no The Book of the Horse. 



not think you could find in the lot one really sound, likely to get hunters. The best was good, but is now 

 worn out." Another M.F.H. "presents his compliments to Lord Calthorpe, and begs to say, in reply to his 

 letter, that, in his opinion, there is not one good stallion in his county." 



Another writes : " Out of six thoroughbred stallions in one district (whose sires were respectively 

 Kingston, Newminster, Lord Clifden, Ely, Rataplan, and Macaroni), four are unsound, two blind, three roarers, 

 one has ringbone, two have spavins and ringbone ! The stallion that travels the country serving mares at the 

 lowest fee gets the most mares, quite irrespective of soundness, shape, and action." 



The Earl of Coventry, whose reputation stands so high as a judge of horses, as an owner and breeder 

 (formerly, of race-horses), and as a master of hounds, in a letter addressed to me on this question, says: "Short 

 races {i.e., under a mile) make people careless as to whether they breed from sound horses or not; roarers 

 get a short course as well as the soundest horses, but they are generally useless as racehorses at any distance 

 beyond si.x furlongs. Roaring is the most hereditary disease known among horses. And yet people breed 

 from roarers, and will continue to do so as long as there is a preponderance of races which they can win with 

 roarers." 



The pressing question, then, for those interested in encouraging sound, useful, half-bred horses, is what 

 practical remedy can be devised as an antidote to the poison of these unsound six-furlong stallions. 



The remedy lies in bringing to tlie doors of breeders of horses sound thoroughbred stallions with riding, 

 not racing, action. 



At present, sires of the character of the late Earl of Glasgow's stud, sound, with size, power, and riding 

 action, if not fast enough to win in their youth, and beget race-winners in their retirement, are either purchased 

 by foreigners to improve the breed of half-bred horses, or castrated and sold as hunters, a weight-carrying 

 thoroughbred hunter being the most salable animal in the horse market next to a race-winning stallion. 



Thus, strange as it may seem, the popularity of the turf, ami of the hunting-field, combines to diminish the 

 number of the most valuable, and to encourage the use of the most unprofitable class of thoroughbred sires. 



Lord Calthorpe proposed to raise, and maintain for five years, by private subscription, a fund of 

 ^10,000 a year, to be devoted to purchasing thoroughbred stallions of a class too costly for an investment 

 by those who look to their remuneration from the fees paid by the owners of half-bred mares ; that is to 

 say, horses for which the managers of national studs in France, or the empires of Germany and Austria, 

 are willing to pay from ^1,000 to ;^2,ooo. 



To send these stallions to centres in the breeding districts of Great Britain and Ireland, and to have 

 them led from place to place, covering half-bred mares at fees of from two to five guineas, according to 

 the circumstances of the breeders of each district. 



This plan was sound as far as it went, but his lordship failed to find a hundred subscribers, although 

 the list was headed H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. 



Low fees are essential if a stallion is to serve farmers' horses, because average farmers prefer the 

 horse at the lowest fee, irrespective of merit. But low fees are not enough to keep the best horse in full 

 work. Farmers will often use a wretch brought to their doors in preference to a horse of the finest quality 

 and action at the same fee but twelve miles off. 



The Rawcliffe stud, near York, founded by a joint-stock company under excellent auspices, and admirably 

 managed, proved a complete failure, and was wound up with heavy loss. Amongst their investments were 

 a number of thoroughbred stallions of the very best class for covering half-bred mares. But farmers would 

 not take the trouble to send to them. Many of them " did not earn enough to pay groom's wages." " Sir 

 John Barleycorn just paid his way." " Underhand and Woolwich were good movers. They got big 

 horses, 16 and 17 hands, although neither stood 15 hands i inch. They did not get enough mares 

 to keep one of them." "Jordan, Windham, and Fortunio were not more patronised, although they covered 

 at ^5 ss., and later on at J[^t, 3s." None of them standing at Rawcliffe could make a living, while 

 Shaw, leading a stallion about in Holderness, could make a good profit out of the thoroughbred horses 

 which he brought to the farmers' doors. 



Before the Lords Committee, Mr. Thomas Parrington said {Q. 15 12): "There is a great want of 

 thorough'ored stallions suitable for farmers. Those that are sound cover at too high a price, or they do 

 not travel the country ; farmers will not be at the trouble of sending to them. Bad stallions travelling are 

 plentiful. However good a stallion may be, he cannot establish himself until the people have seen his 

 stock. His keep would be about jQdo for the season. The charge would be ^2 2s. each mare, and if 

 he got one hundred mares it would pay well." 



As to the number of mares a horse can serve. '' 1 was part owner of a stallion named Perion, 



