loose, indefinite
kind of way. There have been, and are, one or two stallions
amongst his sons that have bred fairly well, but, notwith-
standing his undoubtedly strong masculine appearance, there
never was a really first-class horse. With his female progeny
the case is entirely different. The phenomenal breeding
mare of the race. Duchess of Challoch 4780, was got by Old
Times, and although all of his produce are not like her,
they are as a class remarkably safe breeding mares, and
some of them have taken the highest showyard honours.
One defect in his male progeny which was not at all marked
amongst his females is a tendency to softness both in feet and
in general health. The character of his stock and the stock
got by Drumflower Farmer suggests that what would be
regarded as serious defects in a stallion are comparatively
trivial and even in a modified form advantageous in a mare.
This is true, for example, of length of body. One great
attraction these two tribes of females have is that the}^ are
long below and have plenty of room for carrying health)',
strong foals. Hence it is that Farmer and Old Times mares
are always in demand.

', ' ' , «^\^.-- :^^ X

^*«

'1 II

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. lie

Miscellaneous Tribes.

It may, perhaps, be thought that in restricting the title
" Leading Tribes " to the famihes above reviewed an undue
importance is attached to them. But the most stril-cing fact in
connection with these tribes is, that even had the basis of our
classification been the whole of the sires of winning Clydes-
dales at the principal shows during the six years stated, the
supremacy of their families would not have been seriously
impaired. At the same time, there are one or two other lines
of breeding which have rendered good service to the Clydes-
dale cause which merit a concluding passing reference.
Chief amongst these are the Topsman 885 family, and the
Lochburnie Crown Prince 207 family.

Topsman 886 was an Aberdeenshire-bred stallion, got by
a son of the Old Clyde 574 that stands amongst the first of
the Prince of Wales tribe, and having as his dam a mare with
a curious history. Her name was Jane, and she was foaled in
the possession of Mr. William Wilson, Whiteside, Alford, on
which farm she remained until she died. She gained
numerous prizes, including second at the Highland and
Agricultural Society's Show at Aberdeen in 1858. Her dam
was a grey mare Peg, purchased in a Glasgow market when
in foal with Jane, and sold as being stinted to a horse named
Samson. On the one hand, it has been asserted that this
was a Clydesdale horse — it was so represented at the time of
purchase; and on the other, it is alleged that he was the well-
known English horse Bryan's Sampson, which is said to have
gained first prize at the Royal Agricultural Societj^'s Show at
Shrewsbury in 1845. Whatever the sire of his dam may have
been, there is no doubt that there were in Topsman features
that are more commonly associated with the Shire than with
the Clydesdale. He was a chesnut horse of great volume
and weight, and, although possessed of a magniiicent top, a
little short and steep in his fore-pasterns, and with a narrow
formation of head. He travelled in several widely divergent

ii6 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

districts of Scotland, and for several seasons in Yorkshire, but
as far as Scotland is concerned, the best of his progeny as a
whole were those bred in Dumbartonshire, out of old-fashioned
low-set, broad Clydesdale mares. He gained numerous prizes,
including first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show at Stirling in 1873.

Crown Prince 207 was in many respects a first-rate type of
the Clydesdale. He had good feet and legs, and a really first-
class Clydesdale formation of head ; i.e., it was of a fair length,
broad between the eyes, and altogether gave the impression of
considerable intelligence. Like Old Times, he was rather
long and easy in his back, and, perhaps, not too well-sprung
or barrel-shaped in his rib. He was bred in Renfrewshire,
and his breeding was a combination of the same blood as
Samson 741, and the blood of Clyde 155, and Barr's Prince
Royal 647, with a foundation of Kintyre blood. He was twice
second at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Shows,
and a prize winner elsewhere. His stock were not particularly
distinguished in the male line, but his female progeny have
conferred many and lasting benefits on the breed. They are
in the main marked by the Clydesdale characteristics which
have been referred to as prominent in himself, and are never
lacking in substance and weight.

On the whole, the tendency in the Clydesdale breed during
the past ten years has been towards greater elevation of
shoulder, roundness of barrel and levelness of top — an in-
fluence easily traceable to Darnley and his tribe ; and a
marked improvement in action and style, as easily traceable
to Prince of Wales and his tribe. Aiming at the develop-
ment of qualities which are enduring rather than temporary,
in some localities too much anxiety to produce fancy animals
with exaggerated showyard points may have led to the neglect
of more solid and enduring excellencies, while there has been
a steady detennination over all to keep the Clydesdale to the
front. The improvement in the female line is greater than in
the male line. There is a tendency to overlook the fact that

'^^ss

Adf

THF, CI.YDRSDALE HORSE. II7

the male must be masculine, and hence a few stallions have
appeared which would have secured much greater distinc-
tion had they been of the opposite sex. Auction sales have
become much more numerous than formerly, and the prices
realised, especially for females, have never been surpassed or
before approached. Abnormally high prices have been paid
for males, but these transactions have all taken place
privately.

A feature of the past ten years has been the openuig up of
new markets in different parts of the world, and the almost
complete cessation of trade with Australia and New Zealand,
which in former days were the best Clydesdale markets. The
chief of the new markets have been the United States,
Canada, the Argentine Republic, Chili, Brazil, Germany, and
Sweden. A limited number of horses have also been exported
to the Cape of Good Hope.

Points of the Clydesdale.

It is not easy to find language which will adequately con-
vey an idea of the present standard of points in the Clydesdale,
mainly because the terms employed are of necessity relative,
and have different shades of meaning according to the example
of the breed present to the mind's eye of the writer or reader.

The old school of Clydesdale judges — that is, the school of
twenty-five years ago, began to judge at the head, travelled
over the back and quarters, finishmg up with the limbs and
feet. The new school, which began to assert itself say about
fifteen years ago, begin with the feet — "no foot, no horse" —
and travel upwards. We follow their example. The ideal
horse of modern days in feet and hmbs is Prince of Albion
6178. He was first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's
Show four years in succession, a sufficient indication of the
position held by hini in popular esteem. He has large, round,
open feet, with particularly wide coronets, and the heels are
also wide and clearly defined. His pasterns are long and set

ii8

HRAVV HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

back at an angle which would be considered too acute in the
Shire. His bones are wide, flat, thin, and dense. The
following were the measurements of several leading sires in
the month of March, 1891. The ages of each, at the date of
measurement, are given, and it ought to be understood that
the horses were not in show condition.

Prince op

Albion

Sir Evkkard

SlRD.\R 4714

C.'MRNBROGIH

Flash WOOD

6178,

5353,

f. iSth April,

St.-\mp 4274,

^604, f. 13th

f. 25thApril,

f May, 188s-

1884.

f.sgth April, '84

May, 1883.

1886.

Height

T6h. 3in.on
plates

fnlly 17.1

ly-iij

i7.o\

17.0

Girth (in low condi-

7 ft. 4 in.

8 ft. (lean)

7 ft. 10 in.

7 ft. 6^- in. (lean;

S ft.

tion)

Weight

20^ cwt. June,
iSgo

19^ cwt.

20 cwt.

Arm

23-2 in upper

26 in. upper

23 in. at top

32 in. upper

20 in. above

muscles. i8

muscles

horn.

in. at horn

Knee

17 in round

Bone below the knee

ii-^- in.

II. in.

io:| in.

11 in.

Eone below the hock

T2i^ in.

12. in.

12^ in.

iii in.

12^ in.

Lentjth from elbow

19-i in.

18^ in.

to knee — middle of

joint

Centre of knee to

iii in.

11^ in.

T2^ in.

iiA in.

centre of fetlock

joint

Stifle to bend ofhock

2ri in.

21^, in.

22 in.

Point of hock to fet-

14^ in.

18^ in.

isiin.

lock

In approaching one, the Clydesdale should carry both feet
absolutely straight and level, and the whole appearance of
Prince of Albion when so viewed is regarded as about perfect.
He has a wide chest and low counter, but his limbs are
planted well under him, and there is no tendency to what is
called being wide at the shoulder, that is, having the fore-
limbs so coming out of the shoulder that the horse is com-
pelled to walk in front somewhat after the fashion of a bull-
dog. The slightest inclination to this in a Clydesdale is
regarded as unpardonable. The Clydesdale has an oblique
shoulder, lying well back on high withers. A ewe neck, that
is, a neck which carries the crown of the head at about the
same level as the top of the shoulders, is not regarded with
favour, and an arching high neck, whether in male or female, is

•2,

i '.»: .'i.M

'- ^- I

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE. II9

always an attraction. The head should be of medium length
and broad between the eyes and at the muzzle. A tendency
to "dish-face" may be observed in some tribes, and this is
generally accompanied by a small ear, and what, in the main,
is characterised as a " pony head." Wherever this style pre-
dominates there is probably a strain of Highland or old Gallo-
way in the blood. On the other hand, the hard, narrow face
and Roman nose are regarded as equally, if not more objection-
able. Such features are usually indicative of a strain of Shire
blood, and, indeed, they are not otherwise to be accounted for in
the Clydesdale. An open, level countenance, vigorous eye, and
large ear, are greatly valued, and not readily sacrificed. In
respect of the head, neck, shoulder, back, ribs and loins, per-
haps the best made Clydesdale stallion of recent years was
Flashwood 3604. But the measurements already quoted will
have indicated fairly well the relative measurements in
important points of some of the best stallions seen during the
past ten years. The hind limbs of the Clydesdale have not
nearly so much attention paid to them as the fore legs — and in
this, we think, Clydesdale judges err. Especially in regard to
entire horses is it true that no part of their anatomj' should
be more carefully attended to, and broad bones, of the texture
indicated as essential in the fore legs, broad, clean, sharply
defined hocks, with the hams coming well down into the
thighs, and the latter maintaining their strength and muscular
development right down almost to the hocks, should be more
insisted on than they are. The truth is that we are disposed
to regard weakness in the thighs as the most undesirable
blemish on the Clydesdale at the present day. If Prince of
Wales 673 gave us rather more of the hard, narrow head with
Roman nose, and the straight hock, than was desirable,
Darnley 222 gave us too great a lack of muscular develop-
ment in the thighs, and rather a sudden droop in the quarters.
Thoroughbred quarters are not asked for in the Clydesdale,
but, on the other hand, neither are the quarters of the Perch-
eron. The tail should be well set on, by which we mean that

120 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

it should be set well up, and the quarters and thighs should
not be too sharply marked off.

Action is all important in the Clydesdale. Even his
most severe critic will not deny that in this particular he
generally excels. He is never judged travelling round about
the ring, but always up and down the centre in front of his
judges. Hence his limbs must be squarely planted under
him ; they must follow each other in an undeviating line, and
and it is an all-important requisite that the points of the
hocks be inclined inward and not outward. A Clydesdale
must stand with its hind legs in regulation military form —
heels in and toes out. Any other arrangement is tabooed,
and if perfection is not always attained, it is always sought
for, and many things are sacrificed to secure the prize for an
animal which keeps its hocks well together. The conse-
quence of the attention bestowed on action is that the Clydes-
dale as a rule is both a good walker and a good trotter.
Some of the best show horses have had trotting action almost
equal to that of the best Hackneys, while there probably
never was a stallion of any breed which could have excelled
Darnley at the walking pace. The chief improvements
effected in the Clydesdale during the past twelve years are in
our opinion these : An increase in the quality, by which we
mean the density, and wearing properties of the bones ; a
marked advance in the direction of deepening the rib,
shortening the coupling, and rounding the barrel ; a gradual
but quite discernible return to the old Clydesdale type of
head, and a very distinct advance in general soundness and
freedom from the diseases scheduled as hereditary unsound-
nesses by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In proof
of this it is but necessary to refer to the results of the
veterinary examinations at the Royal Agricultural Society's
Shows since these came into force four or five years ao'o.
None of the other draught breeds has come anything like so
well through this ordeal as the Clydesdale. As regards the
popular size of the Clydesdale, the figures airead}- quoted

-' -i°^

-;co

— "

n m

—

~ X,

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE.

121

relative to leading stallions are the best testimony. Mares
as a rule are about an inch less in height than the stallions,
and their other measurements are in proportion. It is, how-
ever, worthy of remark that there are many Clydesdale mares
of quite exceptional size and weight — such for example is the
Marquis of Londonderry's Primula 7477, which in a large
class of dray horses won first prize at a recent Durham
County Show. That there has been a tendency in the show-
yard during the past ten years, to favour "bonnie" animals
rather than strong animals, is not to be denied, but during
the past season, and even more emphatically during the
present season (1894) judges have abandoned this fancy, and
the draught horse type is decidedly in the ascendant.

HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

CHAPTEE IV.

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES
FOR STREET WORK.

[It may be mentioned here that the writer of this chapter is
Mr. W. R. Trotter].

Few people will deny that the breeding of cart horses for
street work is one of the most important departments of
British farming at the present time. The prices of farm
produce have come down and down, despite the prognosti-
cations of the most learned, and at the time of writing, flour
of the very best quality is being sold at is. per imperial
stone, the best beef at 6d. per lb., and other products at a
similar low rate. This, added to a disastrous season like 1893,
when the greater part of England suffered from an exceptional
drought, is calculated to make all thoughtful men turn their
attention to the production of a description of stock which
has not yet been seriously threatened by foreign competition.
At the present time ;f 100 for a seasoned heavy cart gelding
is not an uncommon price ; several have been sold at much
more, and the general run of prices for heavy horses is from
^70 to £"100. This forms a striking contrast to the value
of other produce which the farmer has to sell.

It will be impossible to give such advice as will insure
universal success in the productipn of this class of stock, as
horses are, of course, susceptible to the influences of soil and
climate. The treatment that is practised on one farm is not
always applicable to another holding, and all men do not
manage alike.

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. 123

The title of this chapter will indicate that I do not mean
to enter upon an elaborate history of the cart horses of the
British Isles, as that subject has been discussed elsewhere.
It is more the intention to take an impartial view of matters
as they are, and to give some hints at improving them, see-
ing that "there is no time like the present." However, it
would not be wise to wholly ignore all modern history, for we
have had several prominent examples of what can be done
by judicious care and judgment in cart horse breeding as well
as in other things. There is no doubt that the heavy horses
of England and Scotland are of one and the same family, and
that an interchanging of breeding stock has been going on
over the Border for the whole of this century, at any rate.
I do not, of course, refer to the depredations of the Border
clans, who thought it part of their duty to cross the Border
and carry back as much of their enemies' stock as they could
lay hands upon. According to several old horse books that
have come under the notice of the writer, English dealers
early this century travelled north to Rutherglen fair, and
bought large lots of cart fillies, which were taken into Lanca-
shire and several other counties. How long this trade con-
tinued it is not easy to define, but certain it is that in the
neighbourhood of Carlisle, Longtown, and several other Border
towns, tribes of horse dealers now exist, and have existed, in
the same families for generations, whose operations in their
trade have been pursued from Preston in the South to
Glasgow, Falkirk, and Edinburgh in the North. When they
found they could dispose of good fillies in the North they
often drew their supplies from the South, and vice versa. The
direction of the current undoubtedly varied, but according
to available history it was certainly from North to South
during the early half of this century. It is only during the
last thirty years that the Scottish invasion proper com-
menced. The Scotch dealers began to find that any number
of beautiful fillies of the Clydesdale type could be procured
in the Midlands. Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire,

124 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

and Cambridgeshire received the most of their attentions.
Welshpool fair was regularly visited ; in fact, one of the
best geldings known to the writer to-day was got by a
stallion whose dam was bought at Welshpool, and whose
sire was a Clydesdale. The men who principallj' took such
a lot of grand mares North were the late Hugh Crawford,
David Riddell, and many others. On one occasion Mr.
Riddell bought as many as forty fillies at Waltham fair, as
bonnie Clydesdales as ever were seen, according to his
opinion (which is always worth having about a cart horse).
Mr. Drew drove for weeks round the nooks and corners of
Derbyshire, often piloted by Mr. Samuel Wade, of Mickle-
over, who used to tell how Mr. Drew would travel down by
the night train from Glasgow to Derby, and drive out to Mr.
Wade's place, where he would arrive about four o'clock in
the morning, and immediately commence to disturb the
slumbers of Mr. Wade by throwing pebbles up to the
window, a plan that has been adopted by many another man
bent on a wooing expedition. On one occasion these two
gentlemen secured fourteen choice fillies, nearly all by
Lincolnshire Lad, which, of course, Mr. Wade expected
would satisfy the cravings of the shrewd Scotchman for
some time, but much to his surprise the genial tenant of
Merryton returned in about a fortnight for a fresh lot of his
favourite sort. This went on for several years, and in the
early half of the seventies the bulk of the mares and fillies
disposed of at Mr. Drew's sensational sales hailed from the
Midlands, and these were diffused over the length and breadth
of Scotland. The late Mr. Hugh Crawford was once met by
a friend in Carlisle station, and on being asked where he had
been, said he had been to England for a " wheen horse" (a
few horses), but the few turned out to be a whole special train
load. These facts may give some idea of the magnitude of the
trade, and may account in a measure for the great difficulty
there is in England to find mares with correct ankles, good
feet, and clean coronets, because for years the Scotchman

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. I25

took away only those animals which excelled in these cardinal
points, thus leaving a residuum of short pasterned animals,
with defective feet, and having of side-bones above an average
crop.

At this time there was a sort of reciprocity going on
in the opposite direction. Many Enghsh noblemen employed
Scotch baihfFs and managers, and these men often suc-
ceeded in taking some Clydesdale horses with them. The
great Clydesdale horse Lofty, or Young Lofty 987 was
taken into Gloucestershire. He subsequently came into
Derbyshire, where he travelled for years, and was known as
Tagg's Lofty. Scores of grand horses were produced from
him in the Burton district, notably Drew's Countess, that
won first prize at the " Royal " show four times, and the
highest award at the Paris Exhibition. Her full sister was
White's Farmer, that gained the champion prize at
Ashbourne show when nearly 20 years old. This mare
bred well, having produced Lord Ellesmere's Farmer,
probably the best mare that was ever at Worsley, and she,
again, is the dam of Mr. Salt's William the Conqueror
horse, Duke of Normandy, the sire of Mr. Muntz's Wil-
lington Boy, who, by the by, has Lofty for great
grandsire on his dam's side, so he has a double cross of the
Clydesdale, and, in addition, he is of the same colour as
Countess and her sister. White's Farmer also pro-
duced the great Royal Albert mare, Pauline, that was sold
to the late Mr. Punchard as a filly for 300 guineas. Sir
Walter Scott, the grandsire of the celebrated Prince of
Wales, travelled in the Fylde district in Lancashire for
several seasons until his great merits as a breeder were
discovered by Mr. Riddell, who at once tracked him, and
took him back to his native land, where it is needless to say
his descendants have eflected a revolution. For this one act
alone the Clydesdale world should be for ever grateful to Mr.
Riddell. Mr. Thomas Shaw, of Winmarleigh, kept Clydes-
dale stallions for many years, and his old horse, Argyle,

126 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

whose blood runs in many of the best horses in Lancashire
to-day, was onl}' four or five years ago standing near Carn-
forth, in North Lancashire. Mr. T. H. Miller's celebrated
Princess Dagmar was a direct descendant of Tom o' the
Gills, a Clydesdale horse bred in Cumberland. Mr. Charles
W. Tindall took a Clydesdale horse to Mr. John Torr's, in
Lincolnshire, in 1875, and he has said that a Clydesdale
horse named Ronald McDonald left a lot of grand geldings
off Lincolnshire-bred mares. The Duke of Richmond also
introduced Clydesdales to Goodwood, and they are still kept
there. Mr. Stewart Hodgson had a nice stud in Surrey,
where they did a lot of good, and the Lords Cecil have at
present a fine lot at Tunbridge, in Kent ; so also has Lord
Cawdor in South Wales. The Duke of Portland for many
years had a show team of Clj'desdales at Welbeck, and for
several seasons they competed with Shires, and won a large
number of prizes.

Sufficient has probably been said of a historical nature to
show us that the breeds have been closely interwoven for
many generations. It will be necessary later on to examine
more closely the details of the breeding of some of the most
prominent horses of the day in order to prove exactly how
they are bred, so that it may be a guide to us in the produc-
tion of similar high class horses that can make such remu-
nerative prices for town work. It is, however, rather
remarkable that the Scotch breeders have always made good
feet and correct pasterns leading points in their operations,
and for a long time their Enghsh brethren paid little or no
attention to these essential points, and bestowed their prin-
cipal attention to weight and formation of body, so that to
take the majority of Scotch horses to-day, they show a far
greater uniformity of type than the English, with the most
beautiful of feet and ankles, and fine quality of bone. Their
greatest deficiency is weight of bod)' — often they are rather
light in ribs, and they could do with more bone ; while the
rank and file of the Enolish branch is certamly thoroughly

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. I27

superior where the Scotch is inferior, and vice versa. Of
course, it is not meant that individual specimens cannot
easily be found possessing all the good points of both breeds,
but speaking generally these remarks hold good.

It will be readily gathered from the foregoing that in the
opinion of the writer, a sounder, better and more saleable
gelding for town work can be produced in the most expedi-
tious way by a judicious blending of Clydesdale and Shire
blood than by sticking closely to Stud Book lines. The
wisdom of this course is more clearly demonstrated in Scot-
land, where, as previously stated, an enormous number of
English mares have been taken and put to Clydesdale horses.
The produce inherit from their Shire dams far more sub-
stance of body than was possessed by the old original long-
bodied Clydesdale mares, while the correctness of formation
of limbs, clean coronets and big, sound, well-shaped feet are
transmitted from their Clydesdale sires. These latter highly
essential points have been cultivated and thoroughly de-
veloped by years of careful breeding and by rejecting the
stallions with faulty limbs and defective feet. To illustrate
this statement I may mention several noted stallions bred or
owned by the late Mr. Lawrence Drew, of Merryton, who was
unquestionabl}^ the pioneer in this system of breeding cart
horses, and certain it is that no one in modern history achieved
such distinguished success as a breeder. In this respect it
may truly be said that Mr. Drew was a national benefactor.
Among the horses he bred, or that were bred from the English
mares he took North, we may mention those celebrated
animals, Lord Harry, Prince Imperial, Lord Douglas (Glas-
gow winner) Roderick Dhu (Glasgow winner) and Rosebery
(who was second at the same show), Duke of Hamilton (sold
for 1,000 guineas), Prince George of Wales, Brilhant, Luck's
All, St. Lawrence (Glasgow winner), St. Mungo, St. Vincent,
Hawkhead (Glasgow winner), Prince of Avondale (twice
Glasgow winner), Pearl of Avondale, Bold Briton, Premier
Prince, Brave Wallace, Clarendon, Bonnie Prince, Mains of

128 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

Airies, Handsome Prince, Gallant Prince, &c., &c. Some
of these horses were eligible for the Clydesdale Stud Book,
although they all inherited both Shire and Clydesdale blood.
To show the distinction some of them attained I will take as
specimens Prince of Avondale, Prince Lawrence, Castle-
reagh and Lord Ailsa, all of which were descended from Mr.
Drew's English mares.

