THE HORSE.* This is a profoundly practical book on a
profoundly practical subject, so practical, indeed, that one is inclined to doubt at first whether much good is likely to come of writing books about it. The breeding and rearing of horses are matters in which an ounce of experience is generally worth a pound of book-learning, and Mr. Day himself admits that there are some points for which "we must rely upon the breeder's natural aptitude and faculty for acquiring experience from his own observation." Much, however, may be done in the way of hying down sound principles of general application, which can always be modified to suit particular cases at the discretion of the person who carries them into practice. There is probably no previous work which covers the ground so com- pletely as the one before us, and coming from a gentleman of such wide experience and undoubted knowledge of his subject as Mr. Day, it appears likely to take rank as one of the classics of the stud.
The subject of horse-breeding has been very much dis- cussed of late years, especially as directed to horses employed for military purposes. A Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the subject, has found that there is at least no falling-off in the breeding of horses in England, though the present demand may exceed the supply ; and Mr. W. H. Smith has stated that the Government do not see any necessity for taking any extraordinary measures, as the Army is not "short of its authorised establishment of horses." But the really important point lies rather in quality than quantity. We have no doubt that the War Office also possesses a sufficient number of weapons of all kinds; but if the guns jam, the swords break, and the bayonets curl up, we cannot say that there is necessarily safety in the multitude of stores. In the same way, the mere fact that there is no lack of horses
* The Home: Haw to Breed and Bear Him. By William Day. London : Richard Bentley and Bon. 1888. to breed from is of little value if, as Mr. Day says, "the right horse is not bred." The fact appears to be that we have too many animals employed for breeding purposes, the great demand for horses being apparently considered a reason why every creature that has a head and a tail, and some- thing remotely resembling legs, should he made to perpetuate its defects through a succession of steadily deteriorating off- spring. "The produce of these," Mr. Day says, "after hundreds of pounds have been spent over them, are only fit for inferior purposes, and drag out their wretched existences between the shafts of a London cab or butcher's cart."
Not that this is to be taken as a proof that horses in general have deteriorated in our days. On the contrary, Mr. Day is strongly of opinion that the best horses of the present day are greatly superior to those of former times, and that Flying Childers' and. 'Eclipse' would not be "in it "with our modern cracks. The state of things to which he objects is the multi- plication of the least favourable specimens, resulting from the indiscriminate use of any available animals for breeding purposes, to check which he even proposes to call in the assistance of the State, requiring every horse intended for the stud to be previously passed by a Government inspector. Whatever may be their opinion of his projects in this direction, we think that no one interested in the breeding of horses can fail to profit by the study of Mr. Day's careful and thorough exposition of the best principles of selection. Great stress is laid, among other things, upon the important point of temper, the ignorance or disregard of which defect has given us many totally unreliable horses from the most blue-blooded parents. Another chapter deals with the vexed question of con- sanguinity. Mr. Day is, as might be expected, an opponent of the in-and-in breeding system ; but while attaching all due importance to his arguments, we cannot consider them as in any way final. The well-known greyhound and bulldog story is, as usual, brought in as evidence on his side, though why the remarkable success of that single experiment in crossing should be necessarily a proof that no good can come of the opposite system, it is difficult to see. Most of the chapters which enter deeply into the details of horse-breeding treat of thoroughbreds only ; but the instructions given are usually of a general nature, applicable to all kinds of horses. Our author has no intention of leaving out any equine species. The hunter, the hack, the troop-horse, draught-home, pony, even the ass, get their fair share of notice. Mr. Day grieves over the degeneracy of the British ass—the ass on four legs, that is ; we believe the two-legged species was never in a more flourishing state—and gives us the outlines of a scheme for improving the breed. In old times, this much-enduring animal—of whom the ingenious M. Jules Verne observes that it is not only beaten throughout its life, but even after death, the skin being used for drums—was better appreciated, judging by an old race programme quoted by Mr. Day. It appears that on a certain Friday in the year 1711, a plate of the enormous value of six guineas was to be run for by horses in the neighbourhood of Coleshill, "also a plate of less value to be run for by asses." We hope that this latter contest was carried on in a more humane manner thari some donkey-races of the present day, when it has been found necessary to formally prohibit riders from stimulating their mounts by the use of" sticks, penknives, or fasces "!
