THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF BREEDING. 95 



one horse, that might have proved himself slightly inferior in 

 speed to his rival. The circumstances to be chiefly reo-arded 

 are, first, the possession of qualities in the horse of which the 

 mare may be deficient ; secondly, the advantage of a good con- 

 stitution ; and thirdly, the possession of good fore legs. The first 

 is so apparent as scarcely to need any remark ; for as it must be 

 the case that a mare that has proved her excellence for racing will 

 be sure to be employed for breeding, whatever other defects she 

 may possess, the only way to alleviate or remove these defects 

 in the offspring is to select a horse that may excel in those 

 points in which the mare is deficient. We are not sure of suc- 

 ceeding by this plan, but shall in many cases. 



The attention to the constitution in the horse is a matter 

 of great importance, not only because it is the surest means 

 of imparting a good constitution to the offspring, but also 

 because the possession of this soundness of constitution enables 

 the horse the better to impart his speed and bottom to the foal. 

 How often do we find that the progeny of a first-rate horse 

 have proved altogether inferior, though produced by superior 

 mares ! In these cases, it is generally found that the horses have 

 only appeared on the turf one, or at most two seasons, and their 

 running has generally been very uncertain ; whilst the sires of 

 numerous winners have, generally speaking, proved not only 

 their superior speed, but also the strength of their constitution, 

 by the truth and honesty of their running, and the number of 

 their races. 



The j)Ossession of good legs in the sire is a matter to which 

 less attention is generally paid, than to either of the other 

 points mentioned, and yet it is one of great importance, even in 

 a pecuniary point of view ; for although the speed of the animal 

 does not depend on the goodness of the fore legs, yet the power 

 of enduring training does, for in nine cases out of ten, when a 

 colt becomes lame in training, it is from disease of the fore legs. 

 We cannot wonder at this, when we consider that the fore legs 

 have to sustain the whole weight of the animal increased by the 

 momentum derived by speed, and connect this fiict with the early 

 age at which these exertions are demanded, and the consequently 

 weak and unfit state of the parts. How essential it is, then, 

 that these parts should be as strong as nature can make them, 

 and yet how common it is for them to be altogether disregarded ! 

 If greater attention were paid to the state of the fore legs, it is 

 reasonable to expect that there w^ould not be so many horses 

 fail, either in training or in tlieir eai'ly races, as there are at 

 present, and consequently there would be a great saving of that 

 fruitless expense which is now frequently incurred in training 

 horses that break down before they become winners. — Ed.] 