(i) Prince of Avondale, foaled in 1880, sire Prince of
Wales, dam juno, by the Shire stallion Ploughboy 1741.
This horse was bred from a mare bought by Mr. Drew at
Waltham-on-the-Wold fair. I think she came through the
hands of Mr. H. Freshney. As a yearling he gained first
prizes at Edinburgh, Strathaven, Kilbride, and the Highland
and Agricultural Society's Shows ; he also won the first
prize at the Glasgow Stallion Show in 1883, and again in
1884, and travelled the district. He will be best remem-
bered by English readers as winning the first prize at the
Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Norwich. He was not
very extensively patronised in the Glasgow district, owing to
his not being registered in the Stud Book, and unfortunately
he proved a very unprolific sire. What he did leave were,
however, of exceptional excellence, and it is quite certain
that no other stallion in Scotland has produced such a pair
of superb mares as Rose of Banknock and Sunray. Rose of
Banknock won innumerable prizes previous to becoming the
property of Mr. A. H. Boyle, of Banknock, and her record
was without precedent. In i88g she commenced at Kil-
marnock by winning first as a brood mare, the silver medal
as the best female, and the Duke of Portland's cup for the
best of the breed ; at Ayr, first prize in her class ; at Mary-
hill, first prize in her class, and special as best female on the
ground ; at Glasgow, first prize in her class, and silver cup
for best of the breed ; at East Kilbride, first in her class, and
silver cup as best of the breed ; she was also awarded similar
honours at the Falkirk, the Kirkintilloch, the Lanark, the
Dunblane and Edinburgh Snows ; she also won the first

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. I2g

prize at the Melrose Show of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, and the cup as the best female exhibited. It will
thus be observed that she not only won every time she was
exhibited, but in addition she gained the special prizes (where
offered) as the best of her breed, or the best in the yard.
Such a record is unparalleled, and needs no comment. The
other celebrated daughter of Prince of Avondale, Sunray, is
owned by Mr. Mitchell, Polmont. She won numerous prizes
when a filly ; as a brood mare she was first at Ayr ; first at
Maryhill and champion medal ; first at Barrhead and cham-
pion medal ; first at Hamilton and champion medal ; first at
East Kilbride and champion cup ; first at Springburn and
medal ; first Edinburgh (her foal also first) ; first Highland
and Agricultural Society's Show, Glasgow. In 1889 she
slipped her foal, and was not in good show form, but won
first at Maryhill, first at Glasgow (where she beat Ayr and
Kilmarnock winners), first Hamilton, first Springburn and
first at Kirkintilloch (she was not shown at any other show).
It will thus be apparent that not only did she herself win the
highest honours, but that she produced an exceptionally good
foal that won first prize on several occasions. She is also the
dam of the unbeaten three-year old colt Prince of Millfield.
Prince of Avondale is also the sire of Sir James Duke's
beautiful horse Fashion, that was second at the Highland
and Agricultural Show at Glasgow ; also of Mr. David
Riddell's good-looking Golden Avon, one of the horses in
the short leet of three-year-olds at Glasgow, and winner at'
the Highland and Agricultural Society's Melrose Show.

(2) Prince Lawrence (lately owned by Mr. Peter Crawford,
Eastfield House, Dumfries), is not eligible for the Clydes-
dale Stud Book, but the Clydesdale Horse Society have,
by a recent rule, shown a wise discretion in admitting his
produce from registered mares. No horse has made such
a mark in such a short time in modern history, and it is a
national misfortune that he should have died so soon. As to
his breeding, he is in-bred to the veteran Prince of Wales,

130 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

being got by Prince George of Wales (by Prince of Wales),
dam by Prince David (by Prince of Wales). His sire, Prince
George of Wales, was bred by Mr. Drew, and was out of
his well-known English mare Jessie Brown, and she was
believed to be got by Bold Lincoln 231 ; consequently Prince
Lawrence is a grandson of an English mare ; he has also a
concentration of the blood of Prince of Wales, himself half
English. As a three-year-old he was second at Glasgow
Stallion Show, and was first the following year at the High-
land and Agricultural Society's meeting at Perth. Since then
he has not been exhibited, but his career at the stud has
been phenomenal, as the following will show. For his first
two seasons he travelled at moderate fees, but in 1888 he
travelled the Girvan district, terms £^ at service, and £\
each foal. In 1889 he travelled for the Brechin and Pertli
Horse Club at £■>, and £^. He was let to the same Society for
1890 at £\o and ^£"3, and for season 1890 terms of ;^io and
^10 were refused from a different society. His first crop
of foals in Glenkins district were of great excellence, and
contained Lady Lawrence, sold to Lord Cawdor for ^400 ;
Eastfield Chief and Eastfield Model, sold for ;^i,ooo; Law-
rence's Heir, Eastfield Laird, &c., &c. In the prize ring as
a lot they stood practically undefeated. In family competi-
tions for the best five two-year-olds by one horse they were
first at Kilmarnock Show and first at Glasgow Show, also
second for five yearlings by one horse at the same show.
The most prominent winner in the two-year-olds was Lady
Lawrence ; as a yearling she was first at Kilmarnock (Derby),
second at Ayr, first Maryhill, first Hamilton, first East Kil-
bride ; as a two-year-old, first at the Royal Show at Windsor
(fifteen shown), first Hamilton and champion cup, second
at Kilmarnock. At Kilmarnock Show Lawrence's Heir was
second, and Eastfield Chief fourth ; Ayr Show, Eastfield
Chief second ; Glasgow Show, Lawrence's Heir second,
Eastfield Chief third, Eastfield Model sixth, Eastfield Laird
commended ; Edinburgh Show, Eastfield Chief first. Pro-

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. I3I

vincial fair, Canada, Eastfield Chief first ; also first at the
Industrial Show. Lawrence's Heir was let to the Perth,
Glamis, and Brechin Society in the place of his sire for
1890; terms, £if at service, and £b for every foal. Prince
Lawrence's yearlings were second at Kilmarnock, first at
Glasgow, first Edinburgh, first and fourth Greenock, second
Highland and Agricultural Society, Melrose, first Barrhead
Open Show, second Paisley, first Arbroath, and champion as
best female, and second Royal at Windsor. A foal by Prince
Lawrence was sold to Mr. A. Scott, Greenock, for £^']S
net. It would be difficult to find a horse that has made such
a record ; his first crop of foals were invincible as a group
of two-year-olds, in addition to winning prizes individually
at the leading shows of Clydesdales ; his second crop also
distinguished themselves in a similar manner, and the price
above noticed for a foal is a sufficient proof of the great ex-
cellence of his third crop. The death of Prince Lawrence
was not only a great loss to his owner, but to the Clydesdale
breed it was incalculable.

{3) Castlereagh, owned by the Marquis of Londonderry,
is probably the most familiar horse to English readers. He
will be remembered as winning the first prize at the Royal
Show at Newcastle in 1887, also first at both the Great
Yorkshire Show at Huddersfield and at the Lancashire Show
at Lancaster in 18S8. Many people thought him very badly
used at the Perth Show of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, where some prominent judges put him down an easy
winner, and again at Melrose he might have been second to
Lord Ailsa, and no injustice done to any one. He was cer-
tainly the most typical Ctydesdale horse in the ring, and a
well-known American declared him by far the most suitable
and valuable horse for his country if he had been registered.
In breeding he may be termed the orthodox cross on the top,
being by Darnley, dam by Prince of Wales ; his granddam
was Mr. Drew's black Shire mare Topsy, that will be remem-
bered as winning first prize in her class, and champion as the

132 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

best female at the Shire Horse Show in London in 1880.
She was bred in Derbyshire, and bought by Mr. Drew from
Mr. Goodall, Milton, Derbyshire ; being got by Crown Prince
558, dam by William the Conqueror 2,343. (Crown Prince
was from a mare by William the Conqueror 2,340, the grand-
sire of the great horse of that name numbered 2343.) It will
thus be seen that Topsy was closely related and in-bred to one
of the most celebrated Shire horses of the day — William the
Conqueror 2343, the sire of Prince William, Staunton Hero,
Hitchin Conqueror, Electric, and Endymion. It would there-
fore be difficult to imagine a horse better bred* than Castle-
reagh, combining as he does the blood of the two greatest
horses Scotland has ever seen, and the best blood in the
whole Shire Horse Stud Book. Although Castlereagh is
not entered in the Clydesdale Stud Book, all his produce
from registered mares are eligible. As may be imagined
from such breeding, Castlereagh is an exceptionally good
getter. He has been kept almost exclusively for use in
Lord Londonderry's own stud, and an inspection of that stud
will confirm this. His produce have won a great number
of prizes in Northumberland and Durham, and also at the
Royal and Highland Society's Shows during recent years.
The following are a few of the honours won by them in
1889: — Loyalist 6022 won first prize at Hamilton Show,
and was also awarded the Lesmahagow premium to travel
their district. Winnie, first prize yearling filly at Kilbride
Open Show, and second at Paisley. Yearhng filly, dam
Cowshp, first at Northumberland Show, first at Durham
County Show, and second at Highland Society's Show at
Melrose. Yearling colt, first at both the Northumberland
and Durham County Shows, and medals of the Clydesdale
Horse Society. Two-year-old filly Gladys, vhc at Royal
Windsor Show, second Durham County Show, first North-
umberland Show. Rowan, three-year-old filly, first Dar-
lington Show, first at Brampton Show. The Cumberland
Agricultural Society offer prizes at Carlisle for the best pair

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES.

133

of fillies under three years old. One year Mr. Sinclair Scott
sent his pair (the best in Scotland) and won ; the next year
several celebrities from over the Border were present, but
the first and second prizes were won by four fillies, 'all by
Castlereagh, viz., Lauristina and Letitia first, Rowan and
Gladys second. His stock also obtained leading honours at
the Cleveland, Northallerton, and Darlington Shows in
England, and at Stranraer and A3'r in Scotland.

(4) Lord Ailsa, owned by Mr. John Galbraith, Croy
Cunningham. This horse is entered in the Stud Book as
got by Lord Erskine, dam Jewel, by Prince of Wales ; the
breeding of his dam was subsequently challenged, and some
people declared her to be a pure English mare. The full
particulars of these statements were published in the Live
Stock Journal. However, the subject was fully gone into by
the Clydesdale Horse Society, and the registration confirmed.
The contention of the parties who challenged the pedigree
was that Jewel, when sold at Mr. Drew's sale, was entered
in the catalogue, no sire being given, and that when Mr. Drew
was asked the question he did not say her sire was Prince of
Wales. A perusal of Mr. Drew's catalogues will not show
a single case in which, where an animal was got by Prince
of Wales, the fact was not stated, and in every catalogue
(except the one issued as a register by Mr. Drew and the
one published after his death) the English horses are entered
without pedigrees. Let the horse be bred as he may, he is
certainly a credit to his ancestors. It is, of course, conceded
by everybody. that his granddam was English. His success
at the Highland Show at Melrose was almost universally
approved of. He is a horse of great size and marvellous
quality. A very beautiful and good likeness of him appeared
in the Chicago Bvecdcrs' Ga::ette. He had the Bute premium
of ^100 in 1 888, and his foals were not only ver}' plentiful, but
were of such uniformity and excellence that Mr. Galbraith
bought twelve of them. In 1889 he was awarded the Strath-
endrick premium of ;^ioo. He was let to the same Society

134 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

for 1890; terms, ^100 prize, and 100 mares guaranteed at
£^ and £\ I OS. for every foal.

It may be asked what proof there is that these horses
can get good geldings ? There is probably no county in
England, according to its cultivable area, that produces such
a large number of valuable heavy cart geldings as Cumber-
land. In that county both Shire and Clydesdale stallions have
travelled, and most of the breeding animals contain the blood
of both breeds ; the stallions now being used, although mostly
in the Clydesdale Stud Book, are large, powerful horses, with
big and correct limbs and grand feet. Probably the best
breeding horse of the lot was Lord Lothian, whose produce,
year after year, obtained a host of prizes in the gelding com-
petitions in the county ; this horse's sire and grandsire have
a strong admixture of Shire blood. There is no doubt that
the soil, pasturage and climate of Cumberland are specially
adapted for the growth of these horses. The results are
highly satisfactory from a financial point of view to the
farmers who breed them, and a credit to them for the way
they are brought to the various sales where they are annually
disposed of. Speaking of the influences of soil and climate
upon the growth of carthorses, Mr. David Riddell is of the
opinion that there is a marked diflerence in localities. He
says, " It is my opinion that Clydesdales bred in Lincolnshire
get much grosser and stronger. They are up to more weight,
I should say by 2 cwt. each animal, than those bred in our
county. I have had the practical proof of knowing this."

Physiology of Breeding.

There is not the slightest doubt that a careful study of the
physiology of breeding is of the very greatest importance in
the consideration of cart-horse breeding. About fifty years
ago a medical practitioner, named Dr. Orton, a resident in
Sunderland, after carefully experimenting for several years,
propounded the theory that in breeding animals, in the

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. 135

majority of cases the male parent influenced in a great
measure the outward formation, principally the external
structure or locomotive organs ; and the female the internal
organisation, viz., the whole circulatory, respiratory and diges-
tive organs.

A number of years later, in the Journal of the Royal Agri-
cultural Society of England, pubHshed in 1865, Mr. W. C.
Spooner contributed a most interesting article on the cross
breeding of horses, and advanced the same theory as that
of Dr. Orton, with very slight variation. He was, however,
of opinion, that the female often gives the head and neck,
and the male the back and hind quarters. Mr. Spooner was
undoubtedly a very careful observer, and he adduced a large
number of instances that came within his own knowledge,
where the theory worked out with striking correctness, prov-
ing most conclusively that in breeding horses, as well as other
live stock, we can reduce the uncertainties to a very consider-
able extent. The writer is quite satisfied from careful observa-
ticras in the breeding of cart horses in his own stud that the
locomotive organs of the sire are far oftener transmitted
than those of the dam. He can trace the exact walking and
trotting action transmitted through four generations on the
sire's side ; the fourth generation now at the stud is producing
foals of the almost identical type to himself, particularly in
the hind quarters, locomotive organs and action. The famous
Clydesdale stallion Darnley, probably one of the greatest
horses of the century, was a striking illustration of the
transmission of faulty hind quarters by the sire. This horse,
although certainly good enough over his rumps and
tail-head, was undoubtedly deficient below his tail, being
decidedly light thighed. Nearly the whole of his pro-
duce inherit this defect in a greater or less degree. Many
other striking illustrations could be brought forward where
stallions that were narrow and split up behind transmitted
that defect with decidedly unpleasant persistency. The late
Mr. James Howard, of Bedford, who had studied breeding

136 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEmNT.

from Dr. Orton's and Mr. Spooner's standpcut, in refer-
ring thereto, said : " Observation and experience have
satisfied me that they are sound, and although H^e every other
breeder I know something of the uncertainties of breeding,
yet I am convinced that there are certain Liws pertaining
to the process which cannot be disregarded with impunity."
Mr. Drew undoubtedly acted as if he was thoroughly conver-
sant with this theor}'. His great horse, Prince of Wales,
was certainly very deficient in ribs, but his limbs were extra-
ordinary for quality and formation — beautiful pasterns and
flexible coronets, free from side-bones, open hoof heads and
perfect feet, and his action was superb. Mr. Drew, as has
been previously stated, obtained his supplies of thick-bodied
Shire mares from the Midlands, with, of course, the best feet
and ankles he could get, and the result was a perfect con-
firmation of the theories here advanced, because the produce
inherited in a marked degree the limbs and action of the old
Prince, and the thick bodies of their dams. His record as a
breeder stands unrivalled at the present day. It will probably
repay cart-horse breeders to cast some retrospective thoughts
on the various stallions and mares they have known in the past,
and see if they cannot trace the influence of the respective
parents in the produce of those animals, and thus satisfy
themselves on this most important point ; this would certainly
be a great guide to their future procedure. Probably some
of the horses mentioned hereafter may be known to them.
The following will show that the most successful breeding
horses in modern times have been those with the best of
limbs or locomotive organs, though many of them were deficient
in ribs.

William the Conqueror, the sire of the three London
champions. Prince William, Hitchin Conqueror, and Staunton
Hero, was decidedly a light bodied horse. When at Worsley,
over 20 years old, his legs, feet and pasterns were nearly per-
fect ; in fact there are few stalhons of any age to-day with the
same superior set of limbs, and the way he moved them was

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. I37

a treat to see and almost a greater treat to hear. The elasticity
that can only exist in perfectly shaped limbs was unimpaired
by twenty years of stud life.

Royal Albert was a very tall horse, with the biggest of hind
legs, broad, flat bones and ample pasterns. His son Albert
Edward is a similar horse and a good breeder. When Royal
Albert served in his native district, where his ancestors for
several generations had travelled, and where the mares were
rather on the leg like himself, he left certainly a lot of useful
horses, and several rather tall ones, but it was not until he
migrated among the thick-bodied, short-legged mares in the
Ashbourne district that he became the sire of such high-class
produce.

Bar None, when bought as a three-year-old, was leggy and
narrow ; yet this horse was the best four-year-old stallion
of his year, and is probably the sire of more good mares than
any other stallion ; but his limbs were superb, and this is what
he imparted to his progeny. Lincolnshire Lad, and his two
sons — Lincolnshire Lad 2nd and Hydraulic — were all leggy
horses, but their limbs were of great size and quality. Mr.
Drew wrote in 1881, that the old horse was the sire of more
prize mares at the principal shows in Scotland during the pre-
vious five years than any other horse in the country. Lincoln-
shire Lad 2nd, sire of Harold, &c., has more bone and hair than
any other horse in England, but is light in his ribs and narrow
in front. Hitchin Conqueror, one of the best all-round getters
in England to-day, is decidedly a tall horse, and for some years
was badly used in London on this account. Sir Colin, the
sire of Starlight, and of many grand brood mares in Lanca-
shire, including the dam of Vulcan (twice London Champion),
was an old horse when at Worsley, but decidedly on the leg.
Premier and his sire. What's Wanted, were both light-
middled horses with great limbs. Among Clydesdales, the
greatest breeding stallion I have ever known. Prince of Wales,
has been previously referred to. Darnley, in the eyes of
EngHsh judges, would have been considered a leggy horse.

ijS HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

and Lord Lyon was certainly in the same category. Mr.
Peter Crawford's Prince Lawrence, the most successful
breeding young horse of recent years, was so leggy and
narrow when he won first prize at the Highland and Agri-
cultural Show at Perth, that many people complained of
the decision, but his limbs were so remarkable for size,
quality and formation, that the judges could not get over
him ; and, as we have already stated, subsequent events
proved that they were right.

Before proceeding to consider the selection of breeding
animals, probably it will be desirable to review the most
important feature of the whole subject, viz., soundness. Un-
doubtedly, the large preponderance of unsound material is the
greatest drawback to the successful production of market-
able animals. It is admitted that the following diseases are
notoriously hereditary, viz., side-bones, ring-bones, spavins,
navicular disease, curbs, stringhalt, shivering, boggy hocks,
roaring and whistling. The most prevalent of these in cart-
horses is side-bones and roaring ; but although the others are
not quite so common, their presence must be avoided if
possible. An eminent authority on horse-breeding, who is
also a qualified veterinary surgeon, is of opinion that the
depreciation in value of a heavy cart gelding, worth, say £go
if sound, throvigh having side-bones would be £^o ; but
he further states that the actual working value of the animal
is not so seriously deteriorated if he has an ample hoof-head (or
coronet) and good strong open feet, but of course these things
are not always considered by men who buy all their work-
horses only on the condition that their veterinary will pass
them sound and clean, and it is very doubtful if the above
figures adequately represent the depreciation in the market
value of a gelding. How, then, have side-bones to be got rid
of? The same authority is of opinion that they cannot be
bred out except at the expense of a deterioration of size and
weight ; certain it is that in all horses, the bigger they are the
larger percentage there are of unsound ones; and as a proof

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. 139

of the very serious number of side-boned horses there are in
the country, a circumstance which occurred at a sale of Shire
liorses some time ago may be mentioned. A very good foal
was to be offered from a mare with no less than four side-
bones (the foal was ultimately sold at a high price) ; a well-
known horse-breeder in conversation put this question to the
writer, viz., " If he thought the foal could be safely bought
for a stud horse?" "Certainly not," was the reply; "the
mare is not fit to breed a stallion with such unsound feet."
A prominent breeder chimed in, " But where are you going
to get them without side-bones ? " It looked a hopeless
business to attempt to advance the breeding of sound horses
in such company, if such a state of things existed. If that
worthy man would take a trip to Glasgow Stallion Show, he
would find side-bones few and far between, and horses of
sufficient size and weight for any purpose. It is not meant that
he would find all the horses as large as he would like, because
tlie Scotch taste is somewhat different to the English in this
connection ; they go more for quality than size. Then, again,
there are many Shire horses shown in London, year after year,
that keep clear of side-bones, and are of sufficient size. Of
course it cannot be denied that they are not sufficiently plenti-
ful to meet the demand there is for them. There is certainly
no possible reason why side-bones cannot be bred out as well
as other similar diseases, remembering that they are a disease
of the locomotive organs ; it certainly points to the strong
advisability of causing all stallions with such objectionable
ornaments to be castrated at once. There are strict laws for
the suppression of diseases in cattle, sheep, and pigs, and it is
equally necessary for Government to intervene in respect of
horse-breeding. But it is quite possible to show that side-
bones have been, and are being, bred out. It is well-known
that a famous old Shire horse had them, as had also many of
his produce; one celebrated mare by him taken into Scotland
was similarly affected, yet nearly all her produce by Prince of
Wales were clear, and one of her daughters is now a distin-

140 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

guished prize winner and the dam of two of the soundest and
most successful breeding stallions in Scotland. They may be
excused in a mare but never in a stallion. If only those
stallions that are clear of side-bones were used, depend upon
it we would soon get plenty of horses with clean coronets. It
might be reasonably assumed that roaring being an affection of
the wind is a secondary unsoundness to side-bones and other
similar complaints which affect the locomotive organs, seeing
that roaring and whistling cannot affect the actual muscular
strength of the animal, and certainly cannot lame him, but
men who are in the trade attach as much importance to roar-
ing as to side-bones, and it is certainly safe to say that the
decrease in value, when horses are affected in this manner, is
to the same extent as a side-boned animal. It is a debateable
point whether affections of the larynx and throat are more
likely to be transmitted by the male or female parent, as strik-
ing instances could be adduced where they have followed both
parents. But seeing that their presence seriously affects the
market value of the animal, it would clearly be wise to avoid
them in all breeding stock. The other forms of unsoundness are
of much more rare occurrence in cart horses ; at the same time
their hereditary nature must not be treated lightly. The fore-
going remarks as to physiology of breeding and the heredi-
tary nature of unsoundness may be of some value as a guide
to the selection of breeding stock. A careful study of the
subject will certainly narrow down the uncertainty of breeding
sound animals when it is conducted in the usual haphazard
way, and place the subject on a lirmer basis on which to
operate with some degree of certainty. In the

Selection of a Stallion

we must pay the most particular care and attention to the
size, quality and formation of his limbs and locomotive organs;
it is not a question only of weight and width of carcase. He
should, in the first place, have good-sized, sound, open feet, not

THE BREEDING OK HEaVy CART HORSES.

