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to secure any excellence in their offspring. "We therefore give the 

 following rules, to be observed in breeding. 



1st. Breed from none but sound and healthy parents — free from 

 all natural infirmities. 



2d. Breed from the most perfect in form and action : and see that 

 a tendency to the same defect does not exist in both parents, 



3d. Breed from animals of a distinct and positive character : and 

 take care that both male and female are so assojied as to insure a 

 certain description of offspring. 



In regard to the first of these rules, I cite some cases in point. 



A foal was dropped, blind. The mare had good eyes, but the 

 sire's eyes were defective, and all his stock had imperfect vision. 

 A mare was subject to farcical enlargements, or swellings. She 

 had a foal. Soon after birth it showed symptoms of farcy, and 

 died, before ten months old, of glanders. 



A mare, running at Epsom races, broke her leg ; the fracture 

 was reduced, but the leg was crooked. Her filly foal had a de- 

 formed leg, on the same side as the mare, and precisely like it. 

 Such instances could be multiplied to a great extent. But enough 

 has been said to prove that " like produces like." 



The causes of unsoundness in horses are so various that we can- 

 not specify them in this place. They are the quicksands of breed- 

 ing, and destructive of the hopes of the breeder. Unsoundness, or 

 malformation of the feet ; the most common of which are contrac- 

 tions, navicular disease, and quarter crack ; unsoundness and mal- 

 formations of the legs, such as splints, spavins, ringbones, crooked 

 and ill-formed joints, causing faulty actions, and a hitting together 

 of the legs ; weak or sprung knees ; diseased eyes, or imperfect 

 vision ; affections of the lungs and windpipe, as broken wind, roar- 

 ing, whistling, &c. So, of habits ; such as cribbing, baulking, kicking, 

 and shying, &c., and many constitutional diseases, such as farcy 

 or glanders, to which there is a hereditary tendency. Some of 

 these may be counteracted by an opposite tendency in the cross, 

 but it is best to consider such animals as unfit for propagation. 



As to the second proposition, the same defect existing in both ani- 

 mals, male and female. From what has been already said, we see that 

 this is especially to be avoided. For it is almost certain that the 

 offspring will show the same defect. The bold, animated counte- 



