388 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



that do not interfere with the production of sound progeny ; as 

 the accidental loss of an eye, for instance, which is a blemish, 

 but which is not real unsoundness, and is not likely, after inflam- 

 mation has subsided and after the animal's attention has ceased to 

 be drawn to that part, to produce any unsoundness in the eyes 

 of the colt. And the same is true of several kinds of lameness 

 which result from purely accidental causes, from bad shoeing, etc. 

 In no case would it be prudent to breed from a mare while she is 

 actually suffering from the effects of any accident or ill-treatment ; 

 but after the wound has healed and she has settled down to the 

 even tenor of her way, there is no reason why such accidental 

 imperfections should be perpetuated. As a general rule, it may 

 be stated that the mare that is best suited to the farmer's purposes 

 as a team animal, is precisely the one from which he may most 

 reasonably expect to get good colts ; and the same rule that should 

 guide him in the purchase of a mare for work should also guide 

 him in the matter of breeding. 



In Stonehenge's " British Rural Sports," the following direc- 

 tions are given concerning the choice of a brood mare, the por- 

 tion which relates chiefly to the breeding of race-horses being 

 excluded from the quotation : — 



" In choosing the brood mare, four things must be considered : 

 *' first, her blood ; secondly, her frame ; thirdly, her state of 

 ''health; and fourthly, her temper. 



******* 



*' In frame, the mare should be so formed as to be capable of 

 " carrying and well nursing her offspring ; that is, she should be 

 " what is called ' roomy.' There is a formation of the hips which 

 '' is particularly unfit for breeding purposes, and yet which is some- 

 " times carefully selected, because it is considered elegant ; this is 

 ''the level and straight hip, in which- the tail is set on very high, 

 " and the end of the haunch-bone is nearly on a level with the pro- 

 "jection of the hip-bone. * * * By examining her [a well- 

 " formed mare's] pelvis, it will be seen that the haunch-bone forms 

 " a considerable angle with the sacrum, and that, as a consequence, 

 " there is plenty of room, not only for carrying the foal, but for 



