THE DAM. 146 



insures greater safety to the dam when bringing it 

 forth. It is quality, not quantity, we need in our brood- 

 mares. The texture of the bones, and the way in which 

 they are adjusted, and not the size of them; the charac- 

 ter of the temperament, and not the fleshy bulk, — are 

 what give value to the dam, and, through her, to the 

 foal. 



This matter of temperament is of the utmost impor- 

 tance ; and I refer the reader to what was said under 

 that head earlier in the volume. Here I need not ex- 

 pand the subject, save that the lymphatic, sluggish tem- 

 perament is to be avoided. Never select a low, base- 

 spirited mare to breed from. Touching the temper, be 

 particular: under no consideration ever breed from a 

 vicious mare. You have no right to do it ; and it will 

 not pay to do it. It is the chief glory of the American 

 horse, that he is the most enduring and the most amia- 

 ble of his kind on the face of the earth, the Orient ex- 

 cepted. Next to the Arabian in docility and intelli- 

 gence, in love for man, and general hardihood, stands 

 the American. The English thorough-bred is a devil ; 

 the Spanish and Italian horses are brutes ; the French 

 racer is to be admired at a distance : but the American 

 horse is kind and gentle ; and, in the gloss and bloom of 

 grooming and virility, the American stallion can be 

 petted by women, and fondled by children. I confess 

 that I am very proud of this. It argues intelligence and 

 humanity among the people, and noble qualities on the 

 part of our horses. It should be the great ambition of 



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