Breeding. 97 



rider, she should be consigned to any task rather than the 

 stud farm. Neither should a mare be used for this purpose 

 which had been too irritable to train, unless she happened 

 to be an exceptional case ; but if of an irritable family, 

 she would be worse even than a roarer or a blind one. 

 These are defects which are apparent in the colt or filly, 

 but the irritability which interferes with training often 

 leads to the expenditure of large sums on the faith of 

 private trials, which are lost from the failure in public, 

 owing to this defect of nervous system. 



Choice of Stallion. 



Like the brood mare, the stallion requires several es- 

 sentials — commencing also like her, first, with his blood ; 

 secondly, his individual shape ; thirdly, his health ; and 

 fourthly, his temper. But there is this difficulty in select- 

 ing the stallion, that he must not only be suitable per 

 se, but he must also be adapted to the particular mare 

 which he is to " serve." Thus, it will be manifest that 

 the task is more difficult than the fixing upon a brood 

 mare, because (leaving out of consideration all other 

 points but blood) in the one case, a mare only has to be 

 chosen which is of good blood for racing purposes, while 

 in the other there must be the same attention paid to this 

 particular, and also to the stallion's suitability to the mare, 

 or to " hit " with her blood. Hence, all the various 

 theories connected with generation must be investigated, 

 in order to do justice to the subject ; and the breeder 

 must make up his mind whether in-and-in-breeding, as a 

 rule, is desirable or otherwise ; and, if so, whether it 

 is adapted to the particular case he is considering. 

 Most men make up their minds one way or the other 

 on this subject, and act accordingly, in which decision 

 much depends upon the prevailing fashion. The rock 

 upon which most men split is a bigoted favouritism 

 for some particular horse ; thus, one man puts all his 

 mares to Orlando ; another to Surplice or the Flying 

 Dutchman ; although they may every one be of different 

 blood and form to the others. Now, this cannot possibly 



7 



