CHAPTER XII. 



HEREDITARY TRAITS IN HORSES. 



Hereditary entailment is not confined to deformity. It is now cer- 

 tain that all defects are transmissible, and that accidental deformities 

 frequently become perpetuated in the progeny. But it is not alone 

 physical deformity that may be entailed. Habits, peculiarities of tem- 

 per and behavior, and many singularities are transmitted with unerring 

 certainty. 



MARE WEAVING IN HER STALL. 



A well-known mare had a habit of weaving, — swaying her head back 

 and forth in her stall, — and at the same time raising one foot and then 

 the other about an inch from the ground. She had three colts, and the 

 habit was transmitted to each. 



MARE NEVER KNOWN TO LIE DOWN IN HER STALL. 



A mare that was never known to lie down. This mare, for thirteen 

 years, was never seen ofif her feet except to roll, and she foaled a filliy 

 which inherited the same peculiarity. 



.MARE THAT WAS BOSS OF THE YARD. 



The mare that takes her own part in the field and bosses the yard, 

 will, in all probability, produce a foal that will be equally domineering. 



MARE THAT WOULD NOT STEP OVER AN OBSTRUCTION. 



We know of a mare that will not step over an obstruction a foot high, 

 and the bars must all be let down to the bottom before she will leave 

 the field, and one out of five of her produce evince the same disposition. 



HABIT OF SCRAPING BACK THE BEDDING. 



The habit of scraping the bedding back, and piling it up in the rear 

 of the stall, is certainly hereditary. 

 MARE THAT COULD NOT BE TURNED OUT TO PASTURE. 



A friend has a mare that cannot be turned out to pasture because of 

 her propensity to jump fences. A filly out of this mare has developed 

 this same propensity in a marked degree. 



A STALLION THAT HELD UP ONE FOOT WHILE EATING 

 HIS GRAIN. 



A prominent sire that we knew very well had the habit of holding 

 one front foot off the floor while eating his oats, and this habit was 

 transmitted to many of his offspring. 