141

abnormally large feet, but hollow below, with strong heels,
and thick, tough crusts. Recently, Professor McCall clearly
demonstrated that big, flat, overgrown feet were often weak
and the first place where a heavy horse would go wrong, if
overtaken by any serious illness ; but as many mares have
small feet, defective in formation, it must be a leading point
that the feet of a stallion should be of sufficient size and
strength, and perfect in formation ; open coronets and sloping
pasterns are equally requisite. So also are big knees and
hocks, good quality of bone and fully developed tendons. Too
much importance cannot be attached to the full development
of the tendons and ligaments ; they must fill the hand and be
well away from the bone. A horse with weak and badly
developed tendons, stuck close up against his cannon bones,
always measures badly below his knee, and consequently is
very liable to suffer from sprains and contraction of the back
tendons. A stallion should also have strong, muscular arms
and thighs, and powerful, wide quarters ; to put it shortly, he
ought to have plenty of propelling power behind. Action is
highly important in a stallion, and undoubtedly is very likely
to be hereditary, especially the walking pace, the most im-
portant gait. William the Conqueror was a fine walker and
Royal Albert a bad one, and it is astonishing to find how the
bulk of their produce take after them in this respect. It must
not be inferred that substance in a stallion should be over-
looked, as it is of considerable value, but a stallion with the
best of limbs, though lacking substance of barrel, is much to
be preferred to a big bodied horse with round, defective limbs
and moderate feet. It is somewhat strange that out of the
enormous number of stallions used in the United Kingdom
every year there is such a small proportion of really good
and reliable getters. In all breeds of horses we find a few
stallions whose produce stand head and shoulders above all
their compeers ; it is needless to go into fuller details, but all
who have carefully watched horse breeding will readily admit
the fact; but it almost invariably happens that these horses are

142 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

of considerable showyard merit themselves, or are the imme-
diate descendants of animals of distinguished individual excel-
lence. It will be readily conceded that, after all, a stallion's
value rests in his good getting capabilities ; therefore a horse
that has proved himself a good getter is to be preferred to a
horse untried at the stud. It is a remarkable fact that nearly
all distinguished breeding stallions have had exceptionally good
mothers. The dams of Darnley and Prince of Wales were
the two best mares in Scotland in their day. Several good
judges assert that Darnley's mother was the best mare they
ever saw. Hitchin Conqueror's mother is a really good mare.
In Hackneys, the dam of Denmark was a marvellous mare,
and A\on the first prize at the Yorkshire show when consider-
ably over twenty years of age. In thoroughbreds. Bees-
wing (the dam of Newminster, whose blood flows in the
veins of nearly all the best horses of the day) was a wonderful
mare, and won more Queen's plates and cups than any other
thoroughbred mare known to history. It is certainly highly
essential that an untried stallion should be from a good dam.

Brood Mares.

In these times of extreme agricultural depression it is idle
to go round and tell farmers, who have not quite as good
mares as they should have, to go and buy better ones. At
the same time there are often very well-bred mares rather
undersized, but with plenty of substance that can be bought
worth the money. A brood mare should be well-ribbed and
wide, with length, depth, ample heart room, and a robust
constitution. And remembering that the produce often take
after their dams in stamina and staying, it is highly necessary
to have mares possessing these qualifications. Light-ribbed,
fretty, tearing mares, are unsatisfactory to work, and often
unsuitable to breed from. What may be considered under-
sized mares often breed well, if they possess symmetry, quality
and substance. Mr. R. S. Reynolds, of Liverpool, in his essay

THE BREEDING OF HEAVY CART HORSES. 143

on Cart-horse Breeding, says that the three best geldings
he ever saw were from a Httle Welsh mare, about 15 hands
2 ins. high. Above all, breed from sound mares, if possible ; a
stallion cannot do all, be he ever so good. It gives a stallion
a poor chance if unsound and weedy mares are put to him.
Farmers are often tempted by the offer of high price to sell
their good mares ; if they wish to succeed in breeding
good ones they should keep them.

Judicious Mating.

Breeding is undoubtedly an art or a natural gift. We see
men who distinguish themselves as horse breeders as well as
in other walks of life. To be successful it is highly necessary
to weigh up the respective merits of mares and stallions, so
that the defects in either parent may be modified or rectified
by the strong points in the opposite parent, or, to quote the
words of Sir Walter Scott, " They are blended into harmony."
Animals will be most likely to transmit to their progeny their
very marked peculiarities, defects or strong points ; and it is
also certain that the more pronounced and developed any un-
soundness or defect becomes the more hereditary it is. Of
course, the description of desirable breeding animals herein-
contained, must not be taken as the only road to success, as
there must necessarily be exceptions to all rules, more particu-
larly in breeding animals; and if a farmer has a mare rather on
tlie leg, it is quite possible to breed successfully from her with
a short-legged, thick-bodied stallion, but the paramount impor-
tance of having a stallion with really good legs must not be
lost sight of.

Pedigree.

The value of good breeding or pedigree is highly important,
for, as a rule, the more thorough and complete the concentra-
tion of good blood in any animal the more impressive he will
be ; but good pedigree in an inferior animal is seldom valu-

144 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

able. Length of pedigree is certainly valuable if its com-
ponent parts possessed high individual merit. Greater faith
can be placed in breeding from an animal whose immediate
ancestors were known to have been high-class animals, than
from one whose pedigree was long, but with nothing
exceptionally good on the top. The purity of an animal is
proved by the transmission of its distinctive characteristics to
its progeny.

Rearing.

As it is possible to ruin the best bred cart colts by improper
and insufficient keep when young, the constant personal
supervision of the breeder is highly important, as a check
in growth is always a loss to the owner. New laid pastures
are often a hungry feed and deficient in the herbage that
promotes and develops the growth of the animal. When
grazing on such land the pasturage should be supplemented
by a liberal allowance of hand-feeding. An old Border sheep-
farmer once remarked that "there was nothing so bad for
one sheep as another," meaning of course to condemn over-
stocking ; no greater mistake can be made than to overstock
with horses ; they are equally as susceptible to the evil effects
as sheep, and nothing has a greater tendency to stunt their
growth and development.

All foals should be thoroughly handled when young ; these
early lessons are seldom forgotten, and are especially useful
when colts have to be castrated; besides they are much more
easily and safely broken for work than when their early
training has been neglected.

THE LONDON WORK HORSE.

145

CHAPTER V.

THE LONDON WORK HORSE IN STREET AND

STABLE.

[This chapter has been contributed by Mr. Thomas Dykes.]

There are few, except those who are engaged in the trade,
or in the superintendence of the larger studs, who really
understand the difficulty experienced in getting hold of first-
class sound geldings possessing the necessary weight and
strength of bone for shifting the heaviest London loads.
" Were I," said the manager of one of the largest London
yards, "to advertise in the Midland counties for a score of
such horses, the chances are that when they were sent up on
approval, I should have to consider myself lucky if I got hold
of one good working pair. The others would have to be re-
jected as too light." To those who have visited the Shire
Horse Society's Shows, since they were first established, this
seems somewhat inexplicable, but if the problem were care-
fully worked out it would be found that were all the prize and
commended stallions stationed out on the cultivable portion
of the country, where mares are worked for a living when
carrying a foal, one would really be astonished to find the
amount of ground which has to fall under fhe mantle of ope-
rations of this healthy and useful movement. A result of
continued agricultural depression has been evidenced in many
counties in a disposition to return to what are commonly
called " cheap sires," but what undoubtedly in the end must
10

146 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

prove the dearest sires one could put to a mare. Then again
there is the breeder who was thrown out by the complete
fallinf;- off in the export trade, and who, having kept his colts
too long uncastrated, tries to make something to pay for their
keep in what little cash in service fees his neighbour can afford
to give him. All that tells on the great market of London,
much after the same manner in which rain-drops on a roof act
in filling the water barrel. The establishments of large studs
like Worsley, Elsenham, Wolferton, Dunsmore, &c., and
the gathering thereinto of all the heaviest and most shapely
mares, from which to breed stallions and mares for abroad or
for the building up of studs elsewhere, throughout England,
possibly has had a great effect in keeping down the supply of
geldings at present. There exists an obvious feeling of hope-
fulness about this, as no doubt from these studs heavy geld-
ings will be drawn in time to come. It must also be borne in
mind that London, largely through the emulation engendered
over the Cart Horse Parade movement, is cutting the old
standard figures in the horse ledger, and coming up to the
requirements of the times. The increased demand may
make the scarcity in this way more real than apparent, but
what London is prepared to pay for, and that which it will
pay British farmers to supply, should not long be wanting,
for granting even that the middleman, as many think, runs
away with most of the profit of the business, the farmer-
breeder would get a little more all the same. If the farmer
should wish to breed for the London markets, then he will
have to study London requirements, and when he has
studied these he may be able, with a full knowledge of his
land and how it must be worked at a purely agricultural
profit apart from horse-raising, to come to some sound deter-
mination. The strength and richness of the pasture will have
to be fully considered, for if we do get a little extra bone by
using a strong, thick-legged sire, that extra thickness, which
is worth ^10 an inch under the knee when we bring them
to market, may be lost at the mouth. The farmer on stiff.

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. I47

hilly clays or thin lands cannot therefore compete with those
who have rich meadows, where the young colts have little
to do but eat and grow big and strong. Entered for work
when rising three years old, and well cared for, they develop
gradually into first-class London workhorses, which, though
they come in a little raw, are, in their second year of service,
equal to all that the superintendent of the yard requires of
them. They will on their hard feeding still continue to
grow, not in height, but in width and muscular thickness,
till nine years old, when their legs will begin to tell the
tales of long journeys in all weathers, in a certain stiffness
or grogginess and the lack of that freshness which they
evidenced when first brought into the yard. Colts, very
much like young cattle, if they have not been well treated
when young and their growth allowed to be checked, will not
so improve, however ; hence the scarcity of weight in many of
our street geldings in face of the heavy sires travelling may
arise from what cannot be classed otherwise than as a waste-
ful pinching of Nature's aid and sustenance. The farmer who
uses a first-class sire, and gets colts of weight which he finds
(and he should find that at the first show of yearlings in his
district,) he has no stock horses amongst them, should
castrate early, and after that keep the gelding growing just as
if he were the entire horse he hoped he would turn out. If
he is not too severe on him at the outset, and gives him some
good hard food, as he grows on he will be able to dispose of
him readily enough when ripe to a London firm, who by
continued care and attention will gradually mould a first-class
horse out of him. A well-broken pair, matched as to size,
colour, set or "sweep" of hocks, and regularity of step, if they
have the necessary 'height and weight, will quite readily fetch
at "five years off" £-200, and if they have done useful farm
work for such food as they may have eaten, heavy horse
breeding ought to pay well enough. Many of them might be
yoked and handled London fashion, and if so, the superinten-
dent of the London stable could run down, try them, and take

148 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

them direct off the owner's hands, thus doing away with all
extra profit and expense incurred in disappointing railway
journeys from fair to fair or from fair to town. Many of the
best London drivers come up from the country, and though a
little " green " at first, one helps the other, and once knowing
the set journeys they are quite as confident as those who have
driven on the stones for years. Their sons, as a rule, do not
follow their fathers' occupations, the parents always looking
out for something superior, as they make better wages as
coopers in the breweries, millers in the large mills, or packing
box makers in the manufactories, to which their fathers are
attached. In regard to horses and drivers, here is a some-
what typical miller's team, driven by a very able teamsman,
one who has won his diploma at the London Cart Horse
Parade, also his ornamental cross — though in 1894 ^^ was
not in Regent's Park. He has to drive twelve hours a day and
do all his grooming and strapping, so that his horses are under
his charge in stall and stable, and it is somewhat of a treat to
see how he handles them on the street. His horses are four
hard browns, 16 hands 2 in., or perhaps a little over, with good
blue hoofs, little hair on the leg, but well turned joints. They
are rare walkers, and come round like a tandem team in the
show-ring at Islington, in order that he may get up to the
Metropolitan water trough. As he dismounts after the
unicorn has quenched his thirst to unslip him and let up the
pair, you find that he has just come up from the mills of Mr.
F. D. Collen, of Bermondsey, with eighty sacks of flour, in all
five and a half tons, and that the weight of waggon, loader and
driver will be one and a half tons more, or a load of seven
tons. This is his first journey for the day ; a second with a
similar load he will have in the afternoon in another direction,
getting home to supper at 6.30 p.m., having left the yard on
his first journey at 6.30 a.m. This from Monday to Saturday
every week. The duties of the miller's horses are not of so
spasmodic a character possibly, as those of the brewer's, which
are, to a certain extent, affected by weather, public holidays,

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. l^g

and the like. They are out at eadier hours than the others,
as bakers are men early at work and can take delivery of
sacks of flour long before the cellarmen in some of the large
beer public-houses are out of bed. Of course, loads and jour-
neys vary in the flour as well as in the beer trade, and some
firms have their particular modes of harnessing and yoking.
As a rule, the weight is placed next the wheels, the unicorn
horse used being a light, active sort, a hundred-weight and
half less than the average of the pair in rear, and worth in the
market from £10 to ^'30 less. His powers are very severely
tried at starting, but as soon as a few sacks have been de-
livered at the different bakeries he steps out with freedom,
and if a good walker, as he ought to be, soon carries the
team home for second journey at noon, or for supper and rest
in the evening when work is over.

Now what should a match pair of geldings be like ? That
is the question the farmer should ask himself if he thinks he is
in a position to raise heavy horses for the London streets.
As, in the first place, they should be like each other, we shall
begin with the one on the near side. He is a dark brown with
black points, eight years old, 17 hands, is well seasoned,
and thoroughly knows his business. We go over him as he
stands without harness of any kind. His head is broad be-
tween the eyes, and his eyes have a mild, full, noble expres-
sion, suggestive of a love for his work. His chest is swelling,
broad and expansive, and his short legs come to the ground
with a very slight inclination inwards. The centrelines of his
round, blue hoofs point straight to the front, his fetlocks are
bold, firm and prominent, and proportionate to the shapely,
muscular knees above. Pass round from the front, do not stand
too close, and take a good view of him sideways. The head
and the neck are well set on, the crest is beautifully arched,
and his chin is the proper distance from where his under hame
strap would fall if harnessed. The shoulders gently slope
upwards to the withers, suggestive of a grand socket for the
collar ; the withers are not too thin, but formed so that the

150 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

bottom of the collar, on which falls the strain of draught, shall
be well supported at the top. The bones of the legs are flat
and clad with silky feather, the pasterns possess that slope
at once suggestive of support for his own body and free-
dom of progressive movement in front of his load. He
is deep through the heart ; his ribs are round as a well-
hooped barrel, and the depth carried well back ; his loins
are broad and deeply clad with muscle, wave-like from
the backbone ; his quarters are broad, there is no sudden
drooping, but a sabre-like sweep of outer second thighs to
the hocks, which are not too wide, but suggestive of leverage
without cramping cleanly chiselled out, and free from all
flabbiness ; his hind bone flat as in front, and his hind pasterns
carried down with medium slope into the best of hoofs. Pass
in rear of him and you find great, powerful inner thighs
descending with mathematical evenness, all suggestive of
power. Have him walked straight away from you and you
notice no twisting of hock points out or in, everything being
carried straight and free and parallel. As he walks back to
you, you observe the same squareness of action in front.
Trot him down again and he lifts his hocks cleverly every
time like a bit of mechanism till you see the inside of his
hoofs ; bring him back and you perceive shoulder above and
hoof below working as freely and evenly together. Stand to
the side and see him walked. Forward he swings, five miles
an hour, both ends going together, hind hoof up to old fore
hoof mark, and fore-hoof launched out and on again, the pace
seemingly being regulated to an inch, and never varying.
Bring out his harness, and you find collar, breeching, and
everything fitting like a glove. And now for the off horse.
The off horse should resemble him if you can find him. It is
a matter of importance in teaming, however, that the depth of
the shoulders of both horses should correspond, even if they
do differ an inch in height ; that the style of action should be
even, the paces equal in all cases, and that the hocks should
be set at equal altitudes ; the hind legs having a similar

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. I51

sweep and set. What will do for a pair will do for teams of
three or four, though, as a rule, when more than two horses
are used, as heavy horses as can be procured are placed next
the wheels, the front pair, or the unicorn, being a little lighter
in build. Still if they can be got with all the qualifications
enumerated, one need never despair of finding a ready market.
In regard to colour, dark brown with black points have been
chosen, but bays of light or dark shades are equally suitable,
and there can be no objection to good hard blacks. Greys
when fully ripe, seem to be higher at the withers than others,
whilst still retaining their gay carriage, and with the red
roans are generally noted for their great weight. Blue roans
are very rarely handsome or captivating, but on the average
they have more bone than the others, and are great favourites
with some London horse owners on account of their hardy con-
stitutions and tractable dispositions. For the hard wharfinger
work off the Thames on the Middlesex side, where all is sheer
hard horse toil in chains and shafts, they are greatly in use.
In and about the mazy wynds, and through the dark arches
of Bermondsey you will come across them any hour of a hard
working day, each and all walking at a faster pace than is
allowed by the managers of brewery studs. On London Bridge
— this article is written on the eve of the opening of the Tower
Bridge, which will greatly relieve the far too congested
traffic — it is interesting to watch the apparently never-
ending procession passing from right to left, and left to right,
each driver, from the drayman who drives his four to the
costermonger on the box seat of his donkey-hauled barrow,
taking his place and claiming his share of the passage.
All this with good humour, though the driver who jogs the
lot from the rear (and it is horses' heads to hind boards, and
hind boards to heads all the way over), will come in for a
good deal of strong language. The study of this moving
equine democracy is at all times interesting to those who
have a love for work horses. In a short time this picture
1 ke many other pictures of old London will be changed.

152 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

through the lowering of the bascules of the impressing
structure further down the river.' Amongst the best-
known work horses which pass over the bridge are those
of Messrs. Samuel Taylor and Son, of Tooley Street,
the well-known contractors, in whose stud of seventy strong
horses there are several very grand teams of blue roans.
These horses are put in at a little less price on the top
standard than the horses of the larger brewing firms, but the
figures run much the same on the average. Horses like the
heavy massive greys of Messrs. Lewis Berger and Son, the
well-known starch manufacturers, up to 17.2, with weight in
proportion, and not falling away below the knee as is some-
times seen in very heavy greys, will command their own prices
at any time when ripe for town work. This chapter is in-
tended to deal chiefly with the heaver sorts of London horses,
and small notice need be taken of those used in the pantech-
nicon vans, though these are beautiful active horses and well
suited for their work, being good, steady walkers when furni-
ture and men are all on board, and equal to trotting home
with the empty van at seven miles an hour. The oil dis-
tributing people use hardy, square-legged, little cart-horses of
the Norfolk type, which trot well in front of moderate loads.
These horses it would pay farmers to breed on light soils,
steep hill-sides, or where there was much green crop
cultivation. Of what may be styled builder's horses, the
heaviest, naturally enough, are, those used for heavy stone
hauling, and for these the greys and blue roans of Messrs.
John Mowlem and Son have long been conspicuous. They
must all have weight to shift weight behind. The cement,
timber, and glazier and varnish trades prefer smooth-legged
horses, upstanding like the Cleveland, or short and cobby, like
the Norfolk cart-horses, according to the districts in which
they are used. Messrs. Watney & Co. (a full notice of whose
stud is given at the close of this article) possess a grand
representative stud of London work horses. Messrs. Courage
& Co., of the well-known Horsleydown brewery firm, have

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. I53

been scarcely less noted ; indeed, at the outset of the London
Cart Horse Parade, the horses of this firm, 'which are of the
low, square-set, blocky type, formed one of the features of the
London May Day procession. Messrs. John Watney & Co.,
of Hammersmith, have magnificient teams, which are rivalled
by those of Messrs. Young & Co., of Wandsworth, and the
fine turns-out of the Mortlake Brewery Company, some of
which are equal to the best shown in Regent's Park on Whit
Monday. Messrs. William Younger & Son, of Edinburgh,
also make a feature with their brewery horses, a good num-
ber of which are crosses of Clydesdale and Shire. Messrs.
Charrington's horses are very useful sorts ; a little light
perhaps, one might think, but each and all well suited to the
particular loads and particular journeys of the firm. The
Burton-on-Trent Companies possess many fine teams, but as
a rule there is Uttle about them to attract the attention of the
Londoner. The harnessing, equipment, and even the set of
the build of the waggon are such as to suggest reform to any
one who studies the street traffic of the Metropolis. These
large firms, however, have in many cases depots in the
suburbs attached to railway sidings, so that the long London
journeys do not fail to be considered by the stable or stud
managers. Of the London distillery firms the most repre-
sentative horses are undoubtedly those of the Thames Bank
Distillery, the leading pairs of which will average 16.3, and
this with weight and ample strength of bone. Of course,
the small family brewery horses are of the light cobby
character, not to be compared to those in the general busi-
ness. Comparisons are frequently made between the work
horses of one large city or town and another ; these without
regard to special conditions of labour, loads, roads, width or
narrowness of streets, or length of the journeys. Glasgow
may well be held as the city where Clydesdale work horses
are seen at their best. At any rate, the requirements of the
large Glasgow contractors to some extent rule the opinions
of the breeders, if not through the showyards, certainly

154 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

through the purchasers for the fairs and markets. Yet the
Enghsh dealer for the " London stones " were in the past
always prepared to go a little further at the Rutherglen,
Paisley, and Glasgow fairs for a useful half dozen drawn from
a string. Possibly against him a Glasgow buyer would bid for
a single one, or a pair at most, and get them ; but the southern
men could not afford to come north and buy them b}' the "ones "
and the " twos " ; and they were no more prepared to accept
light weight in the horse market-place than they would do
over the grocer's counter. So the Crawfords and many others
brought up the heavy Shires to breed with and produce horses
of size for the southern markets. Glasgow benefited greatly,
as the combination horse exactly suited the Scottish lorry,
which is nothing but a Scottish, four-wheeled English waggon,
such as is at present to be found in common use by Whit-
bread's and other firms. Messrs. Whitbread have always
been partial to the " pairs " used in front of very neatly built
waggons, and horses and waggons one can see very readily
match. This, however, being a subject of debateable matter
for controversialists on both sides of the Tweed, need not
be entered into here. It is argued, however, that the present
type of Clydesdale, which is largely a work of showyard
and Stud Book evolution, is the best type for Glasgow work,
which they say is the most severe work a draught horse
can be put to. Therefore they argue this type of horse
must be the best for London work also. But the journeys
in Glasgow are very short; there are no "tied" public-
houses, and no particular " monopolies " of the baker business
amongst the millers. If we take the horses of the well-
known expert brewery firm of Wellpark, whose stud is no
doubt the most representative one in Glasgow, we find that
these single lorry horses carry very light loads of " stone
bottled " ales, packed in barrels, to the docks, there to be
shipped to India and the Colonies. In a London or Liver-
pool sense such horses could not be classed as brewers' horses ;
rather would they be put on the level of the horses of the car-

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. 155

men of the London district and suburban railway stations or
the wharfingers of Bermondsey, and the south-east Surrey
side of London Bridge. They have frequent short journeys
out and home from the docks, but no long tiring ones over
heavy roads, and do little feeding from the nose-bag.

