Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-10-16
rha rhorongnnred Running Horse.

bred or racer. w nile GOglanu mas uOne
more than any other country in modern times
to foster and keep up the thoroughbred horse
as a distinct breed. that country is not en-
titled to the credit of originating this class or
breed Of horses. They are undoubtedly of
Eastern origin, and are generally supposed
to have been introduced into England directly
or indirectly from Arabia. From the fact
however, that there is 40 mention of the horse
in the history Of the Israelites while in
Arabia, It Is generally believed that the horse
cannot have been among the domestic ami
mails possessed by these people at that time,
and hence that the horse cannot have been a
native Of Arabia. It is a fact of history that
while Solomon looked to Arabia for gold aud
silver, he sent to Egypt for his horses Tor
mounting his cavalry. In fact there is no
mention of the horse by any of the Israelite
writers until after their arrival In Egypt.
From this time, however, the horse plays a
conspicuous part in all the wars in which
these people were engaged, and becomes an
object OF interest in the division of property
Jacob speaks Of the horse and his rider, and
pursued them to the Red Sea with six
hundred chariots and all the horses" Not
withstanding we find the first historic horse
in Egypt, it is not believed that that country
is the native country of the horse. Ancient
and modern writers quite generally concur in
the opinion that the first horse came from the
plains of the interior of Africa From
thence he is supposed to have been brought
into Egypt and hence into Arabia, Persia,
TartarY and Greece-and finally reaching
Great Britain by way of Spain and France,
c1d perhaps later and more direct upon the
return of the Crusaders. 1t is to this day mat
ter of uncertainty whether the Arabian horse
of modern history had his origin in Arabia
o. came, as suggested above from the interior
of Africa, but one thing is certain that Arabia
has fixed its mark upon breed of horses so
firmly that it will never be effaced. The
English thoroughbred, by the agreement of
all writers on the subject, carries in MS veins
the blood of the Arabian horse to such an ex-
tent as to give him his greatest and most
valuable characteristics of form, speed and
endurance. But what was the origin or what
the characteristics of the original horse of
Great Britain, with which the Arabian horse
was crossed to produce the English thorough
bred, is uncertain. One thing however is GER
tain, that the English race-horse owes much
of his present value for speed and endurance
to care, feeding, breeding and training for
generations. his care, feeding, breeding
and training has made the English thorough
bred in many respects the superior of any
other breed of horses in the world. He is
larger and stronger and faster than his Ara
bian ancestors, or than any horse now found
in Arabia or any of the countries through
which the Arabian horse is traced before his
introduction into England. This has been
brought about not by any superiority Of the
climate OF England, because the climate of
Arabia Is certainly far more favorable
than that of England for the perfect devel-
opment of the horse, but rather from the
greater care in keeping the blood pure in the
judicious crossing, and in development of his
strength by the frequent taxing of that
strength on the course and in the chase. The
English have done more for the improvement
of all the domestic animals than any other
nation, and the English thoroughbred horse is
one Of theirgreatest triumphs in this direction.
Il is not claimed that the thoroughbred is
valuable above other breeds of horses for the
ordinary uses that man wants horse for.
On the contrary, he is of but comparatively
little value for heavy work of any kind. He
is not heavy enough for draft horse, even
If his temper would allow of his use as such.
He is too quick and high-spirited for use on
the farm, and he is not heavy enough, as a
rule, for the hack or the bus Some of his
blood, however, crossed with that of nearly
every other breed, improves that breed and
makes more valuable horses of them. The
thoroughbred has pluck and endurance, as
well as speed, aud hence can always be de-
pended upon when long distances are to be
made in short time. Trotting has not been
considered the natural gait of the thorough
bred horse, yet late experience in cross
ing the thoroughbred with trotting
strains is proving that this cross is
not only improving the speed, but
the bottom or staying capacity of the trotters.
The fastest and most perfect trotters now
known have good share of the blood of the
English thoroughbred in thein While many
people affect to think but little of the thor
eughbred horse, ali admit that he is s neces-
sity to keep up and improve all other classes
Of horses. Il is the blood OF the race-horse
that gives to the heavy Clydesdale his ac.
tivity and value. The same may be said of
the French drsft-horse and the quick stepping
Percheron. Both these breeds of horses have
more or.less Of the original Arabian stock in
them. 1t is this same blood that now and
then crops out in the California and South
American mustang, making some Of the best
horses for a long and hard journey in the
world. These mustangs all came originally
from the ancient Moors or barbs and were
imported into this country by the Spanish.
The English have kept the thoroughbred al
most exclusively for the conrse and the chase,
but We Americans, in this respect as in many
others, have found out way of making them
more generally useful and valuable. We inn
prove our horses of all-work, our carriage
horses, our roadsters, and even our draft
horses, by crossing and mixing in a little,
aad sometimes good deal, of the pure race
horse blood. We are just learning the great
value and superiority of this blood above all
others. Let us not think too lightly of the
thoroughbred race stock.
The MILK and Butter Cows.
Dairymen and farmers generally are becom-
ing more and more convinced each year that it
pays to look to the breed of their COWS for the
dairy and for family use. Many of them
have been in the habit of looking with suspi-