MAHOMET-S MAXIM. 87 



horses, that have vastly increased the wealth of breeders, and 

 proved the truth of the maxims of another Arab, the prophet 

 Mahomet, who said, " Let mares be preferred : their bellies 

 are a treasure, and their backs are the seat of honor." 



Blood and quality can be obtained with so much greater 

 rapidity by the male line, that highly-bred sires used with 

 our best mares would soon raise the quality to the desired 

 point. One of the follies of breeding is seen in the fact that 

 mares are commonly allowed to breed, because they are, by 

 age, hard work, or unsoundness, unfitted for other service. 

 If a mare's nervous system has not been worn out, age is no 

 reason why she should not rear foals. She must be sound 

 in limb, of good constitution, and have room to carry her 

 foal. Nervous, lathy, " tucked-up " mares, poor feeders, 

 must not be used, no matter how fast they may trot. Size 

 in a mare is not so important, if she have a good barrel, and 

 if she is kno^vn to be of large-sized stock. Neither a large 

 nor a small animal will perpetuate the likeness of himself or 

 herself, unless descended from a family which is either the 

 one or the other ; for the fact that you get the characteristics 

 of the breed, not of the immediate parent, always obtains. 

 The better the mare is, and the better her lineage, the better 

 will be her produce. And I will conclude this portion of 

 my subject by saying, that if a man has not a thoroughly 

 good, well-bred mare, and cannot obtain the services of a 

 first-class, highly-bred sire, he had better let the matter 

 alone. 



MANAGEMENT OF HOESES. 



Under this head I suppose I am to speak of the rearing 

 and care of stock. 



Having been a stallion-keeper, I wish to begin by some 

 remarks on the management of stallions. 



When a horse begins a stud-career, his owner should abso- 

 lutely withdraw him from the worry and excitement of train- 

 ing. Horses kept for service of mares, and trained at the 

 same time, will get nervous and excitable stock. But a 

 worse error still is to put a horse into a condition of flesh, 

 like a prize pig, in order to brag of how much he weighs, and 

 to keep him, without exercise, in the close confinement of a 

 box-stall, until he becomes a moody, morose, and often savage 