Through the kindness of Messrs. Watney & Co., Limited,
of the Stag Brewery, Pimlico, and the courtesy of Superin-
tendent Byron, a native of the " land of cakes," hailing from
the county of Ayr, but who has had extensive experience in
Liverpool, the writer is enabled to give some interesting in-
formation as to their stud, which has won Shire Horse
Society's premiums for four years at the London Cart Horse
Parades ; including leading honours for singles, pairs and
unicorn teams in 1894. The full number of horses in this
stud is 162 ; nearly all Shires of the heaviest type. The
average price paid for these horses during the past ten years
(1884-94) was ;^84. The Stud Book movement, which com-
menced in 1877, would seem, therefore, to have had some
beneficial effect so far as the supply of geldings of the best
types are concerned. Between 1880 and 1884 the Americans
raised the price for entire colts which, without an export
demand for breeding stock, would have found their way
into the shafts. They are purchased when five and a-half
years old ; guaranteed sound in every way, and no horse
with side-bones or ring-bones is ever selected, no matter how
superior the animal may be otherwise, as the streets would
soon find out the weak spot, and the exigencies of the
work would not allow of their standing lame in hospital.
The first three months are anxious months to the superin-
tendent, as owing to change of climate and stable, they
are frequently attacked with a form of catarrh and thicken-
ing of the glands. Their first work is generally of a light
character — three half-days a week for the first three months
on the shorter town journeys ; but gradually, as they get
accustomed to hard food, which at first consists of chopped
bran and a few oats, and there is no risk of feet founder from

156

HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the effects of such, they are put out on the full journeys of
twelve miles out and twelve miles home, or the shorter jour-
neys of six miles out and six home, forenoon and afternoon.
The gross loads on these journeys average three tons, waggon,
barrels, men, and unloading gear. In two or three years
they will have put on a full hundred-weight of hard muscle,
coming in at 15 cwt. i qr., and increasing to 16 cwt. 2 qrs.,
which is the present stud average. The average service for
the past ten years has been six years and eight months ;
though there were some horses which have exceeded this by two
and three years. The cost per horse for veterinary charges is
Hs. I id. per annum, and shoeing ^3 los. ; a fresh set of shoes
being required every three weeks. The tear and wear is more
severe on the hind shoes than the fore ones, owing no doubt to
the heavy friction, caused by the leverage of the hocks. The
shoeing smiths meet this by using up the old "pelt" to
harden the metal. The average cost to keep a horse per week,
bedding included, has for the past three years been as
follows : —

1891, 17s. 6|d. ; 1892, i8s. Sjd. ; 1893, i8s. ^d.
The following is their bill for diet : —

Winter

Food.

Summer

Food.

Clover and Mixture ...

11-55

Clover and Mixture ...

12-25

Grains

2-8o

Oats

15-00

Oats

13-00

Peas

3-15

Peas

3-15

Beans

3-15

Beans

3-15

Maize

2-25

Maize ...

2-25

Bran

2-10

Bran

2-10

Total ... 38-00 lbs per day. Total ... 37-90

Those horses which are out on the short journeys consume
all their food in the stable, but those on the twelve miles jour-
neys will have to feed from the nose-bag, and each nose-bag
is filled with 20 lbs. Such horses are very liable to chills
from having to stand in exposed, draughty places to disload.

THE LONDON WORK HORSE. I57

after a hot, sharp pull ; and this will possibly evidence itself
at night when in stable by feverishness. A strict watch,
therefore, is kept upon them, and where the temperature has
greatly increased the superintendent, who must always be
close to the yard, is called out at once. Naturally enough,
such valuable horses are only entrusted to tried draymen,
of whom there are six classes : first, 45s. per week ;
second, 42s. ; third, 38s. ; fourth, 35s. : fifth, 33s. ; sixth, 32s.
These draymen mostly come in from Norfolk and Essex, on
the introduction of draymen friends working in the yard.
The younger men have to work for six years as assistants, or
in picking up "empties," before being allowed to take out a
team of their own. The high character of the firm's drivers
is shown every year at the London Cart Horse Parade, where
they have never failed to secure the diplomas or badges of the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In
regard to the use of the heavier vans and " unicorn " teams
Superintendent Byron is somewhat against them, and the
writer is with him in regard to this. The " unicorn " horse
is often walking idle in chains when the "shaft horses" are
doing all the work. Moreover, at street crossings where
policemen give one line of traffic, turn about with the other,
the extra length of horse causes delay and inconvenience to
the public, and yet at the same time, owing to slack chains
and their distance from the front axle, they fail to give
assistance, exactly when assistance is required, to the horses
behind. Pair-horse waggons, with loads to suit, Mr. Byron
considers to be preferable ; but the horses in these would
have to be the heaviest procurable, so that they might
always be equal to standing their loads. From photo-
graphs specially taken, we have pleasure in giving portrait
of a pair. The brown is a Derbyshire horse of the grand
" blocky " type, with great, deep, muscular shoulders ; short,
hard legs ; well-set pasterns, and the best of hoofs. He was
entered i8th November, 1889, when his weight was 15 cwt.
3 qrs. ; his present weight is 16 cwt. 3 qrs., and he girths

158

HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

98 inches. The other is a powerful blue roan horse of the
heaviest dray type, with exceedingly strong, fine forearms,
deep quarters and muscular thighs. He weighs 18 cwt. 3
qrs., and girths 96 inches. This horse has scarcely ever
been a day off duty and is still quite fresh. His purchase
price was ;^85. The farmer who can raise such geldings
need never be afraid of finding a market for them in London ;
and at five years and a-half, they ought to yield him a hand-
some profit.

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 159

CHAPTER VI.
FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE.

The various breeds of heavy draught horses have been
immensely improved within a period of little inore than a
single decade. By the formation of breed societies and the
careful and correct registration of pedigree the breeder is
armed with authentic information instead of hearsay evidence
and opinions often of a questionable character. Without
some degree of prepotency due to inherited affinity the ancient
axiom that " like produces like " frequently fails in practice.
The influence of the sire generally embraces a wide field ;
hence the exercise of a sound judgment and discrimination is
essential in selection, not onl}' as to the leading points and
general characteristics of the animal, but also as to dissecting
the pedigree, and as far as practicable, tracing the merits and
weaknesses of each member throughout the whole line. To
the interested and intelligent breeder this information is now
attainable through the stud books of the leading breeds.
Up to a certain point we are in favour of close affinity ; this is
the best means of insuring prepotency and the fixing of a
distinct type, and when skilfully conducted the system is
capable of being carried out without danger of deterioration.
The unsuccessful breeder is usually the man who is con-
stantly trying the experiment of an out-cross. The stallion
should be compact and evenly balanced in all his parts,
standing i6 hands 2 inches on muscular, well-placed legs and

l6o HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

sound feet. Whether for the plough or the town lorry, action
is an important and valuable feature. No horse with upright
shoulders and short steep pasterns can ever be a free mover.
The feet is another important point. The north country
adage is expressive on this point : " Feet, fetlock and feather
tips may come, but bottoms never." To the intelligent breeder
a careful study of the parentage will prevent many disap-
pointments by reducing the liability to diseases of a hereditary
character. The skilful breeder is careful to examine and note
peculiarities of form and constitution as well as the liability of
certain strains to hereditary disease. Equal attention should
be exercised in the selection of the dam as regards soundness
and the chances of her transmitting hereditary disease. The
mare should be long, low and wide, with the limbs placed well
outside the body, with free action and good temper. It is
generally admitted that the difficulty of selecting the dam is
equally as important as that of choosing the sire. As the
physiological principles of breeding have already been discus-
sed this subject need not again be referred to. The views of
breeders have undergone considerable modification as to the
age at which the mare should be put to the stud. Formerl}^
the mare was not used for breeding purposes before the
mature age of five years, but under the more liberal system of
feeding which now more generally obtains she is frequently
put to the stud at the age of two years, and, if well cared for,
she does not suffer either in health or development. Fillies
are handled and probably broken to the plough at the age of
two years. Beyond this, if reserved for breeding and they
prove to be in foal, they do little or no work until they are
three and a half years old, when they are ready to take their
share in the work of the farm. It is now generally under-
stood that the age of all horses dates from the first day of
January in each year ; hence there is a growing disposition
amongst breeders to contrive to have their foals dropped at a
much earlier period than formerly. The practice more par-
ticularly obtains with those whose chief object is the show-

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. l6l

ring and who are generally amply provided with suitable
buildings. In the case of the ordinary farmer, who is frequently
placed at a disadvantage in the matter of buildings, it is best
that the foal should be dropped from the first to the middle of
April. When they are brought together in the show-ring, other
things being equal, a discrepancy in age of three months
is not easily discounted. The barren mare comes in heat
early in the spring, with a periodic recurrence of the symptoms
at the end of twenty-one daj'S. It is a matter of vital im-
portance that both sire and dam should be in the most robust
health at the time of their union. The most successful result
as to progeny is obtained by mating a comparatively old horse
with a young mare. However much we value pedigree we
prefer to have it substantiated by actual results, and we
should hesitate before extensively using an untried horse.
The young mare is generally more vigorous than an old
animal ; and the quality, if not the quantity, of the milk is
much better.

Management of the In-Foal Mare.

The average period of gestation in the mare is eleven
months, though frequently it exseeds or falls short of that
period by three or four weeks. From the time of sexual con-
nection till the time of foahng the mare may and should be
regularly worked, except in the case of two-year-old mares,
which, during the summer months, are grazed on a moderate
store pasture. The growth of bone and muscle, rather than of
fat, is the desideratum. On very poor pastures, nitrogenous foods
may be used with advantage. The best winter quarters are a
well sheltered grass field in which is a shelter shed or loose
box enclosed by a yard. The mare should be regularly and
liberally supplied with nitrogenous food and have constant
access to pure water. Mares five years old and upwards may,
in careful hands, be safely worked to the day of foaling. If
sufficient attention is given to the supplies of food and water.

l62 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

nothing can be more conducive to the health of the pregnant
mare. Throughout the whole period of gestation the mare
should be liberally furnished with nourishing food in a con-
centrated form ; bulky food of a low nutritive value is injurious,
as it entails a debilitated system which, during the earlier
period of pregnancy, frequently results in abortion.

Foaling.

When the mare has been well fed and regularly worked or
exercised during the period of pregnancy the dangers attend-
ing parturition are reduced to a minimum. As the time
of foaling approaches, the working mare should be placed in a
roomy loose box during the night and allowed full liberty.
On farms where breeding is largely carried on it will be neces-
sary to have several foaling boxes. These are best constructed
on the circular plan, which, to a certain extent, obviates the
danger of accident. They should be so arranged that the
attendant is enabled, not only to inspect, but to feed and water
the animal without entering the box ; this affords the night
watcher the opportunity of inspecting without disturbing the
inmate. Sometime previous to the date of foaling the food
should be changed, and though still nutritive and concentrated
it should be macerated with water previous to being fed. A
portion of bran and linseed meal should be added; this acts
as a slight and safe aperient.

The early premonitory appearance of foaling is a slight
accumulation of a white adhesive substance on the ends of the
teats. At this period the mare should be strictly watched
both by night and day ; this should be done with the greatest
caution, as the mare naturally resents all interference or
disturbance. Immediately the pains of labour set in a
practical and careful attendant should examine and ascertain
as to whether the fostus is being presented in a natural form.
If so, a moderate period should be allowed to elapse before any
violent measures are used ; in most cases a little well directed,

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 1 63

though unskilled assistance may be sufficient. In every case
of false presentation the services of a qualified veterinary
surgeon should be obtained without a moment's delay. The
cow leech and the amateur vet. should never be entrusted with
the lives of valuable animals. Vigorous and prolonged con-
vulsive efforts cannot be continued without producing injurious
or fatal results in the mare. Parturition having been safely
effected, the first necessary operation is to secure the umbilical
cord and remove the superfluous attachment. A hgature of
soft string or dressed sheep-skin should be passed tightly
round near the belly and the ends securely fastened. In the
case of weak foals and young mares there is sometimes diffi-
culty in inducing the foal to suck; but a little good-natured
perseverance and assistance invariably succeed.

Subsequent Management of the IvIare and Foal.

It is sometimes necessary to give the youngster a small dose
of castor oil to move the bowels, but when the mare has been
carefully dieted this precaution is seldom required. If the
dam is young the use of nutritive foods should be continued,
the object being to develop the bone and muscle of the dam as
well as the progeny; hence the need of food of a high albu-
munoid ratio, such as oats, together with a mixture of legu-
minous seeds and linseed. At certain periods, both the mare
and foal become the victims of a serious disease, which
frequently causes great mortality. Notwithstanding that the
treatment should be by a skilled practitioner rather than
by the practical breeder, it is within the power of the latter
to ward off the attack. Septicaemia, the disease in question,
is well known both to the veterinary profession and to breeders.
The disease is introduced into the blood through certain organ-
isms which abound in putrefactive solutions. Thus, for
example, the foaling box may have been previously used for
lambing ewes, or for a calving cow ; the box not having
subsequently been cleaned out becomes tainted through the

164 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

decomposition of animal matter, the bacterium of putrefaction
is readily comnmnicated to the uterus of the mare by the hand
of the operator during the process of foaling, or it may enter
the blood of the foal through the umbilical attachment. In
nine cases out of ten the disease is too far advanced to admit
of successful treatment before skilled assistance is called in.
The lives of hundreds of valuable animals are yearly lost by
the neglect of simple sanitary arrangements, such as cleanli-
ness, and the use of a simple and inexpensive disinfectant,
such as whitewashing the walls, and occasionally sprinkling
the box with dilute carbolic acid.

During the early part of the season, when the temperature is
generally low, the mare and foal should be kept in the box for
the first three or four days, beginning first by allowing them
the range of a small well-sheltered paddock for a few hours
about noon ; when the weather is favourable the period of
liberty may be extended. They soon become inured to the
weather, whilst the outdoor exercise is conducive to health,
and develops the bone and muscular powers. They should
return to their night quarters until the days lengthen and the
suri becomes more powerful. The artificial feeding should
still be continued. At the age of a week or ten days, a slender
leather head-stall is fitted up, to which is attached a short
leather strap of sufficient strength to hold the young animal ;
this is placed on the foal and allowed to remain. A careful,
good-tempered man should be told off to catch and give the
foal a few short leading lessons daily ; in this way its confidence
is soon gained. When this is followed through the different
stages of life the breaking to work is easily accomplished.
The foal should also be taught at an early age to eat artificial
food from the manger with its dam. Formerly, when draught
horses were of less value, a few foals were bred on the large
tillage farms of the Midland and Northern counties, but rarely
with any degree of success. During the busy season of pre-
paring the land and sowing the spring crops on all large
tillage farms the horses are seldom in the yoke less than nine

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 165

or ten hours a day. The mare comes in at noon steeped in
perspiration, to be still further reduced in condition by a
hungry foal. The milk is poor and unwholesome. Owing to
causes such as these the foal frequently slips its hair and
becomes a miserable object. The evil does not even end
here. How often have we seen mares rapidly driven all day in
plough or cart ; when the day's work is over they probably
get a hasty rub over with a straw wisp. The mare and her
foal are turned into a grass field to make the best shift they
can to prepare for the morrow's work. Treatment of this
kind appears to be approaching near the line of cruelty to
animals, of which we hear so much. Horse-breeding under
such conditions as these cannot pay. In the first place, the
mare suffers in health resulting in an impaired constitution
and a puny progeny. The digestive and assimilative organs
of a young animal can be impaired to such an extent by
an insufficient supply of nutritious food as no subsequent
management, however liberal, can ever restore. If breeding
is to be successful the mare ought not to be worked whilst
suckling her foal. One of the advantages of breeding from
a two-year-old is that she is seldom put in the yoke.

Weaning.

The foal is usually weaned at the age of five or six months.
Where breeding is carried on to any great extent a small, well-
sheltered field should be reserved for the foals. A piece of
mixed seeds containing a considerable sprinkling of cocksfoot,
ryegrass and fescue will be suitable for the purpose. The
grasses should be permitted to run to seed. The foals that have
already learned to eat corn from the manger are delighted to
have an opportunity of nibbling off the ripe seed culms.
Weaning foals should never be turned out on a bare pasture,
as they are hable to become affected by worms, which are
difficult to eradicate, and which prevent the young animal
from progressing.

l66 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

As soon as the foal is weaned the mare may be gradually
placed on dry food and should have one or two doses of mild
aperient medicine with plenty of walking exercise or light
work. For the first day or two the milk should be drawn
twice daily; she should not be milked clean out, but a suffi-
cient quantity taken to relieve her from any suffering or un-
easiness. In the course of a week or less the milk will dry up.

The horse is a social animal, and pines for society. When
the foal is weaned it should be placed with others of its own
age. If this be not convenient, an old quiet pony, or even a
donkey, makes a serviceable companion. A few loose boxes in
the field, surrounded by an enclosed roomy yard, form a useful
adjunct to a breeding farm. For the first day or two after
weaning the foal may be confined to the yard ; as soon as it
gains the confidence of its companions they may be allowed
to run out in the pasture during the day. We often hear the
remark that foals or yearlings do not care for shelter. Be
this as it may, I have always observed that those who have
had the advantage of a shelter during the winter months have
thriven best. The position is easily explained ; as a rule, the
boxes, yards, and surroundings are neglected and allowed to re-
main in a dirty state ; while during wet weather the approaches
are practically impassable. Let the yards and boxes be kept
clean and dry. Let the artificial food be placed in a manger
inside the box, and the foals will soon hasten there. There
are from ten to twenty foals reared at Elvaston each year.
They are lodged in wooden boxes with open yards enclosed
by close fences constructed of old railway sleepers ; they are
fed early, about eight o'clock ; allowed their liberty in a
large grass field ; and as evening draws on, as soon as they
hear the voice of the attendant, they immediately race up
from the farthest corner of the field.

From its earliest days the feet of the foal require unremit-
ting attention ; as the twig is bent the tree inclines ; and so it
is in this case. Whilst the bones are still in a cartilaginous state,
through neglect of the feet, the hoofs and fetlocks, as well as

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 167

the legs, often take an undesirable direction. In the case of
the foal, whose hoofs are soft and tender, we prefer the use
of a fine rasp to that of the draw knife ; by constant attention
and skilful use the feet can be well balanced — a most impor-
tant and desirable point in every draught animal. Whilst the
animal is still young a skilful farrier can check any tendency
to irregularity. At weaning and subsequently, the leading
lessons should be continued ; this familiarises them to man,
who soon gains their confidence.

During the early years of the young animal's life, and more
particularly during the first winter, the food should be pre-
pared. The fodder, whether hay or straw, or a mixture of the
two, must be cut into fine chafT, and the corn, of whatever
kind, ground into meal, the meal and chaff mixed together
and well soaked with boiling water ; the mass is then covered
with a pliable non-conducting material and allowed to remain
in this state for a period of at least twelve hours, when it will
be in a suitable condition to be fed. The chief object of the
breeder is to produce bone and muscle, and to do this at the
least possible cost the food should be rich in albuminoids or
flesh formers, rather than carbohydrates or heat and fat pro-
ducers; the latter, when used to excess, impair the health
and encourage the growth of flaccid muscle. The albuminoid
ratio should not exceed one to four. The selection of the
individual grains forming the compound will depend on their
price in the market. The market value of albuminoids varies
in different descriptions of grain, according as the demand is
active or depressed. Sweet well-matured oats, wheat, white
peas, lentils or Indian corn, and linseed should form the mix-
ture in somewhat the following proportions : to one of oats
add one-half of wheat, one-fourth of peas, one-eighth of Indian
corn, and one-sixteenth of linseed. These should be mixed
together in the grain and reduced to meal by being passed
through an ordinary grist mill. We must not lose sight of
the fact that the stomach of the horse is of limited capacity ;
hence it is obvious that feeding must be frequent, and to

i68 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

obtain the best result the food should be in a prepared and
concentrated state ; from four to five lbs. per day of mixed
meals will be sufficient.

Another important point, second only in importance to the
food, is the water. Domestic animals of all kinds, and more
particularly horses, thrive best, and are more uniform in health,
when they have access to running streams. This, in many
cases, is impracticable on some geological formations where
there are only two sources of supply. One is obtained by con-
serving the rain water which, under the most favourable
conditions is erratic, and frequently fails for long periods.
The other source of suppl}' is obtained from deep wells ; this is
usually highly charged with chemical impurities derived from
the rocks through which it passes. Water of this character is
utterly unfitted for young horses, but by being pumped into
tanks or reservoirs and exposed to the sun and air it be-
comes oxydised, softened and increased in temperature ; and
hence is better fitted to assist in promoting the animal
functions. Ponds or storage reservoirs are of much value on
a farm ; these insure a more uniform quality. Every animal
should have free access to water at all times, as when this is
the case no unfavourable results are likely to follow. On this
point we shall have a word to say as we proceed.

The Yearling.

Ashasbeen mentioned the ageof all animals is now frequently
reckoned from the first day of January in each year, although
they may not have been dropped for three months later. As
regards food, the same quality is continued ; the only alteration
is in the quantity which must be increased in order to meet
the growing requirements of the animal. The leading lessons
must be continued, and it is of the utmost importance that the
feet should be examined and rasped down where required, at
least once a month, and oftener if they show the slightest
tendency to be one-sided or unshapely. Although it may be

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 1 69

more costly we prefer a second class pasture rather than a rich
feeding one, provided in the former case a fair allowance of
artificial food is given. Rich grazing pastures tend to the de-
velopment of fat rather than to the growth of bone and muscle.

