THE ARAB CROSSING.
I commence with the Arab crossing. Two motives have induced me to
follow this classification:
_1st._ The Arabian is the type horse, and the type should be examined
before its derivatives.
_2nd._ The Percheron shows a very great analogy, by his coat,
conformation, character of race, mild disposition, and endurance, to
the Arab, of which he seems to be the son, notwithstanding certain
differences, the result of time, climate, and the region in which he is
bred and in which he lives.
I have said that the Percheron horse exhibits in common with the Arab
numerous marks of a common parentage and relationship: these marks are
very obvious. A Percheron, a true Percheron, for some still exist, (as
the famous _Toulouse_ of M. Chéradame, of Ecouché; and the renowned
_Jean-le-Blanc_ of M. Miard, of Villers, near Sap, in the department
of the Orne, etc., etc.,) placed alongside of an Arab, presents,
notwithstanding his heavier and grosser form, analogies with him so
striking that we are easily induced to believe them undoubted relations.
The Percheron of the primitive type has a gray coat like the Arab;
and like him an abundant and silky mane, a fine skin, and a large,
prominent, and expressive eye; a broad forehead, dilated nostrils, and
a full and deep chest, although, the girth, with him, as with the Arab,
is always lacking in fullness; more bony and leaner limbs, and less
covered with hair than those of other draft-horse families.
He has not, it is true, the fine haunch and fine form of the shoulder,
nor that swan-like neck which distinguishes the Arab; but it must not
be forgotten that for ages he has been employed for draft purposes, and
these habits have imparted to his bony frame an anatomical structure, a
combination of levers adapted to the work he is called upon to perform.
He has not, I again acknowledge, such a fine skin as the Arab, nor his
prettily rounded, oval, and small foot; but we must remember the fact
that he lives under a cold climate, upon elevated plains, where nature
gives him for a covering a thicker skin and a warmer coat, and that he
has been for ages stepping upon a moist, clayey soil.
In all that remains in him, we recognize a heavy Arab, modified and
remodeled by climate and peculiar circumstances. He has remained mild
and laborious, like his sire; he is brought up, like him, in the midst
of the family, and, like him, he possesses in a very high degree the
faculty of easy acclimation. He acquires this in the midst of the
numerous migrations he accomplishes in Perche, the counterpart of
those that the type horse makes upon the sands of the desert. A final
comparison, which has not, as yet, been sufficiently noticed, is,
that, like the Arab, he has no need of being mutilated in order to be
trained, managed and kept without danger. In a word, the Percheron,
notwithstanding the ages which separate them, presents an affinity as
close as possible with the primitive horse, which is the Arab.
From this similarity of form and probable relationship, comes the
thought of new alliances. But in order to form a more easy estimate of
their effects, it will not be without interest to classify the horses
with reference to their origin. This classification produces three
very distinct groups: the primitive horse, the natural horse, and the
compound horse.
The _Primitive Horse_, oriental in its origin, is the pure Arabian
horse; no other is acknowledged.
During the time of the crusaders, as we have already said in our first
part, in consequence of wars and all kinds of excursions, individuals
of this race were spread over almost all parts of the globe. Although
at first the prestige which their superior merits deserved led to
their being bred in-and-in, these exiles were placed under different
latitudes, in different atmospheric and hygienic conditions, which
gradually modified their qualities and led to the degeneracy of the
race. And it became more or less degenerate in proportion as the
soil upon which the colts were foaled was colder, poorer, and more
inhospitable; _for the horse is as much, and more, the son of the soil
upon which he is foaled and reared as he is of his sire and dam_.
This fact has no need of proof. We see it every day before our eyes in
studying at home the changes that our French breeds themselves undergo
when transported from one province to another. It might, however, be
thought that these new latitudes, these new regions, would differ but
little from those in which they lived.
