EARLY MATING OF MARES 213 



Animals so constituted, when mated together, yield the best results, 

 and by a process of selection the breeder is enabled to grade his stock 

 upward, and thus improve the race. 



It must, however, be remembered that this power to reproduce all 

 that is best in conformation and constitution may be equally effective 

 in transmitting any faults which may appear in the one or the other. 



Where a weak jjoint is found to exist in the make-ujD of a breeding 

 animal, care should be taken to mate it with one which is not only 

 strong in that particular respect, but descended from parents in whom 

 the required quality was also a conspicuous feature. Only those who 

 realize the importance of back breeding and its influence in shaping the 

 ■offspring can hope to make breeding a profitable enterprise. 



EARLY MATING OF MARES 



At what age mai-es should be put to the stud has always been a 

 question around which much controversy has gathered among breeders 

 of horses; but whatever differences may exist in the matter of ojainion, 

 there can be no doubt as to the very general practice in vogue, which 

 allows them to commence their stud career at two years old. This system 

 ■of early mating is more prevalent among breeders of pedigree stock than 

 among those who engage more especially in the j^i'oduction of trade 

 horses. The latter recognize the physiological truth, that the highest 

 development is reached where the nutritive resources of the system are 

 •devoted exclusively to its own maintenance, and not shared by the 

 growing foetus, the main object being to encourage growth and develop- 

 ment, and produce a horse with size, substance, and constitution. 



Pedigree, and the glamour of family fame which attaches to it, too 

 frequently jsrompts the indiscretion of breeding from babies, and the 

 demand for special produce may, from a commercial point of view, 

 justify such a course; Itut no one with any knowledge of the laws of 

 life can doubt that to impose upon a mare the ta.sk of reproduction 

 while actively engaged in building up her own frame, and to ask her 

 subsequently to support her offspring, is a certain means of retarding her 

 growth, if it does not also enfeeble her constitution. Those who care 

 to take the risk of putting mares to the stud at two or three years 

 old, should at least exercise some judgment in the selection of subjects 

 for the purpose. 



They should be forward in growth, and at the same time well furnished 

 for their age, and in good condition. 



They should not come to the horse until late in the season, and from 