One of the most interesting portions of the book, to the importance of which the author calls special attention in his preface, deals with the great value of horses that are not quite thoroughbred. Mr. Day insists, in the very beginning of his book, on the importance of horse-breeding to farmers, and the profits they might make thereby, especially now that the majority of them have turned their minds from agriculture to stock-raising, and so much arable land has been converted to pasture. The half-bred is to become the farmer's great stand- by. Only two postulates are required to make Mr. Day's scheme feasible, and for both of these he is ready to do battle with all cavillers and unbelievers. The first is, that mares will be equally good for breeding purposes who work all the year round, with the exception of a few days before and after foaling ; and the second, that for all kinds of farm-work the half-bred is at least as good, if not better, than the shire or cart-horse. As regards the breeding alone, our author believes that the British farmer has a great future before him. Taking twenty-four mares as the number which most large farmers would keep for working horses, and consequently representing an amount of pasture-land which they are bound to take into their calculations, Mr. Day expects them to reach a profit of between five and six hundred pounds a year by the sale of the produce alone. Greater profits might accrue to the horse- breeding farmer by paying especial attention to the education of his young horses :— " Such of his produce as were best fitted for it could be taught to jump, and might be sold as hunters. Others could be broken .into harness for carriage-horses. To effect this, it would only be necessary to have on the farm a man who had lived with dealers and understood horses, to assist the farmer. A light spring-van, such as jobmasters in London use for the conveyance of fodder, might be employed for breaking in the young horses to harness, single and double. By taking light loads into the neighbouring towns, the horse could thus be made useful at the same time that he was being trained."
The mares, in the same manner, are not to be kept as brood- mares only, but also to do their fair share of the work of the farm. The key of the position is the capacity of these well- bred horses to supplant the heavier and commoner animals ordinarily in use. They would, in Mr. Day's opinion, "prove to have as much strength and more pluck and stamina than any cart-horse, and would be equal to any sort of work upon the farm." One element of superiority, at any rate, cannot be denied them,—that they walk faster. The ordinary shire- horse walks about a mile or a mile and a half an hour, whether on the road or ploughing, or at any of its other regular work. The half or three-quarters bred horse could, we are told, easily manage two and a half or three miles an hour at any kind of work that the other is ever called upon to perform, and that keeping well within his strength. Thus it is proved that the latter could plough half-an-acre a day more than the former, and do his work better into the bargain. The poor shire-horse comes off decidedly the worst of all the varieties of his species in the hands of Mr. Day. He alone is set down as being "no better, if not, indeed, worse" than his pre- decessors of a hundred years ago. Merciless statistics prove that he goes at the slowest pace, dragging the lightest weights of all his brethren. The example of the old coach-horses is cited for his edification ; the superior industry of van and omnibus horses is cast in his face as a reproach. He it is who draws a load of less than four hundredweight for nine miles, at a mile and a quarter an hour, and calls that his day's work.
It is in vain to plead that he goes as fast as his driver bids him, and that his driver has conscientious scruples against doing an atom more work than his master can force him to do. Such excuses will not clear him from the charges of sloth and incapacity that are so ruthlessly heaped upon him. Even the Arabian horse, upon whom Mr. Day wastes a good deal of injurious language that he might rather have kept by him for a.time of greater need, is allowed some merits ; but the poor rustic is even blamed for the unwieldy bulk in which he probably takes most pride. Alas, poor shire-horse !
We can hardly expect that the results of Mr. Day's scheme will be quite as brilliant and far-reaching as that gentleman expects. According to him, if the half-bred system is only adopted, not only will it be open to any farmer by taking thought to add E1,347 16s. to his yearly income, but the agricultural labourer will be rescued from poverty and entirely regenerated, pauperism will disappear, rates sink lower than rents in Ireland, and the reign of peace and happiness be generally established throughout the rural districts. Even if these sanguine expectations seem unlikely to be realised, we can at least give Mr. Day the credit of a valuable suggestion the adoption of which might bring about a change for the better in the prospects of English farmers. Not only are his argu-
ments powerful and well-considered, but he has certainly in more than one instance understated his case. The plan, too,
has already been put to the test and found to succeed. Altogether, the book is well worth reading for those who merely take what is politely called an intelligent interest in the subject, and studying for those to whom it is of actual professional importance.
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