BREEDING, 13 



unattended to by the parties concerned) it 

 becomes perfectly applicable, to revert once 

 more to the frequent and inconsiderate prac^'^ 

 *tice of uniting horses and mares, with every 

 joint hereditary blemish or defect that can 

 render the offspring unpromising ; without 

 a single perfection, or encouraging ray of ex- 

 pectation to constitute a junction of points, 

 possibly tending in the least ta form a pro» 

 duce even tolerably adequate to the parti- 

 cular purpose for which it may be intended, 

 when at a proper age it is brought into use. 

 Such breeders seldom pay the least attention 

 to merits, tempers, vices, constitutional ble-^ 

 mishes, or hereditary defects, of either sire 

 or dam ; the grand and leading object is 

 to obtain a horse or mare of their '' own 

 breed)' in that happy thought alone is to s 

 consist their perfection, and in such expand- 

 ed idea is buried every just or relative con- 

 jsideration. 



Predominant reasons are by no means 

 wanting to elucidate this strange and invin- 

 cible infatuation; for penury in some, abso- 

 lute inadvertency in others, and palpable in- 

 dolence in the remaining class, affect th^ 



