Breeding. 9 1 



wishes two strings to his bow. From these remarks it may 

 be gathered, that, in my humble opinion, a breeding stud 

 may be formed which shall produce a few colts and fillies 

 capable of racing, whilst those which are not race horses 

 may be expected to serve as hunters of a high class. By 

 this plan a greater number of prizes will be drawn in the 

 lottery, and the scheme will pay far better than on the 

 exclusive principle. So long as thorough-bred hunters are 

 the fashion, and command such high prices, it will be found 

 that it is a much more paying speculation to sell off the 

 drafts at hunters' prices, than for the wretched sums which 

 they fetch as racing stock. There are so many accidents 

 and risks in all stud forms, that a great number will always 

 be useless or dead, and the blanks will in proportion be 

 numerous ; consequently it is highly necessary to make 

 the most of the materials which are available for paying 

 the expense of the establishment. If, then, instead of 

 selling off the rejected three-year-olds, such as are of good 

 size are turned out, and allowed to grow and thicken 

 till they are five, they might then be re-broken and made 

 into hunters, or sold for that purpose, without incur- 

 ring any trouble or risk ; and they would fetch from 

 ^'150 to ,-£200 apiece, or in some cases considerably 

 more. 



Selection of Brood Mare. — In choosing the brood 

 mare four things must be considered — first, her blood ; 

 secondly, her frame ; thirdly, her state of health ; and 

 fourthly, her temper. 



Her blood or breeding will mainly depend upon the 

 views of the breeder — that is to say, what particular class 

 of colts he wishes to obtain, and according to his decision 

 he will look out for mares of the particular kind he desires 

 to reproduce, on the principle that " like begets like," 

 subject to the considerations above stated. 



In frame the mare should be so formed as to be 

 capable of carrying and well nourishing her offspring; 

 that is, she should be what is called " roomy." There is 

 a formation of the hips which is particularly unfit for 

 breeding purposes, and yet which is sometimes carefully 

 selected, because it is considered elegant ; this is the 