The first change that the primitive horse undergoes, from the
difference of the regions into which he has been transplanted, being
due to nature itself, we call the result the _Natural Horse_.—Here
it is proper to remark how wise nature always is. If it modify the
primitive horse for the worse, it modifies him, however, under
conditions better adapted to his wants. In rendering him more puny,
it renders him more temperate, and enables him to live and to nourish
himself upon the food that the locality is able to furnish. Submitted
to the trials and the fatigues of war, and to all the miseries in its
train, the natural horse, badly built, ungainly and puny as he is,
endures fatigue almost as well as the primitive horse.
The _Cross-bred Horse_ is, as his name indicates, the issue of a
sire and dam of different breeds. This crossing, made with a view to
improvement, may give, when judicious, more elegant, better made, and
finer-bodied progeny and also quicker in their various gaits, but
always requiring, especially if derived from the English, exceptional
care, and so much the more particular as they are of a more _distingué_
nature.
Abandoned to himself, deprived of blankets, shelter, grooming, and
oats, the cross-bred deteriorates early, and in war perishes miserably,
while the natural and the primitive horse thrives in browsing upon the
scantiest herbage. On this score, our two campaigns of the Crimea and
Italy have furnished unquestionable proofs.
Such is the result chiefly obtained with the too _distingué_ English
horse, even when delivered to the best working mares. In the army,
especially, is this point settled; they have there recognized and
proved that the worst subjects were always the issue of authors having
too much blood and too impressionable. No horses are more apt than
these to provoke and render ill humored, and, if I may so speak, ruin
the temper of the men placed over them.
When a working race is crossed with the English, it is indispensable
that the stallion should be well bred and be but a quarter blood,—a
quarter at the utmost. And the manner of balancing the blood is neither
an indifferent thing nor a thing to be neglected. We should be very
careful not to accept as such the product of a full-blooded or even
half-blooded stallion and a common mare, but should rather take the
product, ameliorated through generations, of strong races that have
been gradually perfected, such as, for instance, certain Norfolk
horses, certain roadsters and trotters, of which old _Juggard_ was
a type, and of which _Performer_, although not so marked, vaguely
recalled the memory.
Since I have mentioned the name of Norfolk, let me say, that after
the Arab race, of all the foreign ones, the Norfolk trotter is the
one which seems to me to offer the greatest advantages in an alliance
with the Percheron. With both, good qualities and defects are diverse,
so that they can complete and correct each other by means of a wisely
combined and carefully studied connection.
The Norfolk horse has, it is true, an ugly head, and his eye is small
and destitute of expression; but his neck, with good lines, starts
well from his breast; his shoulder is fine and well-sloped; his chest
magnificent, and his girth enormous; his loins broad, well-sustained
and well-attached; his haunches long, his croup horizontal; his
buttocks well filled out and low; and his limbs strong, but not quite
free enough from fat; nor is his action always sufficiently stylish,
yet he has a quick and free gait.
Give to this horse a mare having a fine and expressive head, lighted
up with a large, intelligent, well-opened eye; let her possess lean,
elegant, and perfect limbs, and, a hundred to one, you will get a
valuable colt. But, with the Norfolk, as with all others, there are
degrees, and if I cross the Channel in search of a stock horse, I
should wish him to possess the following qualities:
This stallion should be rather large, have thick and strong limbs,
chest fully developed, the girth as great as possible, very heavy in
the hind-quarters, buttocks descending well, forehead broad and open,
and the eye large and expressive. He should be always shorter in height
than the mares, but quite as broad, and, I repeat it, as short-limbed
as possible, on account of an invariable, innate tendency of the
English horse to height and thinness. He should be neither cross, nor,
above all, affected with that nervous sensitiveness too common in the
English breeds. His action should be quick, well kept up, bold and
square. He should have, if possible, a decided and well-pronounced
color, either a dark bay or a chestnut. Breeding stock of his get
should be chosen under identical conditions, and then they would be on
a footing with him, although, logically speaking, there would be always
an inclination to prefer the type to the sub-type.
But, at present, it is easy to be deceived, even in England, in regard
to the stock of the country. There is less risk in using, if he can be
found, a good, heavy Anglo-Norman horse, bred and reared under our eyes
in Merlerault or on the plains of Alençon, than a spurious English one,
which is often none other than a forlorn hope of some nameless region.
