170 THE HORSE 



unsoundness, and especially those which are of a constitutional character. If 

 a horse goes blind in an attack of influenza, or if, without any previous 

 indications of inflammation, he breaks down from an accidental cause, the 

 defect may be passed over, perhaps ; but, on the contrary, when the blind- 

 ness comes on in the form of ordinary cataract, or the break-down is only 

 the final giving-way in a leg which has been long amiss, I should strongly 

 advise an avoidance of the horse which has displayed either the one or the 

 other. I believe that a Government inspection of all horses and mares used 

 for breeding purposes would be a great national good ; and I look forward 

 to its establishment, at no distant time, as the only probable means of 

 ensuring greater soundness in our breeds of horses. I would not have the 

 liberty of the subject interfered with. Let every man breed what he likes, 

 but I would not let him foist the produce on the public as sound, when they 

 are almost sure to go amiss as soon as they are worked. Ships must now 

 all be registered at Lloyd's, in the classes to which they are entitled by 

 their condition ; and horses, as well as mares, should be registered in the 

 same way, according to the opinion which the Government inspector may 

 form as to their health and the probability of getting or producing 

 sound and useful foals. The purchaser would call for the registration- 

 mark, when he asked for the pedigree of the horse he was about to buy ; 

 and if it was not a favourable one, he would, of course, be placed upon his 

 guard. If this plan could be carried out in practice, as well as it looks on 

 paper, much good might be done, I am assured ; but we all know that 

 inspectors are but mortals, and that they are liable to be biased in more 

 ways than one. 



BEST AGE TO BREED FROM 



THE GENERAL OPINION throughout England is, that one or other of the 

 parents should be of mature age ; and that if a very young mare is chosen, 

 the horse should not be less than eight, ten, or twelve years old. If both 

 are very young, or very old, the produce is generally small and weakly ; 

 but by adopting the plan above-mentioned, the services of young and old 

 may be fully utilized. A great many of our very best performers on the 

 turf have been got by old stallions; as, for instance, Whisker, son of 

 Waxy, in his twenty-second year ; Emilius, son of Orville, in his twentieth ; 

 Voltigeur and Newminster, whose sires were respectively twenty-one and 

 seventeen; Blink Bonny, who was got by Melbourne, in his twentieth 

 year ; and Wild Dayrell, by Ion, when seventeen years old. To these may 

 be added, Gemma di Yergy, Lifeboat, and Gunboat, three celebrated sons 

 of Sir Hercules, and all got by him after he was twenty years old the 

 last named when he was twenty-five years of age. So, also, many were out 

 of old mares ; including Priam, whose dam was twenty when she dropped 

 him ; Crucifix, the daughter of Octaviana, when tweiity-two years old ; 

 Lottery, out of Mandane, in her twentieth year ; and Brutandorf, produced 

 by the same mare when she was twenty-two. From these instances, the 

 breeder may conclude that age is no bar to success, if matched with youth 

 on the other side ; but the instances of success in breeding from two aged 

 parents are rare indeed. It is next to be ascertained what is the earliest 



