THE 



HANDY HORSE-BOOX. 



P A E T I. 



BREEDING. 



A FEW words only of observation would I make on this 

 subject. Palpably our horses, especially racers and 

 hunters, are degenerating in size and power, owing 

 mainly, it is to be feared, to the parents being selected 

 more for the reputation they have gained as winners 

 carrying feather-weights, than for any symmetrical 

 development or evidence of enduring power under the 

 weight of a man. We English might take a useful 

 lesson in selecting parental stock from the French, who 

 reject our theory of breeding from animals simply be- 

 cause they have reputation in the racing calendars, and 

 who breed from none but those which have shape and 

 poicer, as well as blood and performance, to recommend 

 them. 