Freedom of exercise and access to soft water, at a moderate
degree of temperature, are most essential elements, conducive
to robust health and progressive growth. From the middle to
the end of May, the colts intended for commercial purposes
should be castrated. The operation is not itself attended with
much danger when it is performed by a skilful practitioner.
The chief source of danger is in the casting, and this risk is
now more generally recognised and the system of performing the
operation without casting is more frequently practised. Many
operators err in removing too much of the spermatic attach-
ment ; the testicle only should be taken ; by this means more
of the spirit and masculine character of the sire is retained.

In some cases docking is practised, but with the draught
horse it is rather a disadvantage than otherwise. The wound,
though healing over, remains tender, easily abraded, and often
leads to serious accidents.

The yearling geldings and fillies are usually grazed together.
The entire colts should be kept in a separate enclosure, and, if
intended for exhibition purposes, they may be rather more liber-
ally treated in the matter of artificial food ; in all other respects
they should be dealt with in a similar manner. Temperature
and rainfall exercise a marked effect on the character and de-
velopment of all animals. Low, damp soils encourage the
growth of hoof, though frequently it is of a weak, spongy
character. There are many popular errors as to the effect of
geological formation on the growth of bone and muscle. AVhen
left to a state of nature this does, to a certain extent, obtain.
The power of control is now, to a considerable extent, witliin
the grasp of the intelligent breeder, through the selection of
auxiliary feeding stuffs rich in the necessary elements of
nutrition ; but no selection of foods can materially alter the
original framework or skeleton of the animal, the ground-work
of which must be perfect.

170 heavy horses : breeds and management.

The Two-Year-Olds.

The same treatment as that recommended for the yearlings
must be continued with these, until such time as a sufficient
bite of grass is obtainable, and where the land is hard-stocked
or inferior in quality an allowance of artificial food should still
be continued. The great danger to guard against is super-
fluous fat. To the eye of the inexperienced excessive obesity
covers a multitude of infirmities, but with the practical man
undue accumulation of fat is heavily discounted from the
fact that before the animal can be brought to a healthy state,
either for breeding or for ordinary serviceable purposes, the
superfluous blubber must be removed. At the age of two
years both fillies and geldings should be bitted and broken to
the yoke.

Bitting and Breaking.

We assume that the young animals have already been
trained to lead in a plain halter ; then a light leather head-
stall is used. This consists of the usual nose band, front
piece and throat strap, one or two rings being attached to the
lower part of each side. To this the bit is secured at each
end by a strap and buckle. The bit should be plain, in order
to prevent any chafing or injury to the mouth. By altering
the side straps the position of the bit can be lowered or raised.
This being accomplished the colt may be turned loose in the
yard for several hours ; this should be repeated for several da}"s
before any further steps are taken. At this period we prefer
a round piece of hard wood of considerable circumference to
the iron bit. When the colt has become sufficiently accus-
tomed to the bit it is well to back him into a stall and have
him secured on each side by a strong pillar rein. By repeating
the lesson several times he becomes accustomed to and learns
to be controlled by the bit. Whatever the duties of the
animal may subsequently be, his usefulness largely depends
on the care which has been expended on his bitting and train-

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. I71

ing. An imperfectly broken horse, who has a hard uncon-
trollable mouth, is a dangerous brute, which, at any moment,
may cause serious injury to life and limb. Having been
thoroughly mouthed — and the operation should never be
unduly hurried — he is next driven in reins and thoroughly
accustomed to answer to the bit, to readily turn to the right
hand or to the left, and accustomed to start and stop at the
bidding of the breaker, while he should be further trained to
answer to his name.

Having satisfactorily proceeded so far, the colt may then be
harnessed in the usual way ; be careful as to the fitting of the
collar, otherwise you incur the danger of pinched shoulders and
thus lay the foundation of jibbing. Sometimes the colt is
hitched on to a tree or piece of wood, and with this incum-
brance behind him is drilled up and down a grass field. When
carefully bitted and broken, we prefer putting the youngster
direct as body in a plough team, between two steady old
horses. May I beg the reader's indulgence for a moment to
explain the terms used in describing the position of the
different members of a single three-horse team ? The last is
called the "thiller;" the middle horse the "body," and the
first the " fore-horse." In most cases three horses are only
doing the work of two. In a few weeks the colt becomes per-
fectly broken, and he is then turned out for the summer. The
fillies, if well grown and intended for breeding, are stinted and
turned out. Breaking and lightly working for a month or two
at the age of two years improve the animal and hasten its
development. At this age it is still necessary to pay constant
attention to the feet. Hundreds of what would otherwise
become valuable draught horses, are yearly permanently
deteriorated in value by an ignorant and imperfect system of
breaking. To be a successful breaker and trainer, even of
draught horses, requires special quahfications of no mean order.
In addition to many others, the man must be patient, firm and
even-tempered. Whether actuated by the dictates of reason-
ing or instinctive powers the horse is not slow to resent unkind
treatment bordering on cruelty.

172 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Two- Year-Old Entire Colts.

The colt at the age of two years is capable of procreating
his species, if he has been liberally treated from birth. His
growth will not be impeded by serving any number of mares
up to fifteen. A general characteristic in the progeny of young
sires is early maturity. In the case of a draught horse this is,
particularly in these times, a property not to be lightly con-
sidered. The future usefulness of the colts for breeding
purposes is either made or marred ; at this age they are
mischievous and troublesome when turned out with other
stock. One or more may be kept together in a small enclosure,
with a separate box and yard for each, where they can be
shut up at pleasure. At this age the colt still requires the
greatest care and attention as to his feeding and exercise.
Although he may have all the advantages of a roomy box and
yard, voluntary exercise is of itself insufficient to maintain
the colt in a healthy growing state. In addition to this, he
should have at least two hours' daily walking exercise. The
present show system is not conducive to the development of a
healthy, well-balanced frame. Disuse does not merely relate
to the lessened action of the muscles ; it also entails a
diminished flow of blood to the different organs of the body.
The muscles can be fully developed only by constant use.

Three-Year-Old Commercial Fillies or Geldings.

The animal having now attained the age of three years,
he is expected to take a share in the work of the farm.
During the early spring he is taken up, fed more liberally and
his former breaking lessons are revived. Where two-horse
ploughing is practised he takes his place in the furrow beside
a steady trained animal, and, although he may at first show
some disposition to resent restraint, he eventually settles down
quietly. Given a well-formed animal and the pace very much
depends on his early training. A sluggish habit is more
easily acquired than eradicated, either in man or animal ;

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 1 73

hence in the draught horse the long swinging gait rather than
the short quick step is to be cultivated, and this to a consider-
able extent is within the province of the trainer. On large
tillage farms two-year-old geldings and fillies are purchased
at the autumn fairs held in the breeding districts. These
are wintered in the yards, and broken and prepared for the
spring work. We cannot disguise the fact that few breeders
who sell at one or two years take the trouble of breaking ;
and the work when delayed to the age of three years is
seldom so satisfactorily and thoroughly performed as it is
when it is systematically carried out at an early age. The
purchasing and training of colts form an important part of the
management of large farms ; they are worked on the farm
for two or three years, and are then passed on to the brewers,
railway companies and town draymen. At the present moment
a good sound five or six-year-old horse with power and action
is worth from /70 to /^loo. For the best class the demand
exceeds the supply. So far the production of first-rate draught
horses has not suffered from foreign competition.

Feeding the Draught Horse Employed on the Land.

The efficient value of foods and the requirements of the
animal are much better understood than was the case even
some seven or eight years ago. We have found the following
ration sufficient for ordinary farm horses, 15 h. 3 in. to
16 h. 2 in. high : 12 lbs. good sweet oats, ^^ lbs. beans or white
peas, lilbs. hnseed, 12 lbs. short chaff, three of straw to one
of hay. The corn is ground into meal, mixed with the chop,
well mixed and watered to prevent waste and allowed to remain
at least twelve hours in the heap before being fed ; three lbs.
of hay are placed in the rack the last thing at night. This
we consider a full ration throughout the busy part of the
year. On large tillage farms the work horses should be
turned out to grass. The rotation may be so arranged that a
series of catch crops may come in as required. It un-

17+ HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS aAd MANAGEMENT.

doubtedly entails some extra labour, but it saves the legs of
the horses, which come out much newer at the end of summer
than if they had been turned out to pick up a scanty living
on the bare pasture.

Hours of Work.

Except during the busy seasons, the working hours are
seven in winter and nine in spring, summer and autumn, with
a respite of an hour and an half at noon for rest, feeding,
and watering. The limited capacity of the stomach renders
the horse unfitted for long fasts without inflicting serious
injury on the constitution of the animal.

Draught.

The method of attachment affects, to a considerable extent,
the efficient power of the horse whether in cart or plough. In
this, as in every other mechanical arrangement, the line of
greatest efficiency must form a right angle to the axis of resis-
tance. In the case of the one-horse cart the line of least
resistance is maintained by elevating or lowering the length
of backhand, or by increasing the height of the wheels, or by
raising the body of the cart by packings placed on the axle.
In the case of the plough the line of draught is likewise
capable of being altered by the length of the backhand. The
power of the horse is most efficient when not more than one-
twelfth of the load rests on the animal's back. The system
of tandem or yoking in line entails a large amount of waste
of effective power ; horses of different heights are indis-
criminately yoked together; hence we have a series of
different angles in the line of draught. Even were it possible
to insure the full exertion of each individual, the effective
power of one may be expended on the shoulder of that behind
him without contributing much to moving the load. The only
means of utilising the power is by direct attachment, and in
the case of the plough there is no practical difficulty. By the

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 1 75

use of equalising draught bars tlie resistance can be easily
distributed. Another advantage presents itself in these times
of dear labour, in that with three-horse ploughing a driver is
no longer necessary.

Housing.

It is of the utmost importance that the stable should be
roomy, well hghted, and ventilated, and free from underground
drains. The building should not be less than eighteen feet
wide inside ; the height of the side walls should be eight feet
above the level of the floor. The roof covering may either
be of slates or Newcastle tiles, the latter for preference ;
these should be laid to a six-inch gauge, carefully and suffi-
ciently torched inside. In cases where the covering is of
slates these should be laid on |-inch match boards, to which
the slates are secured by copper or galvanized nails. There
should be a three feet passage in front of the manger for
easy access in feeding and facility for keeping the manger
clean. This passage should communicate with the food
preparing department. The best mangers are fire clay troughs,
specially prepared to pattern ; a water trough of the same
material is also provided. The water supply is self-acting,
and so arranged that the water in the different stalls is
maintained at the same level. On the same line as the manger
a small hayrack is sometimes placed, though it is not always
necessary.

The standings for full sized horses are six feet six inches, with
a bottom and front post of oak or pitch pine, each seven inches
square ; the latter of which is placed in a line with the outside
of the manger. Into these posts are housed and firmly
secured top and bottom rails, grooved to receive 1 4 -inch
boards. In front of the manger, and running through the
posts, are two lines of one inch gas pipe ; these, when secured
on each side of the posts by backnuts, make a substantial
job. Before the standing posts are set and the necessary walls

176 HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

erected for supporting the mangers, the soil is removed to a
depth of fifteen inches ; the posts are then placed in position
and a layer of twelve inches of hydraulic lime concrete spread
over the entire surface ; over this is spread a thin layer of line
concrete, consisting of Portland cement and fine granite
chippings. If the work is well done the entire area becomes
one solid block. A grip is formed in the concrete having
connecting surface channels to receive and carry and deliver
the liquid drainage on to a trapped cesspool, some distance
outside the building. The only objection to this kind of
flooring is its slipper)' character which can easily be obviated
by slightly hatching the surface and radiating from the grip
and carriers.

Ventilation is another important consideration. Provision
should be made for the admission of fresh air on the ground
line. The orifice is regulated by a slide and hence is under
control ; sufficient access must be provided at the apex of the
roof to insure a continuous circulation. The stable should be
well provided with light ; this adds in no small degree to the
health and comfort of the animals ; but for the extra cost en-
tailed we greatly prefer the use of boxes to that of stalls,
because a hard worked animal has more freedom and rests
better.

Littering.

Where horses are hard worked and well cared for the
farmer generally takes much interest in the team. On the
large tillage farms of the Border counties he makes a point of
attending at suppering time, the usual hour for which is eight
o'clock, and he is quite as particular as to the feeding, dressing,
and watering as the stud groom is in regard to his hunters.
The picker is used to the feet to clean out any soil or gravel
that may have accumulated during the day. The curry-comb
and brush, or a hard wisp of hay or straw dipped in the
water bucket, completely remove all dust from their coats.

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. I77

The horse-keeper next directs his efforts to the bed ; the
horse is moved to the near side of the standing ; the Htter is
then carefully and regularly shaken out and a layer of clean
straw is placed on the top ; care is taken to arrange the straw
so as to form the bed higher at the side than in the centre >
the horse is then quietly moved to the off side of the standing,
whilst the same operation is repeated on the near side. This
simple regulation, which is strictly enforced in every well-
regulated stable, enables the attendant to pass backwards and
forwards to the manger without moving the animal or disturb-
ing his bed.

From a hygienic point of view, as well as that of economy,
there is no litter equal to well-cured peat moss. The quality
greatly depends on the raw material, which should be that
known as spagnum, or slightly decayed vegetable matter. A
layer of this, four to six inches in thickness, should be spread
over the floor ; over this may be placed a layer of clean
straw, chiefly as a preventive of dust ; as a natural consequence
the straw will require renewal frequently. The droppings
are removed daily. The moss may be allowed to remain
until it has become saturated with urine. Where this system
is carefully carried out there is no liquid drainage and no
decomposition to mar the comfort or endanger the health of
the animals. The manure when removed can be directly
applied either to grass or tillage land ; the most valuable
portion of the voidances are thus conserved and returned to
the land, where they produce an immediate eff'ect.

Feeding and Watering.

In comparison to the capacity of the body the horse has an
extremely small stomach ; hence the necessity of feeding at
short intervals and fixed periods. As regards this a useful
lesson may be learnt from the carman, who invariably makes
long hours. At all stopping places, whether for loading or
unloading, he loosens the bit and hangs on the nose-bag, and
12

178 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

although it may only be for a short time a few mouthfuls and
a swallow of water are refreshing and sustaining. How often
do we find the careless attendant, who is entrusted with the
care of young growing animals, during the winter months when
they are entirely dependent on the supplies provided for them,
allowing his charges to go for months from twelve to sixteen
hours from one meal to the next.

A popular error has taken hold of the public mind with
regard to watering, and it is one that seems difficult to
eradicate. I have never known a case of a horse injuring
himself who has free access to water. It is the exhausted
and fatigued animal who well knows he will be stinted, and
hence drinks to excess. I have seen the practice of allowing
free access carried out in some of the best managed hunting
stables in England, and on extensive tillage farms where
horses were kept in large numbers, and it has been attended
with less illness than is usually the case. At the same time,
we urge the owner of valuable horses of all kinds, to be
particular as to the quality as well as the temperature of the
water used. Soft water is preferable. This can rarely be
obtained, except through the agency of running streams or
where water is impounded in reservoirs, and is airiiied and
softened by the action of the wind and atmospheric air. If
possible, the temperature should not be below 55 degrees.

Grooming.

This is an important department of stable management
which is far too often neglected in the case of the draught
horse. Next to feeding and watering it is the point that is
most conducive to health and comfort. Good grooming pro-
motes healthy circulation and tends to carry off noxious
humours from the body. How often do we see horses coming
out to work in the morning with coats staring and full of dust.
Pass the hand down the chest and between the fore-legs, and
you find the hair matted with the perspiration of previous davs

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. 179

or weeks. The draught horse should be as carefully dressed
twice every day as the conditioned hunter. In my boyish days
the Clydesdale farm horses on Carrick Shore were a sight that
would well repay a long journey. To see the men in their white
mole-skin trousers and waistcoats ; their horses as sleek and
fine in their coats as the best carriage horses, with every chain
and buckle shining like silver, afforded great pleasure. Since
then the horses are much improved, whilst I regret to confess
that they are not turned out in the same state as formerly.
Here the labour difficulty is as keenly felt as it is in the South.

Shoeing.

This belongs to the province of the veterinary surgeon rather
than that of the practical agriculturist. I cannot, however,
resist the temptation of a word on so important a subject.
There is an old adage, "No foot, no horse." The writer much
prefers fiat shoes to calkins. The shoe should, as far as prac-
ticable, be fitted to the foot, not the foot to the shoe; keep
the heels low, as this promotes expansion. Under no cir-
cumstances should either the bars or sole be cut away with
the knife ; the walls or horny crust of the hoof should be
levelled by the use of the knife or rasp, in order to form a
level seating. The shoe may be slightly burnt in order to
allow for the natural expansion of the hoof. The heel of the
shoe, for a space of two inches on each side, should be slightly
bent away from the hoof ; the walls of the hoof should take
a bearing of about three-eighths of an inch all round on the
shoe. Most shoeing-smiths are apt to use too many nails,
which has a tendency to weaken and injure ; they generally
use three nails on the inside and four on the outside. We
think two good nails on the inside and three on the outside
would generally be sufficient. The shoes should not be
fullered, but the nail-holes countersunk in the solid ; under no
pretence whatever should the rasp be used on the outside crust
of hoof, as this is easily injured. When the outside integu-

l8o HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

ments are broken moisture is allowed to enter, and weakens
and rots the hoof.

Feeding Town Horses.

The horses belonging to town draymen and which are used
chiefly for the removal of heavy merchandise, are driven
quicker and are generally heavier loaded than those belonging
to the large London brewers. Those who are interested in
heavy draught horses are surprised that so great a difference
exists between the horses belonging to the large railway com-
panies as well as those in use by the Glasgow draymen and
those of the large London brewers. Amongst those who are
engaged in the commercial enterprise of the large provincial
centres of industry, the Northern horses, though not more
weighty, are regarded as more muscular, and are carefully
selected for the development of those points which insure free
action. Take Glasgow as an illustration of the Northern divi-
sion and compare it with London as the chief centre of the
South. In the former case the average weight of the dra}'
horse is i6 to i8 cwt., whilst in London the best dray horses
vary from i8 to 21 cwt. The hours of labour are practicall}'
the same, though the loads are widely different. The average
load of a single horse on the streets of Glasgow is, inclusive of
the dray, three tons, ten cwt., whilst in London it is a common
occurrence to see two ponderous horses tugging at a load of
five tons. Probably the system of yoking double has much
to answer for. Some of the best work horses are to be found
in Liverpool. In this connection it is only fair to sa}' that
the average period of the life of a dray horse is greater in
London than in Glasgow ; this we attribute mainly to tlie
different systems of feeding, to which we will shortly refer.
The usual hours of work of town horses is not less than ten,
and this in all weathers. In all well managed stables horse-
keepers are employed whose business it is to clean, feed, and
harness a fixed number of horses, so that on the strike of the

3 C/D

'^^^^yi^bLv

FARM MANAGEMENT OF THE HEAVY HORSE. l8l

clock they start from the stable. The horsekeepers must be
regular in their habits and early risers. In large stables they
are under the close supervision of a foreman. The stablemen's
time is occupied during the day in thoroughly cleaning the
stables and mixing and preparing the food for the mid-day,
evening and morning meals. For a dray liorse in full work
the average weight of dry food per day is 36 lbs. The
materials of which this ration is composed arc subject to wide
variation, sometimes without due consideration as to the
nutritive value of the different varieties and the purposes they
have to serve in the animal economy. We have noted the
effects on hard worked tram horses of a ration composed of
10 lbs. Indian corn, 2 lbs. beans, 4 lbs. oats and 6 lbs. long
hay per day. It is needless to say that under this treatment
the company soon required to recruit their stud. In some
stables the daily ration is : oats, 8 lbs., Indian corn, 5 lbs.,
beans, 4 lbs., bran, 4 lbs., with 16 lbs. hay chaff: in other
stables barley is partly substituted for Indian corn. In the
Glasgow stables boiled turnips are used to some extent ; to
this cause we attribute the great mortality amongst these
horses. The writer can, from experience, recommend the
following as a maximum daily ration for a dray horse in
full work : — 16 lbs. oats, 4 lbs. white peas, 14 lbs. hay-chaff
cut fine, carefully sifted to insure freedom from dust, 2 lbs.
linseed, 4 lbs. long hay. It is essential that the grain be
reduced to meal, then mix with the chaff, liberally sprinkle
the mass with boiHng water, turn over several times in order
to insure the saturation of the dry meal and cause it to
adhere to the chaff; allow the mixture to remain at least
twelve hours before being fed. One of the most troublesome
ailments to which horses are liable when fed exclusively on
dry food is indigestion or colic. By adding a small quantity
of linseed and slightly macerating the food, this difficulty
may be entirely obviated.

A detailed account of the best systems of management of
London work horses is given in the preceding chapter.

l82 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Harnessing and Yoking.

The harness is of the utmost importance. It should be of
the best materials, strong yet light. Every part of it should
correctly fit the animal ; here again we have a widely different
practice between that which obtains in the North and that of
the South ; in the former a light head-stall is used, strong but
light ; this familiarises the animal with the different objects as
they come within his range of vision, hence the liability of
accident is less common. Again the collar should be a true
fit, and should be carefully attended to from time to time.
The top is light, and well shaped, either with or without
ornament, the haimes should suitably embrace the collar ;
the hook, or tug attachment should be so constructed that by
a simple arrangement the line of draught admits of being-
altered several inches. Another important point is the tree of
the cart saddle. The upper curve for carrying the back-band
should be lined throughout with a thin plate of steel ; this
when kept well lubricated is not only more comfortable, but
it increases the efficiency of the horse. As with many another
practice, fashion rather than utility rules. The heavy bit
halters of the South with their bearing reins ; the heavy
collars surmounted by ponderous housing like the mail
armour of the ancient warrior are of themselves no insignifi-
cant load. The curved groove of the saddle tree is armed with
probably only three clips which do not afford free play for the
back-band. The angle of draught is also a point which does
not receive the amount of attention which its importance
imperatively demands.

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 183

CHAPTER VII.

DISEASES AND INJURIES TO WHICH HEAVY
HORSES ARE LIABLE.

In the following remarks on the diseases and injuries to
which the heavier breeds of horses are liable in a state of
domestication, it is not intended to give such information as
will enable the horse-owner to play the part of veterinary
surgeon, and treat his animals in every case as if he were a
person thoroughly trained in veterinary medicine and surgery.
Such endeavour would be as futile as it would be inexpe-
dient and dangerous. Printed directions and horse-doctor
books cannot do this ; the utmost service they can yield is
to afford the attendant upon, or the owner of horses some
idea of the disorders and accidents to which these creatures
are exposed, so that he may be able to form an idea as to
what should be done before the arrival of the veterinary
surgeon, in cases of emergency, or when the assistance of
this useful individual cannot be readily obtained. The
majority of horsemen now-a-days have received some kind
of instruction in horse-management, either at one of the
several agricultural schools established in the United King-
dom, or by attending the lectures and demonstrations so
frequently given in various parts of the country, through the
mstrumentality of agricultural societies or County Councils.
In any case, for the treatment of the more serious diseases
and accidents far more experience and skill are needed than
are possessed by the amateur, however well read he may be

184 HEAVY horses: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

in veterinary books ; so that, in order to avert loss and
damage, it is the wisest course to invoke professional aid
without delay, resorting to such measures as may be deemed
appropriate until its arrival.