In fact, from certain appearances, there is reason to fear that persons
from the other side of the Channel visit the continent to do a smart
thing, and purchase heavy, lymphatic colts to bring up on some English
farm, and then resell them as Norfolk horses. What kind of improvement
is to be expected from such means? We should always respect the will
of nature, which allows us to assist her in her course, but we should
never violate her laws.
Man vainly wishes to force nature with all these crosses, at which
she takes exceptions. To all this so-called science she opposes her
relentless logic; these products are an unnatural brood, which she
refuses to acknowledge as her own. She stops short, and, no matter how
good these results may appear in themselves, the error crops out, and
it is known by experience that they almost all fail when put to the
test of breeding.
But suppose every measure of prudence taken, even suppose there has
been no mistake, most of the produce resulting from this first crossing
will be, generally, lighter built than their dams. However, among the
number there will be found some which, uniting weight to beauty, will
constitute good types with athletic and regular forms. The latter only
should be preserved, and these only can be usefully employed, either
among themselves or outside of their own families, in the improvement
of our stock.
At the second crossing, the imperfections observed at the first will
disappear in a great measure, and from the third crossing, with
constant care, unflinching attention, and unwearied patience, the
difficult problem will be solved: size combined with vigor, hardiness
of constitution with style, and weight with elegance.
If, on the contrary, by wishing to make too quick progress, there
should be too much difference between the stallion and the mare, the
resulting stock, although in appearance successful, will always prove
bad breeders, giving ungainly results, with blemishes which would never
have occurred in proceeding wisely, especially not in improving by
means _of the primitive horse_, all of whose ancestors are of the same
race.
This latter crossing, that is, with the Arab, may sometimes give
slower, but with it we are always sure to obtain finally better
results. Thus in making choice of the best Percheron mares and crossing
them with fine, but the stoutest possible, Arabs, we would advance
towards certain improvements, and at the end of a few generations, we
would be sure to find at each foaling season fine types, combining
with the strength and docility of the dams the style, spirit, and
intelligence, of the sires. For, it must not be forgotten, work
requires intelligent horses; the more they are gifted with this
quality, the longer they last and the more useful their services.
If the drunken driver of the Lyons Railroad, whose adventure is known
the world over, had not had for his working companion a brute as nobly
intelligent as the old horse _Lapin_, employed in hauling dirt carts,
he would surely have perished. The driver having fallen in a state of
intoxication on the railroad, before a train descending a grade, was
on the point of being run over, when the horse, seeing him in this
perilous situation and at the risk of being himself crushed, seized
him by the waist and lifted him off the track. This deed, performed
under the eyes of several squads of workmen, was soon known over the
whole line, and won for _Lapin_ the title of _The (invalid’s and
workingmen’s) Adopted Son_, a nobly gained title and well-merited
reward, if ever there was one.
In the legends of all times are to be found examples of the
intelligence of the oriental horse; but I have never heard quoted
a single one in regard to the English thoroughbred, which seems
only formed for pride, gluttony, and brutality. As an example of
the sagacity of the Arab, I will limit myself to mentioning a fact
witnessed by all the officers of the school of Saumur. At this school
there was an old Arabian known to the whole army. One day, a lady
having her handkerchief scented with, I know not what perfume, passed
in front of the veteran, caressing and feeding him with dainties. From
that time on, the officer who accompanied the lady could never enter
her parlor, although the odor of the perfume was imperceptible to all,
but the horse, on his return, was aware of the fact, and bore witness
to it, each time, by neighing and by a hundred expressions of pleasure.
The vigor and pluck of the oriental horse have passed into a proverb.
There is not a soldier in our army who cannot bear testimony to this.
The horses of the English cavalry almost all perished in the Crimean
war, whilst our Algerian horses almost all returned. In the Italian war
our Algerian horses bore well the fatigues of the campaign, where the
horses springing from the English were decimated.
