Eclipse (1764-1789, England) is considered to be the fundamental foundation Stallion of all thoroughbred horses in the world, 90% can be traced back directly to him. He was practically invincible, those interested in races cancelled as soon as they found out that Eclipse was also taking part.
There are only a few historic portraits of the stallion (most by George Stubbs 1724-1806), but there are some descriptions. His Skeleton is in the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, on which this painting is also based.
The appearance of the horse does not differ significantly from today’s thoroughbreds. But the horse’s croup was about an inch higher than the withers, so he had long hind quarters that generated tremendous thrust and stride. In addition, the heart was enlarged within a deep chest, as is the case with all very fast mammals.
Since there are no photographs of Eclipse, the painting is only intended to give an approximate representation of this brilliant horse.
C.W.