500 



journal of Agriculture. 



[lo Aug., jpio. 



in spite of the enormous increase in the number of horses bred and shown, the 

 number of unsound has not amounted to 5 per cent, of the whole. This must, and 

 is, admitted to be a result far exceeding all expectations. Of diseases, the chief 



from which Shire horses suffer are roaring and sidebones Cases of 



unsoundness, e.xcept those owing to roaring and sidebones, are now quite rare, 

 and cases of these two diseases are becoming rarer every day. When I first began 

 to take an interest in Shire Lorse-breeding (some twenty years ago) I read a short 

 paper to a local association, and amongst other things I ventured to say that most 

 diseases — sidebones in particular — were almost wholly hereditary. Some of my 

 hearers burst into laughter at the idea of sidebones being hereditary, and in bhe 

 discussion which we had afterwards, several of them said that we always had had 

 sidebones and we always should have, &c., that they were not hereditary, but were 

 caused by the horse being trodden upon when at plough or by the shafts falling 

 upon them and, in fact, were due to any cause e.xcept the right one. If the Shire 

 Horse Society had done no other thing than to prove to its members that these 

 diseases are entirely bred, it will have more than paid for all the time and money 

 which have been spent upon it. There is real pleasure in believing that at the 

 present time there is not one farmer or breeder in a hundred who is not perfectly 

 satisfied in his own mind that sidebones and roaring are largely hereditary, and 

 will, in time, be practically bred out. At the same time it would not be reason- 

 able to expect that the superstition and neglect, not to say carelessness, in the 

 matter of breeding which has been in vogue for two centuries or more could be 

 eradicated in the very short space of 25 years. 



At the close of the article, after prognosticating great future success for 

 the Shire breed, Tindall concludes as follows: — 



There is, however, a real difficultv which breeders have to contend with, and 

 that is — the question of breeding sound animals. P'ortunately, not only have the 

 chief breeders now made up their minds that only sound animals should be bred 



l.ll'I '- ■ ■ : .: I " I STREL. 

 Foaled igoo. Champion Shire (London), 1904 and 1907. 



from but (which is of much greater importance) the Government, represented bv 

 the Board of Agriculture, are fully alive to this necessity, and are anxious to 

 support breeders in this matter as far as they are able to. I believe, at no very 

 distant date, sires will not be allowed to travel in anv district to serve public 

 mares unless they hold a Government Certificate of Soundness. There can be no 

 greater folly than that of breeding from unsound animals. As I have already 

 pointed out, unsoundness is almost, if not entirely, hereditary, and as this is 

 becoming more acknowledged every day, it is not likely that breeders will sit down 



