238 BREEDING. 



no sporting man ever doubted. The qualities of tlie sire or the 

 dam descend from generation to generation, and the excellences 

 or defects of certain horses are often traced, and justl}^ so, to some 

 peculiarity in a far-distant ancestor. 



It may, perhaps, be justly affirmed, that there is more difficulty 

 in selecting a good mare to breed from than a good horse, because 

 ehe should possess somewhat opposite qualities. Her carcase 

 should be long, in order to give room for the growth of the foetus , 

 and yet with this there should be compactness of form and short 

 ness of leg. What can they expect whose practice it is to pur- 

 chase worn-out, spavined, foundered mares, about whom they fancy 

 there have been some good points, and send them far into the 

 country to breed from, and, with all their variety of shape, to be 

 covered by the same horse ? In a lottery like this there may hi 

 now and then a prize, but there must be many blanks. 



As to the shape of the stallion, little satisfactory can be said 

 It must depend on that of the mare, and the kind of horse wished 

 to be bred ; but if there is one point absolutely essential, it is 

 " compactness" — as much goodness and strength as possible con- 

 densed into a little space. 



Next to compactness, the inclination of the shoulder will be re 

 garded. A huge stallion, with upright shoulders, never got a 

 capital hunter or hackney. From him the breeder can obtain 

 nothing but a cart or dray horse, and that, perhaps, spoiled by the 

 opposite form of the mare. On the other hand, an upright 

 shoulder is desirable, if not absolutely necessary, when a mere 

 slow draught-horse is required. 



From the time of covering, to within a few days of the expected 

 period of foaling, the cart-mare may be kept at moderate labor, 

 not only without injury, but with decided advantage. It will 

 then be prudent to release her from work, and keep her near 

 home, and under the frequent inspection of some careful person. 



When nearly half the time of pregnancy has elapsed, the mare 

 should have a little better food. She should be allowed one or 

 two feeds of grain in the day. This is about the period when they 

 are accustomed to slink their foals, or when abortion occurs : the 

 eye of the owner should, therefore, be frequently upon them. 

 Good feeding and moderate exercise will be the best preventives 

 of this mishap. The mare that has once aborted, is liable to a 

 repetition of the accident, and therefore should never be suffered 

 to be with other mares between the fourth and hfth months : for 

 such is the power of imagination or of sympathy in the mare, that 

 if one suffers abortion, others in the same pasture will too often 

 share the same fate. Farmers wash, and paint, and tar their 

 stables, to prevent some supposed infection ; — the infection lies in 

 the imagination. 



