50 THE HOUSE BOOK. 



perhaps, but in the main steadfast, enduring 

 and the most thrifty in the list of nations. These 

 are the people the French small farmers by 

 whom the French stallions are bred from work- 

 ing stock and of the French horses of draft 

 blood the Percheron must be taken as the typi- 

 cal example. 



The greatness of the British draft breeds is 

 everywhere conceded, but it is doubtful if the 

 maintenance of great studs in plethoric idle- 

 ness has added anything to the sum total of 

 their excellence. 



Put the stallion to work. Break him like any 

 other horse, preferably as a two-year-old, and 

 make him do light, but not real, work at that 

 age. At three make him do what other colts 

 of his age are required to do. If an unbroken 

 stallion of workable age is purchased, let the 

 breaking be the first thing undertaken with him. 

 It will not generally prove a hard job, for a stal- 

 lion is seldom afraid. Gradually toughen him 

 into doing his full day's work as one of a team. 

 It is preferable to hitch an entire horse with 

 a mare, but if it comes handier to work him with 

 a gelding there is no reason why he should not 

 be matched in that way. There is a popular im- 

 pression that a gelding worked with a stallion 

 will not thrive. There is no truth in any such 

 assumption. As a rule a stallion is more bull- 

 headed than a gelding or mare. Always make 

 him behave. It was a great engineer who in- 



