Vlll INTRODUCTION. 



Godolphin Arabian and Marske; the former but for the accident of covering Roxana 

 and getting Lath would have died unknown, while Marske who had been standing for 

 half a guinea and was sold for twenty guineas, after siring Eclipse was sold for one 

 thousand guineas and covered at one hundred guineas. Squirt, the sire of Marske, had 

 been ordered shot and was saved by the intercession of his groom ; he afterwards got 

 Marske, Syphon, and the celebrated Squirt Marc the dam of Maiden Purity, Pump- 

 kin, and other famous horses. That many good race-horses have proved failures as 

 stallions, and many poor race-horses successful ones no one can doubt, as instance 

 Lath, who was a famous race-horse but an indifferent stallion, whilst his full brother 

 Cade, was an indifferent race-horse but a most excellent stallion. Flying Childers 

 dazzled the world by the splendor of his career on the turf, yet his brother, Bartlet's 

 Childers proved far the better stallion. According to my notions, no horse can be a 

 good race-horse or a successful stallion, that does not possess great symmetry, 

 by which I do not mean beauty, but a show of all those points, such as conformation, 

 length, power and muscle justly united. Notwithstanding it is often asserted that 

 horses run in all shapes, it cannot be denied they run better and more frequently 

 where they are well and truly shaped, and of tried and approved conformation. A 

 horse may appear to the eye of ordinary judges very plain and ill-shaped, and 

 still be in high form, and to the eye of a connoisseur right in all the material 

 points for racing purposes; the machinery properly put together is the point. 

 Chances and accidents are closely allied to all pursuits and more particularly 

 to breeding for the turf, and luck very frequently predominates over skill 

 and judgment, and whilst breeding cannot be made a certainty or re- 

 duced to a science it should not be left to chance. It cannot be too minutely 

 studied, investigated or attended to in all its branches, and the breeder who selects his 

 mares and stallions with care, attention and judgment as to purity of pedigree, S} 7 m- 

 metry of form, temper, soundness and constitution, in fact, those possessing all those 

 essential qualities of speed and stoutness, must be more successful than one who breeds 

 at haphazard and pays no regard to these established rules, at the same time crossing 

 and preserving the blood of his mares judiciously, and aiming to remedy the defects, 

 deficient properties and inferior qualities of his mares, by the superior conformation, 

 symmetry, admirable properties, and brilliant qualities of the stallion, or vice versa; 

 those who do this will be more likely to produce a more symmetrical, high-typed and 

 successful race-horse than those who pay no attention to these points. Speculative 

 experiments may suit those of large fortunes, but the thinking and judicious breeder, 

 aware of the great expense, constant and unremitting attention necessary for success, will 

 confine himself to the established practise of men whose experience, judgment, atten- 

 tion and success in breeding are worthy of imitation. It is a matter of opinion whether 

 the offspring partake most of the sire or dam. There is no doubt but that they par- 

 take of both, though very often more of the one than the other. Some of the mares breed 

 more after themselves, others more after the stallion, then again one foal will partake 

 more after the mare and the next partake most after the horse. It also occasionally 

 happens that the foal will color and mark after the grandsire or grandam or some 

 other more distant cross, and partake of their qualities, hence the necessity of pure 

 blood, conformation and soundness through many generations. To appreciate what 

 care, attention and sound judgment have done for the thoroughbred horse, it is only 

 necessary for us to look at his origin; unquestionably the thorough bred horse as he now 