It appears impossible that these two proofs should have no
signification and should not teach a lesson. Ought it not to be
concluded from them that the war-horse, that is the horse for
endurance, should only be of Arab blood or at least derived from the
Arab?
And are we not justified in believing that what has taken place with
the war-horse applies also to other horses destined for continuous
work? Hence are we not right in always preferring the Arab to the
English stallion, when it is a question of improving the different
breeds of work and draft-horses, as well as the war horse?
The Arabian stallion would seem so much the more fit for this use, as a
long experience has proved that his get upon our native mares are much
heavier than himself; they, at the same time, always transmitting a
rich, unblemished blood and a solid frame—qualities which are preserved
indefinitely.
The Arab horse imparts, also, great endurance to his progeny, and
without going back as far as the turf, where we see figuring on the top
round of the ladder _Arlequin_, _Zephyr_, _Valencia_, _Corysandre_ the
Lorraine, whose dam was an Arabian of _Deux-Ponts_, _Anthony_, _Eylau_,
_Kasbas_, and _Palmyre_, let us be satisfied with citing in mass, all
the fine and spirited breeds of Limousin, Navarre, Bigorre, Tarbes, and
Auvergne, showing in every pore the presence of the Oriental blood.
It is also especially to be remarked, although the Arab does not trot
and only gallops, that all his get are quick, square trotters. We can
produce numberless examples of this, although Arab blood has been
infinitely less disseminated than any other in our Northern districts.
We can cite the famous _Eclipse_ of M. de Narbonne, the no less famous
_Herminie_ of M. Forcinal, all the descendants of _Bacha_, _Aslan_ and
_Gallipoli_, which were matchless, and the noble sons of _Massoud_,
_Eylau_, and _Noteur_. But, as all these have a certain amount of
English blood joined to the Arab, we shall be answered:—It was the
English blood that trotted and gave them their winning points.—We will
confine ourselves to citing only the sons of _Bédouin_, all admirable
trotters, though all coming of poor Brittany mares, the _Kerims_, the
_Avisos_, and the _Moggys_, whose fine action invariably attracts the
attention of every one.
But the endurance possessed by the Arab in so eminent a degree is not
the only quality to be considered. It is also the opinion of the best
breeders that the race is good tempered, docile, patient, of great
precocity, and easily raised, all of which qualities it invariably
transmits to its get.
No steeple-chase horses have shown themselves more intelligent
than _Pledge_, _Raphael_, _Senora_, and above all the immortal
_Franc-Picard_, by whom the best riders found themselves excelled in
the art of measuring an obstacle and mastering it skillfully; also,
those were deep in the Arab blood. If _Auricula_, notwithstanding he
was a son of _Baron_, with his variable and peevish temper has shown
himself to be, when he chose, one of the best leapers of our age, it is
because through his dam he is of Arab blood.
From all these considerations the Arabian seems greatly preferable to
the English horse, which exacts, moreover, too much tact and skill
on the part of man. The education of the wagon driver is not yet
sufficiently advanced for him to be able to reap all the advantages
claimed of the working races. The irritability of the English horse,
his impatience, and his nervousness, which are, doubtless, of utility
on the turf, are transmitted to all his descendants, which for this
very reason are less fit for work, less governable, and more trying to
the patience of the raw and ignorant driver during protracted service.
All who have raised colts out of common mares by Arabians are unanimous
in opinion, and we have ourselves proved it, that their get is
generally even tempered, of a mild, willing, and quiet disposition,
easily and cheaply reared, and fit for work at three years old, thus
paying for their keep.
It is quite the contrary with the colt of English blood. He, by reason
of his fractiousness, his nervous ardor, his exacting nature, and his
slow growth, requires a degree of care and management which does not
permit him to render any essential service before the age of five years.
It results from this that the Arabian progeny, even at the first
crossing, which is always the most difficult and critical, pays for
its nourishment from the age of three years, whilst the English does
not pay until he has reached five years, and this without counting
the greater expense of his raising and the difficulty of finding men
capable of breaking and training him without accident and bringing him
safe to that quinquennial period.
