AN OBJECTIONABLE AND UNSOUND STALLION 



The spots and undesirable conformation of the hind leg are the two most noticeable features of 

 this stallion, who was supposed by the miraculous virtue of a tincture of pure blood some- 

 where in his ancestry to be able to stamp his offspring with the desirable traits of the breed 

 with which he was supposed to be connected. As shown by the following two pictures, he 

 proved to be as prepotent as the most optimistic had hoped, but not in quite the manner thev 

 had anticipated. Photograph from Bureau of Animal Industry. (Fig. 16.) 



war and durinj^^ the vast economic recon- 

 struction which will follow, but there 

 are also far too many unsound and mon- 

 ^re] animals which will be a draj]j on the 

 industry as lonj:,' as they are used for 

 breeding. These ill-bred animals should 

 be eliminated. The most important 

 mea.sure in this connection is to elimi- 

 nate inferior stallions, since one stallion 

 may transmit faults to the ofTsprinjj; of 

 hundreds of mares. 



The work of stallion licensing was 

 first taken up in Wisconsin, where the 

 method of operation can be advan- 

 tageously studied. Although it may not 

 seem at first sight that the mere act of 

 licensing stallions would form a j^anacea 

 for all breeding troubles, and turn out 

 the perfect horses which are so essential 

 in the scheme of war i)rci)aredness, 

 nevertheless, it will be found u])Mn fm-- 

 514 



ther investigation that the license laws 

 have played an important part in 

 eliminating scrub sires. 



In Europe, almost ideal breeding laws 

 have prevailed for a long time. The 

 French Government has for over a 

 hundred years maintained stables of 

 selected pure-bred stallions, and the 

 owners of superior horses receive a 

 bonus for keejjing them in the country 

 for service. In Belgitnn, the govern- 

 ment used to spend large stims of mone>- 

 annually in prizes and appropriations 

 to encourage horse breeding along the 

 right lines. Similar conditions prevail 

 in Germany, where prizes are ofTered for 

 brood mares and stallions of unusual 

 worth. Austria, Ii!ngland, and Scot- 

 land all have similar methods of encour- 

 aging ])rtident breeding and the results 

 are self-evident Iv wc-ll worth the time 



