IV 



BREEDING HUNTERS 



THE BEST BREED GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN BREEDING SELECTION 



OF SIRE AND DAM SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLES 



TREATMENT OF MARE AND FOAL 



HOROUGHBREDS or thoroughbred grades 

 are the only horses whose general conforma- 

 tion makes them particularly suitable for 

 saddle work. First of all, they are to the 

 manner born, and their gaits, low in action, long in stride, 

 elastic in motion, place them so far above all other breeds 

 of horses for riding purposes that they have no competitors 

 whatever. Long neck and low carriage of head, short 

 upright true arm, great courage, endurance, and superior 

 intelligence qualify them as the breed of all breeds best 

 adapted for cross-country work. Unnumbered generations 

 of careful breeding distinguish them as the aristocracy of 

 the equine race. They have spirit and mettle, and indeed 

 are of such a highly strung nervous temperament that it often 

 requires a bit of horsemanship to get on with them ; yet, 

 when a rider once learns to fit himself to their ways and 

 humour their eccentricities, he is spoiled forever after- 

 ward for any other breed of horses. Thoroughbreds are 

 not the horses for the uninitiated ; they are, as Mr. Thomas 



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