i 9 4 KINGSCLERE 



' It has been found that a man can very well look 

 after ten mares, so that the number of men necessary 

 to the proper working will be a multiple of ten ; 

 each stallion must, of course, have his own valet 



' I ought to say that I speak as a private breeder, 

 and that my remarks are addressed to those who 

 desire simply to race the produce of their own stud. 

 Well, then, having provided yourself with paddocks 

 and buildings and all the appliances ready for a start, 

 you naturally set about laying the living foundation 

 of your breeding stud. I would not begin with 

 more than twenty mares, which number would give 

 the breeder an average of ten to a dozen foals, and 

 eventually some twenty or twenty-five horses in 

 training. If they are good it is enough, if they are 

 bad it is too many. In the primarily important step 

 of picking your brood mares let this rule be rigidly 

 observed — purchase none but dams that are abso- 

 lutely sound. In the second place, take care that 

 they come of proved strains of running blood. I do 

 not think it at all desirable for a private breeder to 

 keep a stallion. When he does this there is the 

 continual risk and danger of mating the horse with 

 unsuitable mares. That is a hazard on the one hand, 

 while on the other the presence of a stallion on the 

 premises necessitates an outlay in the purchase of 

 mares that would apparently be likely to make with 

 him a successful alliance. I may mention, by the 

 way, that Lord Alington — who never kept a stallion, 

 but who in every case has selected the sire most 

 suitable for his mares — has been more fortunate than 



