90 The Practical Stud Groom. 



the foetus being so small, the mishap is almost certain to 

 escape notice, except by the merest chance. I am convinced 

 that this early abortion is more common than is generally 

 supposed, and that in many cases a stallion has incurred 

 unmerited blame on account of it. Over-fatness is another 

 cause of sterility in the mare, but, like want of exercise in 

 the stallion, it does not occur with good management. 



It is only reasonable to suppose that to ensure healthy, 

 virile progeny it is essential that at the time of mating 

 both parents should be in the best possible state of health. 

 Over-feeding and want of exercise are fatal to the well-being 

 of man or beast. Here, again, " fashion " decrees that a 

 stallion must be " big " and of aldermanic proportions. 

 When a horse leaves the racing stable and is retired to the 

 stud, the critics who come to see him in his new sphere, 

 while admiring his breeding and Turf performances, 

 generally qualify their encomiums by prophesying that he 

 will make a fine stallion when he has "thickened and let 

 down." This, in plain English, means that although he 

 may not grow one-hundredth part of an inch at the withers, 

 or round the cannon bone, yet when he has put on a couple 

 of hundredweight of flesh, or more likely fat, he will be 

 entitled to be called " a fine stallion." The role of reformer 

 is usually both unpleasant and unprofitable to the 

 reformer. I would therefore advise stud grooms to accept 

 the dictates of " fashion," but to see to it that their 

 stallions, if big, are not soft. 



IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE. 



The stallion with from thirty to forty mares on his 

 covering list will have a pretty considerable call made on his 

 vitality during the covering season, which commonly lasts 

 from February 15th to July 1st. To keep his vitality up to 



