36 The Horse Farrier. 



cause, took pains to explain it, pro\dng the correctness 

 of their statements by reference to the first of the 

 horse's get, produced under a proper system of breed- 

 ing, and which were then iu their prime, and among 

 the best horses in England. • 



*' In selecting a mare," sa5^s Youatt, " it is 2)erhaps 

 more difficult to select a good mare to breed from than a 

 good horse, because she should possess somewhat op- 

 posite qualities. Her carcase should be long, m order 

 to give room for the growth of tlie foetus, and yet with 

 this there should be comj^actness of form and shortness 

 of leg. In frame, the mare should be so formed as to 

 be capable of carrying and well nourislimg her oflf- 

 sprmg ; that is, she should be what is called ' roomy.' 

 There is a formation of the 'hi23S which is particularly 

 unfit for breeding 23urposes, and yet which is some- 

 times carefully selected, because it is considered ele- 

 gant ; this is the level and straight hip, in which the 

 tail is set on very high, and the end of the haunch bone 

 is nearly on a level with the projection of the hip bone. 

 Xearly the opposite form is the more desirable. She re- 

 quires such a shape and make as is well adapted for the 

 purpose she is intended for,'* that is to say, for pro- 

 ducing colts of the style and form she is intended to 

 produce. We will add, that she must have four good 

 legs under her, and those legs standing as a foundation 

 on four good, well shaped, large feet, oj^ened-heeled 

 and by no means flat-soled. That she should have a 

 good, lean, bony head, small cased, broad fronted, well 

 set on, upon a high, well carved neck, tliin at its 



