THE MARE. 133 



No mare Is so valuable for breeding-purposes as 

 the one which throws her foals after the horse. 

 The more completely she does this the better. It will 

 then be our own fault if we do not get some valuable 

 stock, as we have an almost endless variety of stallions 

 to choose from. If she is an animal of the very first 

 stamp, we would, of com'se, be anxious for the repro- 

 duction of her own form and constitution ; but as mares 

 of this description are difficult to be obtained, it is 

 highly desirable to get one which will either throw 

 after the horse, or back into some good strain in her 

 own blood. 



I never could understand on what principle those 

 parties who maintain that " like begets like," could in- 

 sist, as they all do, on the necessity of breeding from what 

 they call roomy mares. If they are so roomy as to be 

 out of proportion, their stock, both male and female, 

 may be of the same stamp. They should neither be 

 very roomy, nor very nan*ow ; but as near symmetri- 

 cal perfection as possible. The more evenly balanced 

 they are, the more perfect is theii* offspring likely to be. 

 If this is not the case, like does not^ beget like. It is 

 absurd to suppose the perfection of the offspring de- 

 pends on the extent of space it may happen to have 

 for its habitation before birth. Its qualities will de- 

 pend on the perfection of its ancestors, either immedi- 

 ate or remote. Unless we want an extremely roomy 