For this reason only a few of the more frequent diseases
and accidents will be referred to, and these briefly.

Diseases.
Fever.

Symptoms. — Fever is a condition of the body in which the
temperature is higher than in health. The ordinary tem-
perature of the horse's body — what is termed the internal
temperature — is about 100° Fahrenheit. It is best ascer-
tained by the self-registering thermometer, which is inserted
into the rectum and kept there for a minute or so. When
this temperature rises above 101° fever is present ; if it
reaches 104° then the fever is somewhat serious, and when it
gets to 106° it is very severe. In proportion to its height the
horse becomes wasted and debilitated.

The pulse — which is usually 38 or 40 beats a minute, and
is best felt inside the lower jaw — is correspondinglj' increased,
and the beats may reach 60, 80, or even 100 per minute,
though when it is over 80, the fever may be said to be high.
The breathing is also quickened, the number of respirations —
which are about 8 per minute in health — increasing in a cor-
responding manner with the pulse. Coincidently with these
phenomena the skin is dry and hot, though exceptionally it
may be wet with perspiration. The mouth is also dry, hot
and pastey when the finger is passed into it, and it generall)'
has the odour of indigestion. The appetite is either much
diminished or lost ; and though the horse may drink a good
deal of water, the urine may be less in quantity and high
coloured. Sometimes the breath feels very warm, and the
eyelids are swollen, with perhaps tears running down the

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 185

face ; in certain cases the horse is somewhat excited, in
others he is listless, apathetic and depressed.

Fevers are of several kinds — such as continuous, remittent
and intermittent, according to their course ; and simple,
specific, inflammator}', adynamic or hectic, according to its
symptoms and cause.

In many cases, at the very commencement of fever there
are signs of rigor or chill, the coat being then lustreless and
hair erect, and the skin cold, wholly or in parts ; while the
horse may even be trembling slightly. The diminished desire
for, or refusal of food is always a very significant sign of
commencing illness in a horse, and should therefore receive
immediate attention.

Treatment. — The causes of fever are numerous, and its
successful treatment largely depends upon the cause being
ascertained. This is discovered by noting the symptoms and
inquiring into the history of the case. This needs tact and
skill, and as some of the fevers are very serious and soon run
on to a fatal termination, it is advisable to obtain veterinary
advice in good time. The amateur, however, can assist in
the treatment by ha^dng the horse moved into a well venti-
lated loose-box or stable and made comfortable, but not
oppressed, by means of clothing and bandages to the legs ; if
the latter and the ears are cold, which is sometimes the case,
then they should be hand-rubbed. The horse ought to be
allowed plenty of cold or tepid water to drink, with sloppy
food. Nursing is the chief means by which restoration to
health can be secured. Medicines must be sparingly given
by the unskilled, and at most nothing more should be admin-
istered than about an ounce of nitrate or carbonate of potass
in a bucket of water once or twice a day. If he wiU lie dovv^n,
the horse should have a good soft bed. He ought not to be
exercised until the appetite has returned, nor put to work
until he feeds well, and has regained his usual strength and
spirits.

As nearly all young horses brought up from grass or from

l86 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

the country to town stables are liable to an attack of town or
stable fever, they should be put into airy stables, and carefully
fed and exercised until they have become somewhat seasoned.
And when put to work this should be light and only for a
short time at first.

Catarrli.

Catarrh, or what is termed a " cold in the head," may
attack old and young horses alike, and at any season of the
year ; though it is most frequent in cold or changeable
weather. One of the great predisposing causes is a hot and
badly ventilated stable.

Symptoms. — There is more or less fever at first, with
sneezing, perhaps shivering, cold legs and listlessness, and
slight loss of appetite. Soon there is a discharge of watery
fluid from the nostrils, sometimes also from the ej'es ; this
later becomes yellow and purulent, and not unfrequently
cough ensues, with sore throat and more or less difficulty in
swallowing. Very often, too, these symptoms are accom-
panied by more fever, loss of appetite, and swollen glands
about the upper part of the throat.

Tyeatment. — The treatment chiefly lies in nursing, making
the horse comfortable by body clothing and leg bandages,
keeping the stable at a moderate temperature and well venti-
lated, and giving mashes of bran and linseed, with small
(quantities of nitrate of potass in the drinking water. The
head may be held over a bucket of boiling water in which
there is some hay and a little oil of turpentine or carbolic acid,
so that the steam may pass up into the nostrils. If the cough
is troublesome, the upper part of the throat may be well
rubbed with soap liniment, or a liniment composed of equal
parts of olive oil, oil of turpentine and spirit of hartshorn.
Should the cough be very severe, a little tincture of opium or
chloroform may be dropped into the bucket of hot water, and
a sack or blanket thrown over it and the horse's head, in order
to keep in the vapour.

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 187

Should the horse be debihtated after the more severe symp-
toms have disappeared, a dram of powdered sulpliate of iron
may be mixed in the mash once a day.

Strangles.

*This is an infectious disease to which young horses are
nrore especially predisposed, and somewhat resembles catarrh.
One attack generally protects horses against a second. There
is great probability that every case of strangles is due to
infection, and from this point of view, and also because of the
trouble and damage it only too often occasions, it should be
treated as a communicable disease, so as to prevent its
spreading.

Symptoms. — It generally commences with fever and dulness,
and disinclination to eat. The throat begins to feel sore and
there is difficulty in swallowing ; while the glands between
the jaws and below the ear are swollen and painful to the touch.
In nearly all cases there is inflammation of the air-passages
of the head, and this is manifested by a discharge of yellowish
matter from the nostrils ; there may also be cough. The
swelling between the jaws increases in extent and painfulness,
and not unfrequently this causes obstruction to the breathing,
which is marked by a noise both in inspiration and expiration.
In some cases this obstruction is so great that suffocation is
imminent, and to prevent it the wind-pipe has to be opened
lower down the neck and a tube inserted through which the
horse can breathe. In the usual course of the disease an
abscess forms in the middle of the swelling, and when this
bursts the horse is generally relieved ; the sweUing subsides,
fever rapidly diminishes, swallowing becomes easier and the
appetite is increased.

This is the ordinary course of the disease, but sometimes it
runs an irregular course. The fever persists, and the other
symptoms may increase in intensity ; swellings appear in
different parts, and these may form abscesses, or disappear

1 88 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

and again reappear elsewhere, and the disease may continue
for a very long time — in the simple form it seldom lasts longer
than a fortnight or three weeks, whereas in this malignant or
irregular form it may run on for one or two months, or even
longer. In some instances it is a year or two before the
animal completely regains a healthy and robust condition.
This protracted phase of the disease is due to the repeated
occurrence of abscesses in various parts of the body — these
suppurate, heal up, and are succeeded by others ; they some-
times form in the internal organs and then usually cause
death.

A not unfrequent sequel of strangles is " roaring," which
greatly depreciates the animal's value, as it interferes with
the breathing.

Prevention. — Strangles should be dealt with as a very con-
tagious disease, and careful isolation of those affected, with
disinfection measures, ought to be strictly observed.

Treatment. — Good nursing must form the chief part of the
treatment of strangles. Whenever a young horse shows
signs of ailing, it should be placed in a well-ventilated and
moderately warm stable or loose box — the latter is always the
better; this should be kept clean and comfortable. If the
weather is chilly a blanket may be worn over the body, and it
may even be necessary to place woollen bandages on the legs
if they have a tendency to become cold. The food should be
soft, and consist of bran and linseed mashes, oatmeal gruel,
and a little good meadow hay, with now and again some
scalded oats. If in season, grass and carrots, or sliced turnips,
are good. The water given to drink should have the chill
taken off if the weather be cold, or the oatmeal gruel may
suffice. A little nitrate of potass — say half an ounce — may
be put in the drink now and again.

If the fever runs high, a fever draught may be given (this is
also desirable in ordinary fever and catarrh) ; a useful draught
is composed of acetate of ammonium, in solution, three or four
fluid ounces ; sweet spirits of nitre, one ounce ; bicarbonate

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 189

of potass, half an ounce, to be mixed in a pint of tepid water.
This draught maj' be given once a day until the fever abates.
Should the breathing become noisy, or the horse experience
much difficulty in swallowing, then hot water vapour should
be inhaled as in the treatment of catarrh, a little carbolic
acid or oil of turpentine being added to the w^ater. At the
same time, the white liniment recommended for sore throat in
catarrh should be applied to the upper part of the throat and
beneath the jaws where the swelling takes place. Some-
times, when the swelling is very extensive and dense, it is
well to apply a hot linseed meal and bran poultice to it, or to
blister it with cantharides ointment.

The abscess may be opened when it is fully formed, which
is ascertained by its "pointing" and feeling very soft at a
certain part, or left to open spontaneously, which is the best
unless the amateur is sufficiently skilled in using a lancet.
When it is opened, the wound should be kept very clean by
washing with warm water and a sponge, and dressing with a
solution of carbohc acid — one to fifty of water.

If the fever has been high or the abscess large, there is
often a good deal of debility supervening, and this must be
combated by a generous diet, such as scalded oats and boiled
linseed, to which some salt has been added. If there is very
much prostration and the digestion is impaired, it may be
necessary to give a pint of milk two or three times a day ; to
this a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda should be added.
Sometimes it has been found advantageous to give one or two
eggs beaten up in milk in the course of the day, or a pint or
quart of stout or porter morning and evening. In the
irregular form of strangles the same system of nursing should
be carried out, and the abscesses opened wherever they
appear. Sulphite or salicylate of sodium may be given in
half ounce doses in water twice a day. A stable or loose box
which has been occupied by a horse affected with strangles
should not be again used until it has been thoroughly cleansed
and disinfected.

igo HEAVY horses: breeds and management.

Influenza.

This is undoubtedly an infectious fever, which appears in
a very extensive manner over large tracts of country, the
outbreaks always occurring where there is much movement
of horses from one place to another. In this way it follows
the lines of traffic, and may appear at any season of the
year ; horses of all ages and under all kinds of conditions,
may be affected, bat it generally visits most severely those
which are badly attended to and kept in unhealthy stables.

Symptoms. —The most marked characteristic of influenza is
the intense prostration that accompanies the fever from the
very commencement. Otherwise, in most of the outbreaks
the symptoms are much the same as those of catarrh, and
they may all be developed very quickly. Sometimes the air
passages and lungs are chiefly implicated ; at other times the
abdominal organs suffer most, and in some of the outbreaks
symptoms of rheumatism, with swelling of the legs, head, and
other parts of the body, predominate. Not unfrequently we
may have all these symptoms manifested by one animal. The
disease has received several names according to the prevailing
symptoms. The catarrhal symptoms maj? be well marked,
and then we have, in addition to the fever and great debility,
the signs of ordinary catarrh ; these, under favourable con-
ditions, gradually subside in eight or ten days, and in a
fortnight or three weeks the animal has usually recovered.

When the lungs and bowels are implicated, however, the
cases are more serious, especially if the sanitary conditions
are bad and the horses are not healthy and vigorous.

Treatment. — One of the essential conditions in the successful
treatment of influenza, is relieving the animal from fatigue
and work whenever the first signs of illness become apparent.
These signs are generally diuiinished appetite, listlessness,
weakness, dry hot mouth, hanging head, swollen eyes, and
perhaps shivering. To work and fatigue the horse after the
disease has seized him, is to expose him to the risk of a more

DISEASES AND INJURIES. I9I

severe attack than he otherwise would have, and may lead to
Ins death.

Therefore cessation of work at once is all important. Good
nursing comes next in importance, for the amateur — and even
the veterinary surgeon, for that matter — can do little more
than place the patient in the best possible hygienic conditions
and maintain the strength. More horses are injured than
benefited by the injudicious administration of drugs in this
and many other diseases.

Good ventilation, keeping the horse's body warm and com-
fortable, and giving soft and easily digested food, are the chief
points to be attended to. If the symptoms are mainly those
of catarrh, then the treatment should be the same ; if the
chest is affected, then the treatment should be the same as for
pleurisy or inflammation of the lungs ; and when the bowels
are implicated the treatment prescribed for inflammation of
them must be adopted. When the legs and other parts of
the body swell, then they should be kept as warm as possible
by means of woollen bandages and rugs. Salicylic acid should
be given in one-drachm doses in a little thick gruel twice a
day. When the animal is recovering, in order to counteract
the debility, it is advisable to give vegetable and mineral
tonics. The best of these for the horse are powdered gentian
and sulphate of iron — an ounce of the first and two drachms of
the second — in ball, once or twice a day. Boiled linseed is
advantageous.

The horse should not be put to work until quite recovered,
and even then this should be rather light for some time.

Glanders and Farcy.

These are not two diseases, but only one disease in two
forms. We shall, therefore, treat of these as one disorder
under the name of glanders.

Glanders is a virulent disease special to horses and asses, but
transferable from them to several other species of animals, and

192 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

to mankind. It may affect every part of the body, but is most
frequently witnessed in the head, and on the skin. It may be
chronic or acute, but it is generally the former, though both are
marked by fever, which is most severe in acute glanders. It
is very contagious, and can be produced by giving the poison
in the food, or water, or in a ball, and it can gain introduction
to the system by inoculation, through a wound or abrasion,
and in other ways. Contact with glandered horses, being
put into stables which have been inhabited by them, drinking
out of water troughs they may have frequented, or eating
from receptacles they have fed in, are the usual ways in which
healthy horses acquire the disease. It is most frequently
witnessed among large studs of horses, and especially those
which are overworked, improperly fed, or badly housed. Low
condition predisposes to, but cannot generate the disease. A
variable period elapses between an animal's receiving the
poison and the appearance of the first symptoms, but it is
between a week and several months. The poison is contained
in the discharge from the nostrils, and in that from the sores,
as well as in the blood and other fluids ; but the disease is
mainly spread by means of the matter from the nostrils and
sores. In the ass and mule glanders nearly always appears in
the acute form, and rapidly runs its course.

Symptoms. — The symptoms in acute glanders are much more
marked than in the chronic form, but the high fever
constitutes the chief difference. This fever lasts for a few
days generally, then subsides, but only to reappear after a
short interval. There is much depression, and the animal
does not care to move. There is usually a discharge of a
yellowish sticky matter from one or both nostrils, which
adheres around them, and at the same time there is one or
more sores, or ulcers inside the nostril on the partition
separating the nostrils. If the discharge is only from one
nostril, then the sores are on that side. When the ulcers are
deep, then the discharge may be streaked with blood. The
glands inside the lower jaw are also enlarged, hard and

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 193

knotty. Ulcers may or may not appear on the skin at the
same time. Sometimes the ulcers are high up in the nostril,
and cannot be seen, and not unfrequently they extend down
the windpipe. The lungs are generally implicated, or they
may be above the seat of disease, but this is more frequently
the case in chronic glanders. In the acute form, if the horse
is not killed it dies from suffocation or exhaustion.

The chronic form only diflers from the acute by the severity
of the symptoms. A horse may live for a considerable time
when affected with chronic glanders, and even perform hard
work, as the constitutional symptoms are comparatively
slight. But the disease always terminates in acute glanders
if the horse is not destroyed.

Farcy is merely superficial or skin glanders, and it also may
be acute or chronic. There are ulcers on various parts of the
bod)', and these generally discharge ; they are connected by
a prominent line or " cord." The legs are most frequently'
involved, and then they are generally swollen and painful,
and the horse moves with difficulty. Farcy generally
terminates in glanders.

Treatment. — Glanders is practically incurable, and owing to
its dangerous character its cure should not be attempted.
Diseased horses should be at once destroyed, and those with
which they have been in contact, or which have stood in the
same stable with them, ought to be considered suspected, and
consequently kept apart from others. Stalls and places
which have been occupied by diseased and suspected horses
should be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected.

Bvoncltitis.

Bronchitis is inflammation of the Hning of the windpipe and
its branches in the lungs, and is usually due to colds, though it
is sometimes a comphcation of other diseases, audit may even
be produced by the entrance- into the air-passages of irritant
fluids or gases.
13

194 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Symptoms. — Bronchitis may be acute or chronic, but in
young horses it is most frequently the former. This generally
begins with shivering and dulness ; then fever sets in, and
the breathing is quickened, while there is a hard, loud and
frequent cough. There may or may not be a discharge from
the nostrils at first, but there is generally after a day or two,
and in a few days it may be quite copious. The cough
increases in frequency and severity, and is very exhausting,
while the appetite is much diminished. Death may ensue
from filling up of the bronchial tubes with matter. But a
favourable result may be anticipated when the fever gradually
subsides, the cough becomes softer and less frequent, and the
discharge from the nostrils less and thinner in consistency.

Chronic bronchitis is generally seen in old horses. There
is little, if any fever, and the nasal discharge is very trifling,
the most marked symptom being the cough, which is often
very harassing.

Treatment. — As bronchitis commonly occurs in cold weather,
the horse should, if possible, be put into a comfortable, well-
ventilated stable or loose bo.K, and the body clothed, the legs
being enveloped in woollen bandages or straw or hay bands,
after being well hand-rubbed. Hot water vapour, into which
a small quantity of oil of turpentine or carbolic acid should
be put, ought to be inhaled by the animal, as for catarrh ;
and the throat should be rubbed with the white liniment al-
ready mentioned, or with compound camphor liniment. The
same liniment may also be applied to the sides of the chest,
or this may be enveloped in a thick blanket and hot water
(not scalding) poured on it for an hour or two at a time ;
the blanket must then be removed, the skin thoroughly
dried, the liniment rubbed in, and a dry blanket put on.

A draught composed of one drachm of camphor, two ounces
of solution of acetate of ammonium and an ounce of nitric
ether, mixed up in about ten ounces of water, should be ad-
ministered twice or three times a day. The diet should con-
sist of mashes of linseed and bran, with a few scalded oats ;

DISEASES AND INJURIES. Igc

carrots or green food should also be allowed, and a little good
hay. When convalescence is setting m a drachm of powdered
sulphate of iron may be given in the mash twice a day, and
the food may be more nutritious.

Little can be done for chronic bronchitis beyond keeping
the horse in a cool, well-ventilated stable, clothing the body
comfortably, giving easily digested food, and allowing steady
slow work.

Congestion of the Lungs.

No animal is so Hable to congestion of the lungs as the
horse, and it may be an accompaniment or sequel of other
diseases, or occur by itself. It usually appears in the acute
form in the latter case, and it is this which will now be
noticed.

Acute congestion of the lungs may be induced by sudden
severe exertion when an animal is not in good condition, or
by long-continued severe exertion even when in good training ;
it may also be caused by exposure to cold, and especially to
cold winds and wet.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of acute congestion of the lungs
are of a very decided character. The breathing is extremely
hurried and laboured, the nostrils are widely dilated, head
carried low, countenance anxious and haggard, body usually
covered with perspiration, legs stretched out and cold, the
flanks heaving tumultuously, and sometimes the heart can
be heard beating violently. Not unfrequently blood flows
from the nostrils, and if this is foamy it shows that it comes
from the lungs. If not quickly relieved the horse will die
from suffocation.

Treatment. — This, to be effective, must be prompt. The
horse should not be moved or disturbed, and if wearing har-
ness this ought to be taken off. An abundance of fresh air
must be allowed ; the legs and body should be well rubbed
and clothed, and if any turpentine liniment is at hand it
should be applied to the legs before they are bandaged.

196 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Brandy or whisky, in six-ounce doses, may be given in
water every hour or two hours for the first three doses, and
then every four hours for four or five doses. If there is thirst,
cold water, or, better, oatmeal gruel can be given. If the
symptoms do not soon subside, hot water should be applied to
the sides in the manner already indicated, and care should be
taken to keep the animal from draughts of air.

After recovery some days' rest should be allowed, and care-
ful feeding observed.

Inflammation of the Lungs.

Inflammation of the lungs may be a disease of itself, or
it may follow catarrh, bronchitis, congestion of the lungs, or
other disorder, as well as be due to sudden chill, foul hot
air in stables, &c. Pleurisy is often present.

Symptoms. — There is fever, the pulse and respirations are
increased, the animal is dull and dejected, and wanders about
in the loose box, but rarely lies down. There is frequently a
short, dry cough, and there may also be a slight discharge
from the nostrils of rust-coloured mucus when the disease is
advanced ; the skin of the body and the legs are cold, the
mouth is hot and dry, and the membrane lining the eyelids
and nostrils is deep red in colour.

Treatment. — This is similar to that for congestion of the
lungs. Fresh air is above all things necessary ; at the same
time the body and legs must be kept warm. From four to
six quarts of blood abstracted from the jugular vein some-
times lead to a favourable change in the case of fat, high-
conditioned horses. At first the following draught may be
given every four hours : — Fleming's tincture of aconite, six
minims ; nitric ether, one ounce ; solution of acetate of
ammonia, four ounces. To be given in a quart of thin gruel
or tepid water.

If there is much debility, then instead of this draught, six
ounces of brandy or whisky ma}' be administered three or four
times a day in the same manner.

DISEASES AND INJURIES. ig7

The food should be sloppy mashes of bran or linseed, with
oatmeal gruel, a little good hay, green forage, or carrots.
Cold or tepid water may be allowed to drink, and in a bucket-
ful of it an ounce of nitre may be dissolved.

When the horse is recovering, a drachm of powdered sul-
phate of iron may be given in the mash twice a day.

Pleurisy.

This is inflammation of the membrane lining the chest and
covering the lungs, and may be a complication of pneumonia
or other diseases, or exist independently.

Symptoms. — There is fever succeeding a shivering tit. There
is most acute pain on moving the ribs, which causes the horse
to keep them fixed as much as possible, and to breathe
quickly, in a careful manner, with the abdominal muscles.
The countenance looks distressed, and there is a short inter-
rupted cough, while on attempting to turn there is heard a
painful grunt. Pressure between the ribs causes acute pain ;
the horse does not lie down. Effusion into the chest very
often sets in early, and then there is less pain, but the breath-
ing becomes deeper and laboured, owing to the pressure on
the lungs.

Tyeatmeiit. — This does not differ much from that adopted in
inflammation of the lungs. The general management should
be the same, and the hot water applications to the chest
should be even longer continued. Mustard may be applied to
the sides of the chest with advantage. Nitrate of potass, in
ounce doses, should be given in the water or gruel, and
Fleming's tincture of aconite, in four to six-minim doses
given in a small quantity of water every three or four hours.