Were their qualities the same, the Arabian would cost much less to the
breeder than the English horse. To the former, then, should always be
given the preference in moderately rich countries where agriculture has
not arrived at great perfection. Thus it was by means of the Arabian
that Limousin, Navarre, Bigorre, the plains of Tarbes and Auvergne,
all countries neither very fertile nor wealthy, have formed their
unrivalled horses, the hardiness of which suited the productions of
the soil. These being unsuited to the more delicate and less vigorous
English horse, its introduction was an injury to the native stock.
In our days, Limousin has been ruined by the introduction of English
blood, as formerly, in the district of Tarbes, three important
breeders, Messrs. de Gontaut, de Bouillac, and de Montréal, ruined
their studs with the English cross.
The Arabian can be used without fear upon the undulating slopes of
elevated hills, and upon thin stony lands where agriculture is but
little advanced; but the English horse requires rich, well-cultivated
meadows and grassy valleys.
As regards form, the Arab cross is the surest. The sire being, if I may
so speak, _sui generis_, of a confirmed race, and possessing for ages
a like shape, his get always resemble him, no matter what may be the
race, color, shape, and derivation, of the dam. Only, in consequence of
the warmth and strength of his blood, the progeny is always larger and
heavier than the sire.
It is not so with the English horse. Made up, and not having the
same confirmed nature as the Arab, he has not the same sureness in
generating. Sometimes his get is large and sometimes small. His progeny
may be spare or may be stout. This comes from his ancestors being at
times of one height and at times of another, and often resembling
different types.
We have dwelt, perhaps, at too great length upon our preference for
the Arab cross; it now remains to put it in practice. The method to be
pursued in making this cross is simple.
Having an Arabian of pure race, the heaviest and finest bodied that can
be found, put him to the heaviest and strongest short-limbed mares.
Sell the male produce of this cross, unless it has been a perfect
success. Be less strict with the fillies, reject a smaller number, and
use the good for breeding. As much as their conformation will permit,
and in order to fix the Arab blood in a deeper and more indelible
manner, some choice specimens may be put either to their sire himself,
or to such of the half-brothers as should have proved themselves the
best. But beyond the first trial, consanguineous crossings should
never again be contracted, except under exceedingly rare circumstances,
or under great temptation. The dam of one of the most justly celebrated
horses of our times is the result of breeding a stallion to his dam.
From and after the second generation, colts and fillies, provided their
merit had rendered them worthy of being used as producers, might be
taken as types, and as a starting point of a solid and sure improvement
of the race of a country.
When, in consequence of age and numerous generations of his own get
growing up around him, the common sire might be exposed to alliances
with his grandchildren, it would become indispensable to transfer him
to a distant district by proceeding in the manner indicated above.
After such an infusion of warm blood many years might elapse without
the necessity of recurring again to Arabian stock. But if it should be
remarked that its distinctive characteristics commenced to disappear
from the breed, and the action became less free and light, it should be
again resorted to immediately, following the same method as before.
The light draft types at first obtained, might, according to the
districts in which they are raised, be transformed into the posting,
omnibus, and even heavy draft types. But all should be done with time
and without haste nor even _wishing_ to depart from a wise and prudent
moderation.
I cannot terminate this chapter without warning the breeder against
a peculiarity which hardly ever fails to strike a person, who, for
the first time, makes a trial of the Arab cross, and which has even
induced some to abandon this method without reaping its fruits. I
desire to speak of a certain disproportion, more apparent than real, of
the limbs with the body. It is thus explained: The Arabian, born and
raised in a poor and barren country, is no sooner transported to a more
fertile region, than a certain fullness of the body is an immediate
consequence of this change. His progeny, easily fattened, rapidly
become corpulent. It results from this, that although strongly limbed,
they appear, for a large body, to have but weak extremities. But have
patience; oats will draw in and strengthen those inflated flanks, and,
after the second generation, the stomach of the colt will enlarge on
account of the food being more abundant than concentrated, the fat will
disappear, and his compact and solid limbs will appear what they really
are.
[Illustration: Decoration]