156 LIGHT HORSES '. BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



Speaking generally of the ass, it may be said that he pos- 

 sesses unusual hardiness of constitution, and is capable of en- 

 during great fatigue, while he is sure-footed and little liable to 

 disease. Dr. Fleming, C.B., in the " Practical Horsekeeper" 

 (Upcott Gill), says, " In no other animal, perhaps, is good feed- 

 ing, kindness, grooming and housing more amply compensated 

 for by increased service and willing performance than with the 

 ass. His appetite is not large, and he is much less fastidious 

 about the quality of his food than the horse. A few pounds of 

 hay and oats in the course of the day and night will maintain 

 him in excellent condition, and even on hay or grass alone he 

 will perform a fair amount of work, but if the toil is exacting, 

 the food should be in proportion. A large-sized ass will get 

 through a wonderful amount of work on half-a-dozen pounds 

 of oats and eight or ten pounds of hay. The limbs of the 

 ass should be strong ; the knees and hocks large and free from 

 blemishes ; the feet not too small, and the hoofs sound ; the 

 chest wide ; the back unscarred ; the body rather long, but 

 compact ; the hind quarters and croup round and wide." The 

 period of gestation with the she ass is twelve months. The 

 foal is weaned at nine months. The ass should not be put to 

 hard work under four years of age. 



The mule is a hybrid, the resulting produce of a cross 

 between the male ass and the mare horse ; the result of the 

 opposite cross, between the horse-stallion and the mare ass, 

 being the hinny. Although, as we have said, there is little 

 mule-breeding carried out in this country, the number of 

 mules in the United States is 2,314,000, while in France 

 there are 227,000 mules and 361,000 asses. Mules are in- 

 valuable as beasts of draught and beasts of burden in the 

 South of Europe and in certain parts of Northern and 

 Southern America. Dr. Fleming says the mule is one of 

 the very best beasts of burden man possesses, and for this 

 purpose he is employed chiefly in mountainous countries and 

 those in which wheel-carriage cannot be resorted to. He is 

 also greatly in request for transport purposes during war, his 



