ENGLISH RACE-HORSE.

THE TROTTING HORSE OF AMERICA.—Two nations have the credit of introducing a race of Horses known as the Trotting Horse. One of these is Russia, the other the United States; and the latter has so far excelled her rival, that the Trotting Horse is now generally known as the “Trotting Horse of America.” The Russian breed is Arabian on a Flemish stock, and is known as the Orloff Trotter; but from the bending of the knee when the Horse is striding, and the trotting action not being carefully looked after, the animal is considered by good judges to be only “half-developed.” The breed of the American Trotter seems to have been both Barb and Arabian on an English stock, the well-known Bashaw Trotters being descended from an imported Barb ancestor, the Grand Bashaw; and Top Gallant was produced by a union of Arab or Eastern breed, with some Horse either English or of English origin. One of the greatest American trainers of the Trotting Horse, Hiram Woodruff, says in his work on this subject that the English had the stock all along, as much as the Americans, but that the method of training and perseverance of the latter have produced the best and fastest trotters. He entirely disputes the idea of the trot being an artificial action of a Horse, and the common notion that the only two natural paces of that animal are the walk and the gallop; and in vindication of his theory he asks, “Whether a colt can now be found anywhere that does not trot sometimes, and that when he is by the side of his dam, before ever the hand of a man has been laid upon him? If it is said that this results from the long domestication of his ancestors, my reply will be that it happens among the produce of Horses whose ancestors for more than two centuries have never been used for trotting, and were never taught to trot at all, if it is true that the Arabs of the desert only use their Horses at the two so-called natural paces, the walk and the gallop.” He further remarks that other animals trot when wild, such as the wild Asses, Zebras, and Quaggas, as well as the Deer and the Elk. He therefore considers that the most careful attention should be given to the training of a young colt for trotting purposes; and that, for a Horse to become a trotter, he should at the early age of two years be broken in with a view to that purpose especially, while his gallop or walk should, so to speak, be kept in the background. His education altogether extends over several years, as both speed and durability have to be considered in his capabilities; sometimes he reaches the age of seven years before his finest powers can be developed. Some of the fastest English trotters go at the rate of a mile in three minutes; while the quickest in America, according to Mr. Woodruff, take only two minutes and twenty-five seconds, or thereabouts, to do the same distance. The Trotting Horse has now become a product of great commercial value to the Americans.

SHETLAND PONIES.

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THE DRAY HORSE.—The huge Dray Horse, in its massive form and ponderous strength, and slowness of gait, forms a striking contrast to the Racer and the Trotting Horse. It is as admirably fitted for the slow carriage of heavy weights as the two last are for their elegant swiftness. It is as good an example of the results of judicious selection on the part of man, for a definite purpose, as can be offered by the study of any of the domestic animals.

THE SHETLAND PONY.—The smallest variety of Horses in the British Islands is the Shetland Pony, which averages seven or eight hands in height, but yet is wonderfully strong, and capable of enduring an immense amount of fatigue. Its wild, shaggy mane gives it somewhat the appearance, as has been remarked, of a Skye Terrier. It is mischievous and skittish, and generally harder to ride than a full-sized Horse.

THE ARAB AND THE BARB.—The two principal varieties of foreign Horses which are important for us to consider are the Arab and the Barb. The Arab would not be acknowledged by every one to be perfect in form. The head, however, is inimitable. “The broadness and squareness of the forehead,” writes Youatt, “the smallness of the ears, the prominence and brilliancy of the eye, the shortness and fineness of the muzzle, the width of the nostril, the thinness of the lower jaw, and the beautifully-developed course of the veins, will always characterise the head of the Arabian Horse. The body of the Arab may, perhaps, be considered as too light, and his chest too narrow; but behind the arms the barrel generally swells out, and leaves sufficient room for the play of the lungs. The neck of the Arabian is long and arched, and beautifully joined to the chest. In the formation of the shoulder, next to that of the head, the Arab is superior to any other breed. The withers are high, and the shoulder-blade has its proper inclination backwards. It is also thickly clothed with muscle, but without the slightest appearance of heaviness. The fineness of his legs, and the oblique position of the pasterns, might be supposed by the uninitiated to lessen his apparent strength; but the leg, although small, is deep, and composed of bone of the densest character. The tendons are sufficiently distinct from the bone, and the starting muscles of the fore-arm and the thigh indicate that he is fully capable of accomplishing many of the feats that are recorded of him. It is an error,” continues Youatt, “into which almost every writer on the history of the Horse has fallen, that the Arabian is bred in the arid deserts, and owes the power of endurance which he possesses in his adult state to the hardships which he endured while he was a colt. The real fact is, that the Arabs select for their breeding-places some of those delightful spots, known only in countries like these, where, though all may be dry and barren around, there is pasture unrivalled for its succulence, and its nutritious or aromatic properties. The powers of the young animal are afterwards developed, as they alone could be, by the mingled influence of plentiful and healthy food, and sufficient, but not, except in one day of trial, cruel exercise.” The attachment an Arab feels for his Horse is proverbial, cases having been recorded of a devotion so deep that the owner prefers almost to starve rather than part with his Horse. The following anecdote is an instance:—“The whole stock of an Arab of the desert consisted of a mare. The French Consul offered to purchase her, in order to send her to his Sovereign, Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected the proposal, but he was miserably poor; he had scarcely a rag to cover him, and his wife and children were starving. The sum offered was great; it would provide him and his family with food for life. At length, and reluctantly, he yielded. He brought the mare to the dwelling of the consul, dismounted, and stood leaning upon her; he looked now at the gold, and then at his favourite. ‘To whom is it,’ said he, ‘I am going to yield thee up? To Europeans, who will tie thee close; who will beat thee; who will render thee miserable. Return with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children!’ As he pronounced the last words, he sprang upon her back, and was presently out of sight.”