116 A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



the ring on the near side, as shown in- Fig. 3, 

 instead of under the jaw, as in Fig. 1. 



It requires some skill and a good deal of pa- 

 tience to teach a stallion how to behave him- 

 self properly when brought out to serve a mare. 

 He should never be allowed to go onto her with 

 a rush; but he should be led up on the near side 

 of the mare to within about ten to fifteen feet 

 of her, and made to stand with his head toward 

 the mare, about opposite her head; and when 

 he is ready he should be led toward her and 

 made to commence the mount when by her 

 side instead of going for a rod or so with his 

 fore feet sawing the air, as is often the case. 

 By observing these directions there will be but 

 little danger of injury to the stallion by a kick 

 from the mare when he is mounting, especially 

 if a good man is at her head to prevent her 

 from wheeling toward the horse when he ap- 

 proaches. The danger to the horse is always 

 greatest when he is coming off, because many 

 mares will kick then that will stand perfectly 

 still when he is mounting. To obviate this 

 the groom who holds the horse should seize 

 the mare by the bits with his left hand at this 

 moment and bring her head around toward him 

 by a sudden jerk as the horse is coming off. 



But in most cases, indeed in all cases where 

 there is not an absolute certainty that the 

 mare will stand perfectly quiet, the hobbles 



