CHAPTER IX. 



THE BREEDING AND REARING OP COLTS. 



t. IMPORTANCK OF ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. 11. BREED FROM MATURE ANIMALS. 



III. NO PROFIT IN INFERIOR HORSES. IV. HEREDITY IN ANIMALS. V. PECU- 

 LIAR ORGANIC STRUCTURE. VI. HEREDITY OF DISEASE. VII. AVATISM OR 



BKEEDING BACK.— BREED TO NONE BUT THE BEST. VIII. VARIATION AND DEVEL- 

 OPMENT. IX. TRANSMISSION OF QUALITIES. X. THE IMPRESS OF COLOR AND 



FORM. XI. RELATION OF SIZE IN SIRE AND DAM. XII. BREED ONLY FROM 



PUKE SIRES. XIII. THE BEST ARE CHEAPEST IN THE END. XIV. SELECTION 



OF STALLION AND MARE. XV. SERVICE OF THE STALLION. XVI. THE PERIOD 



OP GESTATION — TREATMENT. XVII. TREATMENT AFTER FOALING. XVIII. 



HOW TO KNOW TF A MARE IS IN FOAL. XIX. HOW TO KNOW THK FOALING TIME. 



XX. THE FOALING STALL. XXI. ABORTION, OR SLINKING THE FCETUS. XXII. 



HOW TO RAISE A COLT. 



1. Importance of Accurate Knowledge. 



The breeding and raising of farm stock is one of the most interesting 

 branches of agricultural art, audit is one requiring judgment and ac- 

 curate knowledge in a high degree. In the preceding chapters we have 

 therefore, carefully gone over the ground covered by what pertains to 

 the anatomy and physical condition of the horse, to the end that 

 any intelligent person may become so thoroughly master of the subject 

 that he may not only know what constitutes a good horse, ])ut may also 

 decide with tolerable accuracy as to the age and constitutional vio-or of 

 an animal, and l)c familiar with the characteristics of the principal breeds. 



Know what You Breed For. — A horse should l)e bred with a view solely 

 to the labor he is to perform. The first thing for the breeder to do, 

 therefore, is to decide what he wants with the horse. If the animal 

 is intended for the turf, there is but one course to pursue ; breed only to 

 horses of the most approved pedigree, for the distance, whether it be 

 one, two, three, or four miles. It is well known that but a moiety of the 

 colts, even of the best blood, e\er arrive at high eminence. So many 

 are the contingencies to be met, and so many the risks to be taken, that 

 our advice is, Do not undertake the breeding of this kind of stock, un- 

 less you are amply able to provide all the varied requirements, includino- 

 the most perfect stables, and a training track. Above all, do not waste 

 money on the so-called thoroughbreds, that travel country districts, ex- 

 pecting to breed high-priced horses from common mares. You would be 

 quite as likely to be struck by lightning as -to succeed in getting any- 

 thing better, from such parents, than a quarter nag for a scrub race. So 

 with trotting horses, do not expect to get a crack trotter unless the blood 

 of trotting thoroughbreds is strong in the veins of sire and dam. Nor 

 can you get a fine carriage dri\nng horse from some weedy, dancing, 



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