The handsomest English horses have in their conformation great resemblance to those of Arabia and Barbary, from which in fact they originated: they have, notwithstanding, the head larger, but well made, the ears longer, but well placed. By the ears alone an English horse may be known from a Barbary; but the great difference is in their stature, for English horses are much larger and plumper; they are frequently five feet high; are of all colours, and have all kinds of marks; they are generally strong, vigorous, bold, capable of great fatigue, excellent for hunting and coursing; but they want grace and suppleness in their shoulders. The race horses of this country are exceedingly swift, as indeed are the saddle horses in general; of which I cannot give a stronger proof than by giving an extract of a letter I received from a British nobleman, (Earl of Morton) dated London, February 18, 1748, which runs in these words: "Mr. Thornhill, a post-master of Stilton, wagered that he would ride three times the distance from Stilton to London, that is 215 English miles, within 15 hours. In undertaking the performance of which, he set out from Stilton in the morning of the 29th of April, 1745, and arrived in London in three hours and fifty-one minutes, having taken a relay of eight different horses on the road; he immediately set out again from London, and got back to Stilton in three hours and fifty-two minutes, having changed horses but six times; for the third space he set off again, and with seven of the same horses he completed it in three hours and forty-nine minutes, going over the whole space of 215 miles in eleven hours and thirty-two minutes; an example of swiftness that possibly is not to be paralleled in ancient history." The horses of Italy were formerly much handsomer than they are at present, because the breed for some time has been neglected; notwithstanding the Neapolitan horses are still handsome, especially for carriages and draught horses; but in general they have large heads end thick necks; they are untractable, and consequently not easily managed; these defects are compensated by their noble form, their stateliness, and the gracefulness of their motion. The Danish horses are so superior in make and beauty, that they are preferred to all others for carriages; some of them are perfectly moulded, but their number is small; for the conformation of these horses is seldom regular, most of them have thick necks, large shoulders, their loins long and low, and the buttocks too narrow for the thickness of the fore parts; but they are all graceful in their motions, and in general very good for war, and for state: they are of all colours, and some are spotted like tygers which are found no where but in Denmark.