After three or four days, whisky in four-ounce doses may
be given twice or three times a day in gruel. If fluid accu-
mulates in the chest, then it should be gradually removed by
surgical operation, which the amateur had better not under-
take.

igS HEAVY HORSES ! BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Rlicumatism.

Some horses are particularly liable to rheumatism, which is
an inflammatory condition of certain structures in connection
with joints, tendons, muscles, &c.

Symptoms. — Rheumatism may be acute or chronic ; the
acute form is accompanied with fever, and usually manifests
itself suddenly in the joints of the limbs — as the stifle,
fetlock, hock, knee, or sheaths of the tendons. There is
great lameness and pain on pressure, and often more than
one part is affected ; not unfrequently the swelling and pain
leave the joint as suddenly as they came, and attack another
part. The heart is often invoh'ed. In bad cases the joints
are much damaged.

Treatment. — ?Iot fomentations to the inflamed parts, of
water in which poppy heads have been steeped ; with gruel,
in which ounce doses of the bicarbonate of potass have been
dissolved. The animal should be kept comfortable, and if
there is constipation, a mild dose of physic may be given. If
the fever runs high, salicylate of sodium in two-drachm doses,
three times a day, should be given in a pint of water or gruel.
When the inflammation in the joints or sheaths of the tendons
becomes chronic, then it may be necessary to rub them with
the white or soap liniment, or with the following liniment : —
Coutts' acetic acid, two ounces ; whisky, two ounces ; oil of
turpentine, two ounces. One white of egg to be beaten up
with these. The skin should be first well brushed, then the
liniment firmly rubbed in.

Laminitis.

Heavy horses are more liable to inflammation of the feet,
perhaps, than light ones ; and the fore-feet are much oftener
affected than the hind ones. Many causes will give rise to
it, such as bad shoeing, injuries, severe travelling in hot
weather, indigestion, superpurgation, &c., while it is often
a sequel of pneumonia, influenza, &c.

DISEASES AND INJURIES. I99

Symptoms. — This is a most painful disease, and is accom-
panied by a considerable amount of fever. The horse per-
spires, breathes quickly and looks as if suffering agony ; the
symptoms might be mistaken for inflammation of the lungs
but attempting to make the horse move reveals the nature of
the disease. He will not stir if he can avoid it, but remains
rooted to the ground, resting his weight as much as possible
on the heels. The feet feel extremely hot, and tapping the
hoofs intensifies the pain.

Treatment. — The shoes should be removed from the in-
flamed feet, if possible, and the walls lowered to a level
with the soles, so as to allow these and the frogs to sustain
a greater portion of the weight. But this is a difficult
operation, as the horse suffers excruciating pain when one
fore-foot is lifted. The animal should therefore be put into
a sling, or better, thrown down, the litter being peat moss
or sawdust. This allows the shoes to be taken off and the
feet to be attended to. Cold poultices of bran or other
material, or cold wet clothes, should be applied to these
and kept constantly wet and cold. Carbonate of soda may
be mixed with the poultices or water. Unless there has
been purging, a dose of physic should be given, and the diet
ought to be of a laxative nature. If the horse is lying and
does not attempt to change position, he should be turned over
every day to prevent the occurrence of sores on salient parts
of the body. When the intense pain and inflammation have
subsided, exercise on soft ground should be enforced for
some time.

Colic.

Colic is spasm of the intestines, or it may be due to disten-
sion of these with gas (flatulent cohc). Many causes may
give rise to colic— such as indigestion, mismanagement in
feeding or watering, chiUs, worms, &c.

Symptoms. ^The attack is usually sudden, and the chief
sign is the manifestation of restlessness, owing to the pain

2O0 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

experienced. The horse lies down and rolls about, then
gets up, shakes himself, looks towards his flanks, paws,
strikes at his belly with the hind feet, and if in a loose box
wanders around it. The pain subsides, and the horse then
remains quiet and may commence to eat, but in a short time
the symptoms reappear, and at each recurrence they may
increase in intensity ; attempts may be made to stale, while
the animal generally perspires freely and manifests anxiety.
In flatulent colic the symptoms are analogous to those in
spasmodic colic, the chief difference being that in the former
there is distention of the belly, and the breathing is therefore
more interfered with ; the horse also lies down more carefully
and does not roll so much.

Treatment. — No time should be lost in treating cases of
colic, and the relief of pain is one of the first objects to be
obtained. Six ounces of whisky should be given in a quart of
tepid water, and if two ounces of laudanum can be added to
this, so much the better. The belly should also be well
rubbed with straw wisps. If there is constipation, a dose
of physic ought to be given ; and when there is distention of
the abdomen, after the stimulant just mentioned an ounce of
oil of turpentine in a pint of linseed oil ought to be adminis-
tered. The alcohol and laudanum may be repeated in three
or four hours if the symptoms do not abate. An enema of
soap and water every two hours is very serviceable in obsti-
nate cases ; and when the attack is acute, blankets wrung
out of very hot water and applied to the abdomen often act
A'ery beneficially.

InflaiiimatioH of the Bowels.

Like colic, which it often succeeds, inflammation of the
bowels arises from many causes.

Symptoim. — Tliese are not unlike those of colic, except that
there is no intermission in the pain, which is much more
severe, and the breathing and pulse are quickened through-

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 201

out ; the pain is also increased by pressure on the abdomen.
The body is covered with profuse perspiration, and the ex-
pression is haggard and distressed.

In this disease no alcohol should be given, nor yet lauda-
num ; but, instead, powdered opium in two or three-drachm
doses, rubbed up in flour gruel, every two or three hours ; to
this may be added twenty drops of tincture of aconite, two
drachms of chloroform, or two ounces of sulphuric ether.
Hot water should be applied to the abdomen by means of
rugs, and the white liniment or a mustard plaster may also be
applied to this region before the hot water is resorted to.

When the horse can eat, the diet should consist of linseed
and bran mashes, and no hay or other solid food ought to be
given for some days.

Worms.

Worms are often troublesome to horses, by causing irritation
of the intestines, and unthriftiness and debility. There are
several kinds of worms which we need not, for lack of space,
describe, especially as the treatment is nearly the same for
all. This generally consists in the administration of a purga-
tive, followed by an ounce dose of oil of turpentine in flour
gruel, or well mixed in a pint of milk ; or one or two one-
drachm doses of tartar emetic in a little mash, followed by
half a dozen one-drachm doses of powdered sulphate of iron —
one dose morning and evening.

Lamenesses.

The horse is, from the nature of his work, much exposed to
lameness, and this very often becomes permanent, and more
or less reduces his value. Lameness may be due to many
causes, and these may be in operation in any part of the limb
or limbs ; sometimes injury or disease of other parts of the
body will also produce lameness. We will notice some of the
more common forms of lameness, with their causes and treat-
ment.

202 HEAVY HORSES I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

Sprains.

Sprains may occur to tendons and ligaments, less frequently
to muscles, and this injury may be more or less severe, and
cause a proportionate degree of lameness. Ligaments and
tendons, as well as muscles, during violent efforts or from
twists, may be over-stretched and their fibres torn, or the
injury to them may be brought about gradually, as in some
tendons and ligaments of the lower part of the limbs. No
matter where sprains occur, more or less prolonged rest, as
complete as possible, is essential to rapid and permanent
recovery. Next to rest comes reparative treatment, and this
^vill vary somewhat according to the seat and the nature of the
sprain. When it is quite recent, attempts must be made to
check the swelling and inflammation that ensues, and with
this object in view, the application of water — cold or hot— or
soothing and evaporating lotions, is resorted to. All are bene-
ficial according to the assiduity with which the}' are applied.
The water should either be always rather cold or as hot as
the horse can bear it. When it can be done, the part should
be enveloped in bandages or swabs, so as to retain and dis-
tribute the moisture or lotion. Perhaps the best lotion is that
composed of Goulard's extract, subacetate of lead and spirit
in equal parts, with eight to ten parts of water. When the
pain and swelling have subsided somewhat, then a mild
stimulant may be applied, such as the acetic acid liniment
already alluded to. Gentle exercise may also be allowed if
there is no lameness, and continued until the horse is fit for
work.

Sprain of the Bach Tendons.

This is perhaps the most frequent sprain to which heavy
horses are liable, and it may occur either in the fore or hind
legs. There is swelling, heat, and pain on pressure of the
injured part, and lameness corresponding to the extent of
the injury. A shoe raised two or three inches at the heels,

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 203

should be put on the foot of the sprained leg, and the general
treatment prescribed above resorted to. If the injury is very
severe and considerable thickening remain, it may be advis-
able to apply the biniodide of mercury ointment, or cantha-
rides ointment to it ; it may even be necessary to " fire " the
part in order to effect efficient recovery. Instead of this, the
projection of cold water from a hose for from ten to twenty
minutes, three or four times a day, may be advantageous in
expediting a cure ; indeed, this may be carried out from the
very commencement, the lead lotion being applied in the
intervals. Sprains of these or other tendons or ligaments
in this region may also be treated after the method recom-
mended by Captain Hayes, which consists in enveloping the
part in cotton wool, and bandaging tightly in such a manner
as to ensure uniform pressure. This bandaging may be
employed after applying the hot or cold water or lotion,
and is most conveniently carried out as he directs. " Take
about half-a-pound of cotton wool, and a cotton bandage
(such as can be got m any chemist's shop) about three
inches broad and six yards long. First of all, wrap loosely
round the leg a piece of soft cotton cloth, or put on an
ordinary flannel bandage, as the contact of wool sometimes
causes irritation to the skin. Place a little cotton-wool at each
side of the leg at the place where it is desired to commence,
and loosely wrap the bandage over it, adding at each turn
more cotton wool, some of which should also be placed at the
front and back of the leg, until there is a layer about four
inches thick round the part. As the bandage is passed
around the leg it may be gradually tightened until at last it
is made very tight, when it can then be secured by sewing or
by tapes. The bandage should be removed after twenty-four
hours, the part rubbed firmly upwards by the hand (the leg
being held up during this massage, and flexed and extended);
and a fresh bandage of the same kind put on. The bandage
may then be removed morning and evening, and the part
hand-rubbed and passively worked by bending the joints

204 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

without causing the horse to move." The tendon may be
rubbed vi^ith the stimulating liniment during the massage ;
if the hair is long it may be clipped off. The cotton wool
should be of the ordinary kind — soft and elastic, and it is
better to have it fresh at each application. The diet should
be rather laxative, and green forage ought to be given if
it can be procured.

The high-heeled shoe should not be kept on the foot for
more than a fortnight, when its heels may be gradually
lowered. If considerable improvement has not taken place
in three weeks of this treatment, a charge maj' be applied
to the tendon. This is variously composed, but the usual
ingredients are Burgundy pitch and bees'-wax, four parts
of each ; when these are melted in an iron ladle two parts
of mercurial ointment are stirred in. When moderately
warm this is plastered in a thick layer over the leg by
means of a spatula or hard brush, pieces of cotton-wool
being stuck on the skin and the hollows on each side of the
tendon as the smearing goes on. Over these the mixture
is to be daubed, and when sufficient has been applied to
make the leg a rounded mass, a long cotton bandage is
tightly bound over it, the mixture being laid upon this at
every turn and cotton wool placed between each layer, so as
to effect equable and firm pressure. If at any time the layers
should become loose they may be plastered with the warmed
mixture. From three to five weeks is sufficiently long to
keep on this bandage.

Splints.

Splints are bony tumours which form either inside or
outside the leg — usually the former — and generally in the
neighbourhood of the small splint bones. They most fre-
quently form in young horses, and are most readily seen
when the limb is looked at in front. It is usually when they
are forming that they cause lameness, but when they are so

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 205

situated as to interfere with movement, the lameness may be
permanent. There is heat, and pain on manipulation.

The best treatment for the amateur to adopt consists in
the application of Goulard's lotion already described, this
being poured on to a woollen or cotton bandage enveloping
the leg where the splint is forming. After a few days of this
treatment a little piece of the biniodide of mercury may be
rubbed into the skin over the tumour. Exercise should be
allowed on soft ground.

Ringhone.

This is a deposit of bony matter on the surface — front or
sides — of the pastern bones, and is generally very serious,
owing to the deposit interfering with the tendons and ligaments
covering it. It is most frequently observed on the front
pasterns.

The treatment should be the same as for splints, but it must
be long continued and the horse should be rested as much as
possible, the stall or loose box being laid with peat moss litter.
In chronic cases firing may be necessary.

Side-bone.

This name is given to the plate of elastic cartilage on each
side of the foot towards the heels when it becomes more or
less rigid from the deposition of bony matter in its sub-
stance. This loss of elasticity generally occasions lameness,
which is most marked and serious when both plates— inside
as well as outside— are involved. Side-bone is most fre-
quently seen in heavy draught horses, and especially those
with coarse hairy legs. There is no doubt an hereditary pre-
disposition to this grave alteration, but it is not improbable
that its occurrence is often due to faulty management of
the horse's foot in the process of shoeing, one side of
the hoof being left higher than the other by the shoer ;
and so the foot and limb are twisted or bent outwardly or

2o6 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

inwardly when the horse puts his weight on the leg. It is
most essential to the healthy condition and continued in-
tegrity of these cartilages, that the hoof be at all times
properly levelled when the horse is being shod. The
existence of side-bone is readily ascertained by pressing firmly
on the cartilage with the thumb. If it is altered in texture
it feels hard and rigid. The horse generally goes more or
less lame, though instances occur in which the gait is
scarcely, if at all, ahered. The fore-feet are those specially
liable to side-bones, and horses in towns appear to have
them far more frequently than those in the country. Ex-
ternal injury — such as a tread — may give rise to side-bone
by setting up inflammation in the cartilage, the whole or
only a portion of which may be implicated in the change.

Treatment. — With regard to treatment, it must be admitted
that it is most difficult to stop the progress of the change in
the cartilage when it has once commenced ; much more
difficult is it to restore the altered cartilage to its normal con-
dition. Poultices and blisters do not produce much result,
and all other kinds of treatment hitherto proposed have proved
of little avail. At the very commencement, if it could be
ascertained that side-bone was forming, long continued rest
and cold applications — such as cold water — might check the
change, but it is very difficult to ascertain positively when
this is beginning. Cold water at first, and blisters afterwards
may be tried. The foot should be carefully shortened and
levelled, and the frog brought to bear largely on the ground.
If the horse must be worked, then a bar shoe resting to a
great extent on the frog, or an ordinary shoe slightly curved
upwards at the toe and heel, must be put on.

Bone Spavin.

This is usually a bony enlargement inside, and at the lower
part of the hock ; in some instances there is little, if any, en-
largement, but two or more of the bones of that joint may be

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 207

joined together, and there may also be ulceration between
them. There is more or less stiffness or lameness, accordinti;
to the extent and seat of the disease. The horse rests the lef,'
very much, and goes on the toe of the foot. When he first
begins to move, the lameness is much greater than it is after
travelling for some time. The lameness is sometimes very
perceptible when the horse is moved in the stall.

Treatment. — To be at all beneficial, treatment must be
undertaken early. Absolute rest is indicated, and if the horse
could be rendered immovable in the affected joint, there would
be a good chance of stopping the progress of spavin. But
this is not possible, and all that can be done is to keep the horse
quiet, a stall being preferable to a loose box, and the animal
can be kept tied up for some time. To ease the front of the
joint, a high-heeled shoe should be placed upon the foot, and
warm or cold fomentations applied to the hock for some time.
Then biniodide of mercury ointment should be rubbed into
the skin over the spavin at intervals of a week or so. This
treatment ought to be continued for six weeks or two months,
when the result should be tested. If the lameness has not
disappeared, then firing should be resorted to, points being
employed instead of lines.

Thoi'oitghpiii.

Thoroughpin is the name given to distention of the sheath
of the tendon of the hind foot at the upper and back part of
the hock. The tendon may be strained or its sheath injured
at this point, and the swelling may be pushed from one side
to the other, hence the name. This condition is much more
frequent in heavy than light horses, and in those with short
hocks. There may or may not be lameness, but the swelling
is unsightly.

Tveatmcnt. — If the sprain is recent, then rest is indicated, and
the application of a high-heeled shoe to the foot of the affected
leg. Fomentations with warm water may be resorted to for

2o8 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

some days, after which tincture of iodine may be painted over
the swelHng every day until the skin becomes sHghtly blis-
tered, or the biniodide of mercury ointment may be applied
twice or three times at intervals of a week. When the swel-
ling is chronic, then the spring truss made by veterinary in-
strument makers for effecting pressure on this part of the
hock should be tried.

Bog Spavin.

Bog spavin is a soft swelling on the front and inner part of
the hock, above the seat of bone spavin, and is due to disten-
sion of the capsule of the joint. When the distension is great
there is also swelling in the seat of thoroughpin, from the
capsule being pushed upwards and backwards. Bog spavin
may appear without any assignable cause, but there is gene-
rally a sprain or series of sprains of the hock, to which it
owes its production. Horses which start great loads, and
heavy stallions whose hocks are severely strained in covering,
are those which most frequently show bog spavin and thorough-
pin, and especially if their hocks are short.

Treatment. — This should be the same as for thoroughpin,
the employment of the spring truss being even more beneficial
for this condition than for the one just mentioned.

Wind Galh.

Wind galls are merely distentions of the sheaths of tendons
below the knees and hocks, due either to rheumatism, sprain,
or hard work. They may or may not be accompanied by
lameness ; if they are, then the soft puffy swelling is hot, and
painful on pressure. They are most frequently seen about
and immediately above the fetlocks, especially those of the
hind limbs.

Treatment. — If there is lameness, then the treatment should
be as for sprain of the tendons. If there is no lameness, but
merely distension, then equable pressure by means of bandages

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 209

IS the simplest and readiest treatment. When rest can be
allowed for some time, a charge (already described) may be
applied to the leg, where the swehing is.

Lymphangitis or Weed.

This is an inflammation of the lymphatic vessels of the
hind legs, usually only one, to which heavy horses are more
especially liable. It is due to derangement of digestion or
over-feeding when not working, and appears most frequently
on Monday morning, after Sunday's rest.

Symptoms. — There is much fever and great pain in the
affected leg, which is swollen from the foot to above the hock,
and the horse moves it with hesitation and difficulty. After
a time the inflammation subsides, but it is always likely to
recur after the flrst attack, leaving a gradually increasing
thickness of the leg until at last it sometimes is greatly
developed in size.

Treatment. — In the acute stage, a strong dose of physic
should be administered, and hot water fomentations applied to
the leg, from the stifle to the foot, continuously for hours.
After this the leg should be well dried, then rubbed with
the ammonia and turpentine liniment, and bandaged with
flannel. The diet should be sloppy mashes and a small
quantity of good meadow hay for a few days. When the
inflammation has subsided, then the leg should be well hand-
rubbed upwards, and frequently during the day. Sugar of
lead lotion may also be sponged over it once a day. To
prevent recurrence of the inflammation, care should be taken
to reduce the amount of rich food (oats and beans) given on
resting days, and increase the allowance of ha}'.

Grease.

Grease is an inflammation of the skin (sebaceous follicles)
of the lower and back part of the legs, generally the hind ones,
which gives rise to a thin, greasy, and pecuhar smelling dis-

210 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

charge, accompanied by a certain degree of soreness and
stiffness. It is most frequently seen among coarse, hairy-
legged horses which are badly attended to, and is somewhat
common in damp and dirty stables. The exciting cause is
generally cold and wet acting upon a dirty skin, and the pre-
vention is cleanliness and drying the legs when the horse
returns to the stable.

Treatment. — If the skin is much inflamed and sore, and dis-
charging the offensive secretion, it may be necessary to clip
away the long hair, and foment and poultice the part. After
a day or two of this treatment, an astringent lotion should be
applied. A very good lotion is composed of two parts of lead
acetate and one and a-half part zinc sulphate dissolved in
about thirty parts of water. This should be well shaken up
when about to be used, when it forms a white lotion which
should be applied to the diseased skin by means of a piece of
sponge.

Should it be necessary to work the horse before the skin is
perfectly healthy, and there is a likelihood of the limbs be-
coming wet and dirty, it is advisable to cover the heels and
back of the legs with a mixture composed of white lead one
part, linseed oil two parts. This should be applied by means
of a brush.

Thrush and Canker.

These are diseases commencing in the frog of the hoof,
" thrush " being generally the prelude to the serious condition
named " canker." Thrush is due to several causes, the chief
of which are paring the frog when the horse is being shod,
and not allowing it to come in contact with the ground.
There is a foul-smelling discharge from the cleft of the frog,
which becomes ragged and wasted, and if the exciting cause
is allowed to go on and no treatment is adopted, then the
horn becomes underrun b}' the matter, and separated from the
living parts beneath ; these throw out fungous cauliflower-
like growths, which may extend over the sole, and even

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 211

invade the wall of the hoof. This constitutes canker, which
IS usually seen in coarse-bred heavy horses, and is generally
due to neglect ; it may appear in fore and hind feet, but
perhaps the latter are most frequently attacked.

Treatment. — Cleanliness in the stable, and removing dirt
and stones from the hoofs when the horse returns from work,
will tend to prevent the occurrence of thrush, provided the
shoeing-smith does not mutilate the frog with his knife, and
that part is allowed to meet the ground. When a discharge
appears from the cleft of the frog, this part should be well
cleaned out to the very bottom by means of pledgets of tow ;
then a piece of tow dipped in Stockholm tar should be
pushed to the bottom of the cleft and left there for a day or
two, when it ought to be removed, and replaced by a similar
dressing until all discharge has ceased and the cleft has filled
up to its natural state. Sometimes calomel passed into the
cleft in the same way answers the purpose. If the frog is
generally unsound, all the loose parts should be cut away and
the tar smeared over the surface. Getting the frog to meet
the ground is always most beneficial.

For the cure of canker skilled assistance is necessary, as
an operation is usually required to fully expose the diseased
surface. Then caustics and astringent powders are needed to
destroy the fungous growths, while pressure and dryness are
adjuncts which must not be overlooked.

Injuries to the Foot.

The foot is more exposed than any other part of the body to
injuries of various kinds, such as treads, contusions, wounds
from sharp objects while travelling on the road, pricks and
bruises in shoeing, splitting of the hoof (sand crack), bruise of
the sole (corn), &c.

When the injury occurs to a part enclosed in the hoof, it is
generally necessary to relieve the sensitive parts from pres-
sure by removing the horn from over and around it, and

212 HEAVY HORSES : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

preventing the shoe from touching it. When the inflamma-
tion runs high and there is much pain, fomentations with hot
water and poulticing are necessary, but these must not be
continued very long, and, as a general rule, they should be
succeeded by dry dressings. For injuries in which the hoof
is concerned, after the inflammation has been subdued, Stock-
holm tar is an excellent dressing.

Wounds.

