94 Management and Feeding ol Heavy Horses 



THE STALLION 



Having secured a mare, or mares, the next important step is 

 X.O secure a good stallion to mate her with. The selection of a 

 suitable sire for stud purposes is even more important than the 

 choosing of the mare. Breeders who keep a large number of 

 mares generally arrange to have a horse of their own, and in that 

 case it is of supreme importance to get the right horse. Small 

 farmers cannot afford to keep their own stallions, and therefore 

 have to send the mare to another man's horse and pay him a fee 

 for the service. The keeping of stallions for stud purposes is 

 generally a distinct branch of the business of farming, and as it 

 requires special skill and aptitude, the majority of farmers do not 

 care to embark in it. Those who do so, and keep a choice of several 

 horses, are benefactors to their neighbours, and deserve encourage- 

 ment as well as payment for their enterprise. The system of 

 co-operation has been called into action for the purpose of securing 

 stallions, and has been for many years the recognized method for 

 providing stud horses. The Clydesdale breeders began it, and it 

 was soon afterwards adopted by the Shire men. The farmers of 

 a district unite and form themselves into a Society, pay a yearly 

 subscription, and appoint working officials. A few of the best 

 judges amongst them are appointed as a deputation to select a 

 horse to travel the district for the season. They arrange with the 

 owner of the horse which they select, that he travels the horse a 

 certain number of weeks in the district, and that the horse serves a 

 specified number of mares belonging to the members, the Society 

 paying a certain amount agreed upon, or so much per mare, or, in 

 some cases, it is paid both ways. The Glasgow Show is the great 

 mart of the Clydesdale breeders, and the London Show that of the 

 Shire horse breeders. If the various deputations fail to secure 

 what they require at those great marts, they have to visit the 

 owners of the principal studs and select what they think most 

 suitable for their mares. 



These Societies have been formed in many districts of the 

 country, and are found a great convenience to many farmers, who 

 do not care to send their mares a long distance off to meet a horse, 

 and also to some who have not sufficient confidence in their own 

 judgment to select a horse. The drawback to the system is that 

 whatever the mare is, there is no choice of a horse; they are all 

 tied to the same horse. As mares vary greatly in size, character, 

 and symmetry, they should be mated to horses of correspondingly 

 varying characteristics. Districts, therefore, wherein resides a stud- 



