88 THE ORANGE COUNTY 



speculators by the superiority of their offspring. There is a 

 great advantage attendant upon breeding from a mare whose 

 produce has been tried in public, as by that means some of 

 the characteristic faculties of her produce may be known, 

 and which will afford a valuable criterion in the selection of 

 the horse which is to become the sire of a succeeding foal. 

 It appears to be a property inherent in some mares to breed 

 all, or nearly all, their foals endowed with the same propen- 

 sities, although the propensities of these foals differ from her 

 own. Thus, a mare may be gifted with great stoutness, and 

 her foals more celebrated for speed; and there are also ex- 

 amples of speedy mares having bred foals which have proved 

 particularly stout. 



The success of a breeding stud will be regulated to a very 

 considerable extent by the judgment which is exercised in 

 the selection of mares. There are many which are consid- 

 ered very well bred, which are by no means desirable ani- 

 mals to breed from. It may be urged that a thorough-bred 

 mare cannot be otherwise^than well bred; but her lineage 

 may go back to ancestors*of unworthy pretensions, and on 

 that account she may not be suitable for the purpose. She 

 may also possess hereditary blemishes, either in person or in 

 pedigree, which, unfortunately, more frequently develop them- 

 selves than the highest classes of perfections. Action is an 

 accomplishment which in general does not command the 

 attention it deserves. In racing, providing a horse gets his 

 head first past the winning-post, no one would care whether 

 it were accomplished by the most uniform and exquisite 

 motion of the limbs, or whether it could be performed by an 

 entertaining succession of somersaults. The qualities which 

 win fame on a race-course are speed and endurance, no 

 thought is bestowed in what manner the propeUing power is 

 effected; and these propelling powers are sometimes com- 

 bined with very indifferent action. This in a race-horse, so 

 long as his services are confined to the turf, is a considera- 

 tion of no importance; he may be valuable for that purpose, 

 be his action ever so faulty; but in the stud it becomes a 

 very different affair. Action is very commonly entailed upon 

 the offspring, more frequently than speed and stoutness, to 

 which good action is generally an important improvement. 

 It can scarcely admit of a doubt, that the failure which has 

 attended many horses and mares which have been good run- 

 ners themselves, but which have produced very inferior 

 stock, may be in many instances traced to defective action. 

 The conformation which conduces principally to this perfec- 



