BRITISH TURF. 525 



things, it is essential that both mares and stallions 

 should be free from " constitutional infirmity ;" by 

 which term, is understood a tendency to defects 

 in the wind, and of their legs and feet to give way 

 in training. 



The most eminent authorities on the sciences 

 of human pathology, have agreed as to heredit- 

 ableness of certain diseases and defects, such 

 as scrofula, gout, insanity, &c., and guided 

 by their discoveries, able veterinarians, both 

 foreign and British, have maintained that the 

 horse is subject to the same law of nature, and 

 they quote numerous cases in support of this 

 theory. A modern writer on this important sub- 

 ject observes, with equal force and truth, that the 

 Arabians, after having brought their breed of 

 horses to the highest pitch of improvement of 

 which they considered them capable, have pre- 

 served their chief perfections, namely, great en- 

 durance of fatigue, with highly organised matter, 

 and natural soundness of limb, by restricting the 

 use of stallions until approved of by a public 

 inspector of them. Similar precautions are also 

 taken in several European states. 



Inattention to this important law of nature, has 

 occasioned many an owner of race-horses large 

 sacrifices of money, by breeding from favourite 

 stallions and mares a progeny incapable of stand- 

 ing the severity of training, or which " goes 

 amiss," before making the sHghtest return. On 



