98 THE HOESE BOOK. 



three and four, and so on — though it is a quite 

 general custom in Britain to breed mares when 

 they are two, let them go over at three and breed 

 them again at four to foal when five years old. 

 A poorly nourished, anemic, stunted two-year- 

 old filly should not be bred. This applies to all 

 sorts of horses and ponies. The breeder who 

 does not develop his fillies properly on judicious 

 and plentiful feeding should not essay to breed 

 them as two-year-olds. 



Eegarding the growth of horses, it may be 

 said that roughly speaking a colt which is prop- 

 erly reared will make rather more than half his 

 growth in his first year. This rule will of 

 course be more or less upset in abnormal cases, 

 such as when a colt is badly treated during his 

 first year and then given good care during the 

 next three, but in such a case he will never come 

 to be what he would have been had he been han- 

 dled aright and kept growing from birth on- 

 ward. The larger the ultimate size is to be the 

 greater the proportion of it will be made the 

 first year. The draft-bred foal that does not 

 weigh 1,200 lb. or over the day he is twelve 

 months old will have a slim chance to fill a draft- 

 er 's bill. The best plan is to give them always 

 what grain they will clean up nicely and let it 

 go at that. It is bad at any time to let colts get 

 thin. It is worst of all to let them lose the flesh 

 that was born on them. It is very nearly as bad 

 to let them get thin after weaning. Loss sus- 

 tained at such times will never be regained. 



