118 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. [Chap. I. 



frame, as to be capable of carrying and well nourishing her offspring ; that 

 is, she should be what is called " roomy." Tiiure is a/ormatioii of the hips 

 which is particularly unfit for breeding ])\irposes, and yet which is some- 

 times carefully selected, because it is considered elegant ; this is the level 

 md straight hip, in which the tail is set on very high, and the end of the 

 liannch bone is nearly on a level with the projection of the hip bone. 

 Xcarly the opposite form is the more desirable, where, on examining the 

 pelvis, it will be seen that the haunch bone forms a considerable angle with 

 the sacrum, and that there is, as a consequence, plenty of room, not only for 

 carrying the foal, but for allowing it to pass into the world. Both of these 

 points arc important, the former evidently so, and the latter no less so on 

 consideration ; because, if the foal is injured iu the birth, either of necessity 

 or from ignorance, it will often fail to recover its powers and will remain 

 pcnnanoiitly injured. Tlio pelvis, then, should be wide and deep — tliat is to 

 say, large and roomy, and there should also be a little more than the nverage 

 length from hip to the shoulder, so as to give plenty of bed for the foal, as 

 well as a good depth of back ribs, which arc necessary to give the strength 

 to support this increased length. Beyond this roomy frame, necessary as 

 the egg-shell of the foal, the mare only requires such a shape and make as 

 is well adapted for the purpose she is intended for — that is to say, for pro- 

 ducing colts of the style and form she is intended to produce. We will add, 

 that she must have fonr good legs under her, and those legs standing on a 

 foundation of good, well-shaped, larrje feet, open heeled, and by no means 

 flat-soled.' 



'"In health,' says the same writer, 'the brood mare should be as near 

 perfection as the artificial state of the animal M-ill allow ; at all events, it is 

 the most important point of all, and in every case the mare should be very 

 carefully examined with a view to discover what deviations from a natural 

 state have been entailed upcn her by her own labors, and what she has in- 

 herited from her ancestors. All accidental defects, such as broken knees, 

 dislocated hips, etc., may be passed over ; the latter, however, only when 

 the stock from which the mare is descended are famous for standing their 

 work without this frailty of sinew and ligament. Spavins, ring-bones, large 

 splents, side-bones, and, in fact, all bony enlargements, are constitutional 

 defects, and will be almost sure to be perpetuated, more or less, according to 

 ilie degree in which they exist in the particular case.' 



" Having sai<l thus much upon the requisites on the side of the dam, let 

 us see what shonid be sought for in a sire. It is maintained by all writers 

 upon this subject, that hlood should be possessed by a stallion in an eminent 

 legrce ; that the essential on the part of the sire is the greatest amount of 

 pure blood coni])atible with size, weight, and power according to the pur- 

 poses for which we intend to breed. Our best veterinarians argue that the 

 degree of strength in the lione, sinew, and frame of a blooded horse is, in 

 proportion to extent, vastly superior to that contained by his coai"ser and 

 more mammoth brother, the English cart-horse. The difference in the form 