Wounds are of different kinds, according to their mode of
production, such as incised, punctured, contused, &c. The
incised wound is that which is generally most readily repaired.
When there is haemorrhage it should be checked as soon as
possible, and this can sometimes be effected by the applica-
tion of cold or hot water, bandaging up the wound, applying
pressure, or tying the bleeding vessel or vessels. Some
chemical agents, such as perchloride of iron, are sometimes
employed to check bleeding.

If the wound is not large and the part can be bandaged,
then its edges should be brought together and the bandage
applied, a piece of lint or tow being previously placed upon
the wound. If it can be done, it is often beneficial to bring
the edges of the wound into apposition by means of one or
more stitches ; or by brass pins passed through the skin, and
a piece of tow or twine wound in figure of 8 fashion around
the heads and points.

Bleeding from a punctured wound can generally be stopped
by plugging it firmly with tow, lint, or any similar substance.
The air should be excluded as early and as perfectly as
possible from all wounds, so that after dirt and any other
extraneous matters which may have gained access to them
are removed, they may be carefully protected by tincture of
myrrh, powdered boric acid, iodoform, or other antiseptic
agent.

When the wounds are large and contused, it is not generally

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 2I3

advisable, nor is it often possible, to close them by sutures or
close bandaging, as the dead portions have to be removed by
the natural process of sloughing or suppuration. This can
often be expedited by fomentations with warm water.

Broken knees are more frequent in fast moving light horses
than in heavy horses, though the latter sometimes have these
joints badly damaged by falling on them. When such an
accident takes place, the wound should be freed from dirt and
grit by gentle washing with a sponge ; a piece of lint ought
then to be placed over the injury, and maintained there by
a bandage. When the wound is not deep or very contused,
some Canada balsam, spread on a piece of lint and laid upon
the wound after it has been cleaned and dried, often has an
excellent effect, being allowed to remain until the wound has
healed. When the wound is deep and contused, and the
joint probably opened, then the legs should be kept immov-
able by a splint and a starch bandage extending from above
the knee to the foot, the portion of the bandage covering the
wound being cut out after it has dried, in order to permit the
injury to be dressed. This dressing should consist of boric
acid or iodoform powdered over the wound. The horse
should not be allowed to lie down, and it is generally
advisable to have him slung, to prevent his falling, until
the wound is healed.

Mange.

This is a rare disease among heavy horses in well managed
stables where grooming is carefully carried out. When intro-
duced, however, among horses which are not well looked
after, it is very troublesome, and often damaging to them.
It is caused by microscopic insects, one kind of which causes
mange of the body, and is the most annoying to the horse ;
another kind infests the neck at the root of the mane ; and
a third kind locates itself on the thickly-haired legs of heavy
horses. They all cause intense itching, which compels the

214 HEAVY HORSES ; BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT.

animals to bite and rub themselves almost continuously.
The insect that infests the body also produces shedding of
the hair in patches, and raw places and crusts on the skin.

Mange is very contagious, and the parasites can pass
directly from affected to healthy horses, as well as by means
of harness, clothing, straw, &c.

Treatment. —Cleanliness is a potent barrier to the extension
of mange. Affected horses should be well washed with warm
water and soft soap, applied by means of a scrubbing-brush,
then when dry the skin must be dressed with some agent
that will kill the parasites. For the mane-and-tail insect,
and also for that inhabiting the legs, one dressing of an oint-
ment composed of one part of tar oil and six parts of palm
oil, will generally suffice, the ointment being washed off in
two or three days. For body mange, it is most advantageous,
after washing the skin with soap and water, to soak it for
some hours with a solution of carbonate of potass and oil
before this ointment is applied, and it is usually necessary to
repeat the treatment.

In addition to treating the animals, it is essential that
clothing, harness, stable fittings, and everything else with
which affected horses may have been in contact, should be
cleansed and dressed with a solution of carbolic acid, one part
to five or ten of water.

Ringworm.

Ringworm is due to the presence of a microscopic vege-
table parasite, which grows on the skin in such a manner as
to produce more or less circular bare patches covered by a
thin crust. It does not cause so much itching as mange,
though there is some ; but it renders the skin unsightly, and
may cause it considerable damage if it is allowed to exist for
a considerable time. It is oftenest seen perhaps in heavy
horses, and more particularly those which are young. It is
very contagious.

DISEASES AND INJURIES. 215

Treatment. — This may be the same as that recommended
for mange, but the treatment may be hmited to the affected
parts and a Uttle distance beyond them.

Shoeing.

The management of horses' feet, with the object of
keeping them healthy, is perhaps not so important with
heavy as light horses ; nevertheless, it is necessary that it
should not be overlooked in attending to the welfare of the
former, and therefore we may briefly allude to the following
rules, the observance of which will be beneficial to horse-
owners : —

(i) Heavy horses should be shod, or the old shoes be
removed, at least once a month.

(2) Then the hoofs should be reduced to a proper length,
and evenly levelled, so that one side of the foot will not be
higher than the other.

(3) The frog and sole should not be pared, interference
with them being limited to removal of any loose portions.

(4) The shoe should not be heavier than is necessary to
withstand wear for a certain period — say a month.

(5) It should be made to fit the hoof — that is, the full size
of the latter ; and it ought to be level on the surface on
which the hoof rests.

(6) It should be attached to the hoof with as few and as
small nails as may be necessary to keep it securely on the

hoof.

(7) The nails should not be driven higher into the hoof
than is required to obtain a sound and firm hold.

(8) When the shoe is nailed on and the clenches laid down,
the front of the wall should not be rasped at aU, but left with
its natural poHsh and in all its strength.

(9) If possible, the frog should be allowed to come in
contact with the ground.

INDEX

Action of Clydesdales, no
Action of Shire Horses, 20
Admiral, 26
Ayrshire Clydesdales, 91

Bald Horse 93, 1778, 11

Bar None 23SS, 28, 137

Bitting and Breaking, 170

Blake's Farmer, 44

Blaze 1S3, foaled 1770, 11

Blundeville, Sir Thomas, on Eng-
lish Horses, 4

Bog Spavin, 208

Bone of Shire Horses, 20

Bone Spavin, 206

Brady's Briton, 62

Breaking, 170

Breeding Heavy Cart Horses for
Street Work, 122

Breeds : —

The Clydesdale Horse, 75
The Shire Horse, I
The Suffolk Horse, 37

Bronchitis, 193

Brood Mares, 142

Broonifield Champion, 81

Bury Victor Chief 11 105, 34

Ctesar on English War Horses, 2
Canker, 210
Capon's Duke, 65

Cart Horses at Smithfield Fair in

"54, 4
Cart Horses on the East Coast, 10
Castlereagh, 131
Catarrh, 1S6
Catlin's Duke, 66
Champion 419 (Styche's), 12
Champion Horses at London

Shows, 26
Characteristics of Clydesdales, 117
Characteristics of Shire Horses, 20
Characteristics of Suflblk Horses,

72
Chart showing descent of Suffolk

Horses (to face) 59
Clyde alias Glancer, S3
Clydesdale and Shire Cross, 135
Clydesdale Horse, The, 75
Clydesdales in Cumberland and

Aberdeen, 94
Colic, 199

Colour of Suffolk Horses, 50
Colours of Early Shires, 11
Colts, Two - Year - Old, Manage-
ment of, 172
Congestion of the Lungs, 195
Crisp of Ufford's Horses, 41, 43
Cupbearer, 51, 69
CuUum, Sir T., on Suffolk Horses,

Darnley, 102

INDEX.

217

Demand for Heavy Horses, 122
Diseases and Injuries of Heavy

Horses, 183
Dodinan, English Cart Horse

(17S0), 9
Draught, 174
Drew's, Mr., Purchase of English

Mares, 124
Drumore Stud, 87

Early Clydesdale Sires, 80
Early History of Shire Horse, 2
Early Records of SuffoUiS, 37
Early Stud Book, Records of

Shires, 6
Edward's Old Briton, 59
English Horses in Scotland, 123
Enterprise of Cannock, 29

Farm Management of Heavy

Horses, 159
Farmer, H2

Feeding and Watering, 177
Feeding Farm Horses, 173
Feeding London Work Horses, 156
Feeding Town Horses, I So
Fever, 1S4

Flemish Horses at Holkham, 39
Flemish Stallions in Lanarkshire, 75
Foaling, 162

Foals, Management of, 163
Fulton's Ruptured Horse, 81

G. 890, Shire Stallion, 11
Galloway Clydesdales, 86
Geldings, 149
Gilbey, Sir Walter, on Old English

War Horse, 2
Glancer, Clydesdale Stallion, 81
Glanders and Farcy, 191

Grease, 209
Grooming, 178

Hair on Shire Horses, 9
Harnessing and Yoking, 82
Harold 3703, 31

Henry VHL and Horse Breed-
ing, 4
Hereditary Diseases, 138
Hitchin Conqueror, 4458, 33
Hours of Work of Farm Horses,

174
Housing Farm Horses, 175

Importations from the Continent, 8
In Foal Mares, Management of, i5
Inflammation of the Bowels, 200
Inflammation of the Lungs, 196
Influenza, 190

Injuries of Heavy Horses, 1S3
Injuries to the Foot, 211
Introductory Essay to Clydesdale
Stud Book, 77

Judicious Mating, 143

Keir Peggy, 103
Kintyre Clydesdales, 92

Lamenesses, 201

Laminitis, 198

Lampit's Mare, So

Leading Clydesdale Tribes, 102

Lincolnshire Lad 13, 24

Lincolnshire Lad Mares, 124

Littering Horses, 176

Logan's Twin, 104

London Work Horses, 145

Lord Ailsa, 133

2l8

INDEX.

Lord Erskine, 109
Lord Lyon, 112
Lymphangitis and Wind, 209

Management of Heavy Horses, 159

Management of Mare and Foal, 163

Mange, 213.

Mansetter (Oldacre's) 11

Mares, Management of, 161

Marston sold for 500 guineas, 12

Matchless 1609, 14

Modern Clydesdales and their

Characteristics, loi
Modern Shire Sires, 23

Old English War Horse, 2
Old Times, Clydesdale Horse, 113
Orton, Dr., Views on Physiology,
135

Packington Blind Horse, ii
Paterson of Lochlyoch, 77
Pedigree, 143
Pedigree Influence and Traditions,

II
Physiology of Breeding, 134
Pleurisy, 197

Points of Clydesdales, 117
Points of Shire Horses, 20
Points of SufTolk Horses, 72
Prince Lawrence, 129
Prince of Avondale, 128
Prince of Wales, 106
Prince William 3956, 30
Purchase of English Horses by

Scotch Dealers, 123

Queen Anne's State Equipages 6

Rations of London Work Horses,

156
Rearing Horses, 144
Reynolds, Mr., History of English

Cart Horse, S
Rheumatism, 19S
Ringbone, 205
Ringworm, 214
Rokeby tiarold, 35
Royal Albert, 1885, 16
Ruler (1773), II

Scotch Horses in England, 125

Selection of Stallions, 141

Shire and Clydesdale Cross, 133

Shire Horse, i

Shire Horse Show, 21

Shire Horse Stud Book, 6

Shoeing, 179, 215

Side-bone, 205

Sinclair, Sir John, on Scotch
Horses, 79

Soundness in Suffolks, 54

Spark 2497, 26

Spavin, 206, 20S

Splints, 204

Spooner, W. C, on Cross Breed-
ing, 135

Sprain of the Back Tendon, 202

Sprains, 202

Stables, 175

Stallions, Selection of, 140

Statistical Account of Scotland, 79

Staunton Plero 2913, 31

Stradbroke, Lord, on Suffolk

Horses, 53
Strangles, 187
Suffolk Horse, 37
Suffolk Stud Book, 38
Suffolks as Agricultural Horses, 55
Suffolks in London Streets, 56

INDEX.

219

Sweet William, sold in 1778 for
350 guineas, 12

Three-Year-old Fillies and Geld-
ings, 172

Thoroughpin, 207

Thrush and Canker, 210

Topsman, 115

Two-Year-olds, Management of,
170

Typical Shire Brood Mare, 20

Uniformity of Suffolk Horses, 41

Veterinary Inspection, 54
Vulcan 4145, 32

Watering Horses, 177

Weaning, 165

Wedgewood, 64

Weight in Shire Horses, 2i

What's Wanted 2332, 14, 137

Whitefaced Boxer, 6S

William the Conqueror 2343, 13

Windgalls, 208

Worms, 201

Wounds, 212

Wright's Farmer's Glory, 45

Yearlings, Management of, 168
Young, Arthur, on Suffolk Horses,
40

Wajf4 *T3fack ^ririi

IMKORSES& COLTS

Colic or Gripes;

ChillsorShiveringFits

Debility and Fatigue;

Low Condition;

Diarrhoea.

For anvthingI

It is not litely tlie ' Black Drmi; will fail

PROFESSOR SHELDON.

gf DAY& SOf*IS,CREWE.li

in CATTLE X, SHEEP

Colic and Chills;

Hoven or Blown;

Debility and Colds;

Low Condition;

Diarrhoea.

Price 5^. per quarter dozen saiiip/e, or l\is. per dozen
tn fjoxe^^ Carriage paid. Full ^'directions for me" sent.

THF RFn nPIWIf or Cow Drench (in packets). So reliable whenever

i liL.l\K^U O J\ J in a, the system gets clogged or overburdened, and where

Urinary troubles arise; for Indigestion, Loss of Cud, Costivene.=s. Fever, Garget,

Red W.ater, &c., and for Bad Cleansing .after Calving. Price 12s. per dozen

packets, Carriage paid.

THE PURIFIED DRIFFIELD OILS (R-.- oiis.) The safe

, „„„...,„„„ ^^^ ^^^^,^ healer in all

cases of Wounds, Kicks, Stake Wounds, Broken Knees, Saddle Sores, &c., in
Horses and Cattle, and for Swollen and Hard Udders ." 1 difficult Parturition in
Cows and Sheep. Price 2s. 6d. and 6s. per Bottle, Carriage Paid.

THE WHITE OILS Unnvalled as a safe Embrocation for Horses and
' ' \Jhl-i^t Cattle; for all Sprains, Su'elling, Stiffness, or

Weakne,ss of the .Joints, Sore Throat, Rheumatism, Splints and Curbs ivheu
forming. Price 3s. 6d. and 6s. per bottle, Carriage Paid.

THF HIIQS^A! V\\i The tried and proved remedv for Husk, Hoose, or
J n C ri U a A.U L^E.in. . . -^^^.j^ j^ j^^ Throat " in Calves, Lambs, Heifers,

and Sheep; for Tapeworm in Tegs, &c. ; and for Worms in Horses and Cattle.

Price 20s. per dozen bottles, or in half-gallon and gallon tins, at

23 per cent, reduction. Carriage Paid.

For other Medicines see our Book Prospectus, sent gratis and post free.

THE "ORIGINAL" UNIVERSAL MEDICINE CHEST.

For Disorders of Horses, Cattle, and Sheep.

PRICES £2 4s., £5, and £10 70s. SAMPLE CHEST, £1 4s.

THE "ORIGmAl" HGRSEKEEPER'S MEDICINE CHEST.

Arrangred specially -for Disorders in Horses.

PRICES £2 14s., £5, and £10 10s. SAMPLE CHEST, £1 4s.

ONLY GENUINE FROM

B^&Sons,

♦^ Grewe.

ANIMAL MEDICINE SPECIALISTS.

Telegraphic Address: "SADDLERY, GLASGOW.'

Telephone No. 4307.

LECKIE, GRAHAM & CO.,

Manufacturers of STALLION EQUIPMENTS of all kinds.

The Best House in the Trade for

THE CELEBEATED SCOTCH PATTEBET BEIDLES, EOLLEES, and

EOLLEE CLOTHS, now so much in demand in England.

GRAHAM'S PATENT BLIND OR HOOD.

For putting on Young Horses and Cattle
while Grazing. The advantages of this in-
vention are: — 1st, The eyes are not liable
r to injury, as the blocked eye-parts are
made so as to prevent galling or chafing ;
/. 2nd, The side springs are arranged so that
t the necessary freedom of vision is allowed
to the animals when grazing; 3rd, When
not grazing the animals are completely
blinded to all around, e.xcept the grass,
and the attacks of young horses on each
other, so common when several are graz-
ing in one field, are entirely obviated,

Colt Size, iS/- ; Full Size, 19/-.
Useif by many of the Principal Breeders
^^ in Scotland and England.

SADDLERY, HARNESS, HORSE CLOTHING, WHIPS, for all Home and Foreign Markets.
PORTMANTEAUS, BAGS, TRUNKS, and Travelling Requisites of every description.

PEICE LISTS OH APPLICATION.

a.:E.Q, PgriOg^ STSSEET, 'G-2L..aSOO"!HSr.

I ' "r c \:i±,j England.

HIS Preparation entirely supersedes firing, and is an eff'ectual
remedy for the Cure of Curbs, Splints, Side-bone, Ring-bone
and Spavin by Absorption only, being a Certain Cure for any bonv
deposit or enlargement. It is very easy to apply, gives but little
or no pam to the horse, warranted not to blister, and does not leave
any blemish behind after use.

Mr. FRED BARRETT, the Traine r, says :" Your Os-Detergens Is excellent."
PRICE 2/6 & 5/- PER BOTTLE.

SOLE PEOPEIETOE:

G. B. CLARKE, lVi:.I>.S.,

Manufacturing Chemist, WOBURN, BEDS., ENGLAND

Edited by JAMES SINCLAIR, Editor of the " Live Stock
Journal," " Agricultural Gazette," &c.

NTo. I.

Sheep. — Breeds & Management.

By JOHN WRIGHTSON, M.R.A.C, F.C.S., President of the College of
Agriculture, Downton ; Professor of Agriculture in the Royal College of

Science, London, &c.

*fo- II.

Light Horses. — Breeds & Management.

By W. C. A. BLEW, M.A. ; WILLIAM SCARTIi DIXON; Dr.
GEORGE FLEMING, C.B., F.R.C.V.S. ; VERO SHAW, B.A., &c.

ISTo. III.

Heavy Horses.— Breeds & Management.

Other Voluimes in Preparation.

VINTON & CO., LTD., 9, NEW BRIDGE STREET, LONDON, EX.

CUPISS'
Constitution Balls

In cases of
Swelled Legs, Grease,
Cracked Heels, Coughs,
Colds, Broken Wind, In-
fluenza, Staring Coat.

Fattening, Conditioning,
Loss of Appetite, Hide-
Bound, Hove or Blown,
Epidemic, Distemper.

FOR

HORSES
CATTLE
SHEEP

TestLniouials.

The Cannock Agr. Co., Staffs.
We have u.sed Cupiss' Con-
stitiition Balls for the last 10
years, and find uotliing that
can eqnal them.— Hy. R.
Hart, Managing Director.

Kerse, John.stone, Lockerbie.
1 have used your Constitu-
tion Balls for both Horses,
Cattle and Sheep, for upwards
of 30 years, and was always
highly pleased with results.
— K. MoGreoor.

Sutton Farm, Boyton.
I had a weakly yearling
troubled with scouring. I
gave one ball at two different
times and the result was a
perfect cure.— S. Cory.

Scouring, Strangles, Sore

Throats, Surfeit, Gargate,

Disordered Liver, Rot in

Sheep, &c., &c.

And for Scouring in Calves and Lambs they are almost infallible.

These Balls restore the healthy functions of the Digestive Organs, fortify and strengthen the
constitution, give tone and vigour to the whole system, and prevent the injurious reaults of over-
exertion or improper feeding. Prepared upvjards of 50 years hy the late

FRANCIS CUPISS, m.r.c.v.s., Diss, Norfolk,

Autlior of the Prize Essay on " The Diseases of the Liver of the Horse."

Sold by all Chemists and Patent Medicine Vendors in Packets at 1/9 and 3/6 each,

7 Small Packets, 10/6; 7 Large, 21/-; or direct from the Proprietor, The

Wilderness, Diss, on receipt of amount.

FRIDAY. Illustrated. FOURPENCE.

ESTABLISHED 1874.

The only Paper in the British Islands that is wholly devoted to the Interests
of Breeders and Owners of all varieties of Live Stock. Contains contribu-
tions from the highest authorities on all matters relating to the Breeding,
Feeding and Veterinary Treatment of Domesticated Animals, and Illustra-
tions of the more Celebrated Specimens.

The "LIVE STOCK JOURNAL" gives the fullest and earliest reports
of Agricultural Shows, Stock Sales, Sheep Sales and Lettings, whilst its
Notes from the Stables and Herd and Flock Notes contain much valuable
and interesting information. Prominence is given in the columns of the
Journal to correspondence on all questions of interest to Country Gentle-
men, Breeders and Exhibitors.

The best advertising medium for all announcements relating to Stock.
Circulates largely among foreign buyers. Terms on application.

Rates of Inland Subscription— 3 Months, post free, 5s. ; 6 Months, 9s. 9d. ;
12 Months, 19s. 6d. Foreign Subscription, £1 2s. per Year.

AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE.

Ube practical fanner's paper. Establisbei) 1844.

MONDAY, TWOPENCE.

The "AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE" has for many years, by general
consent, stood at the head of the English Ag-ricultural Press. It is un-
equalled as a high-class Farmer's paper, while the price — Twopence
weekly, or post free, los. lod. per whole year — places it within the reach of
all farmers. All branches of farming — crops, live stock and dairy — are fully
discussed by leading practical authorities. Market intelligence and reviews
of the grain and cattle trades are special features. Prompt replies given to
questions in all departments of farming. Veterinary queries answered by a
qualified practitioner.

Unequalled as an advertising medium amongst the well-to-do agricultural

and provincial classes. Terms for Advertisements on application.

Rates of Inland Subscription — 3 Months, post free, 2s. gd. ; 6 Months,

5s. 5d. ; 12 Months, los. lod. Foreig-n Subscription, 13s.

Bailys Magazine of Sports and Pastimes.

THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.

Embellished with Steel Engraved Poiirails of Eminent Sportsmen, and Engravings
of Sporting Subjects.

"Our only Sporting- Magazine."— FIELD.

This old-established and favourite Sporting Monthly contains articles by
the best authorities on every phase of sport at home, and also in the Colonies
and in Foreign Countries. Each number contains a fine Steel Plate Portrait
of an Eminent Sportsman, and other Illustrations of well-chosen subjects and
of the highest artistic merit are also given. In addition to the general articles,
" Our Van " is packed with bright notes upon sporting topics of the month.
India Proofs of Portraits which have appeared can be supplied at 2S. 6d. each.
Of all Booksellers and at all Bookstalls, Is. ; or by post, direct from the
Office, 14s. per year. Half-yearly Volumes, cloth, 10s. 6d.;
half bound, 12s. ed.

YINTON & CO., LTD,, 9, NEW BRIDGE STREET, LONDON, E.C

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Heavy horses; breeds and management"

See other formats