THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. I05 



she was twenty-nine years of age, which had never had a 

 foal, and she threw a splendid colt in her 30th year. This 

 statement is perfectly true, for I knew the animal well and 

 rode on her back, and the colt's as well. The owner had 

 possessed the mare from when she was two years of age so 

 there was no mistake made in her age. The same year 

 a mare twenty-five years of age threw a colt on the same 

 farm, but it was not her first, it was the fifteenth she had 

 had. 



It is perfectly safe to begin breeding from a mare 

 when she is from twelve to fifteen years of age — that is 

 to say, after the owner has had a good amount of work 

 out of her. I merely mention the fact of the old mares 

 breeding to show it is possible to get colts from them 

 even at the ages I have mentioned. I would strongly 

 recommend a gentleman who has got hold of a good 

 mare or two, noted for pluck and endurance, when he 

 has finished with them for carriage work, to breed from 

 them. If the owner would only do this he might get 

 some good horses. There is usually a difficulty in buying 

 them from horse dealers, as I suppose there is no class 

 of men who have such a bad reputation. I do 

 not mean to say there are no honest horse dealers, 

 because I know there are a few, but there are also many 

 dishonest ones. An inexperienced person can seldom 

 get taken in with anything more than in buying a horse, 

 as a man who understands his business well can get up a 

 horse so well for a time when it is for sale. This is one 

 reason why I decided to write a chapter on breeding. 



