142 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



"throw back", as it is somewhat technically ex- 

 pressed, and show in these later foals the charac- 

 teristics of the sire of the first pregnancy. This is 

 a matter of dispute among breeders. The theory 

 has been proved, so far as dogs are concerned, in 

 my own experience. I had a fox terrier bitch. 

 She was accidentally served by a spaniel. When 

 she was next bred it was to a proper fox terrier 

 and there was no chance of error. The ensuing lit- 

 ter of puppies was a mongrel lot, showing spaniel 

 traces, and all of them had to be destroyed. Then, 

 as to horses. Mr. Bruce said that Dr. Warfield, 

 the breeder of Lexington, had had thorough- 

 bred mares served by Jacks for the producing of 

 mules, and later had got winning colts from the 

 same mares by Thoroughbred stallions. It is an 

 interesting matter with breeders and by no means 

 settled. But Mr. Huntington did not want to take 

 any chances in making this new venture, so he 

 sought and obtained virgin mares, that the pro- 

 geny might not be tainted with other than the 

 blood of the sires. 



Mr. Huntington also holds to the theory that 

 when breeding with homogeneous blood that 



