48 Cross Country with Horse and Hound 



can be found, though theoretically sound, in practice sel- 

 dom results satisfactorily. Size, with coarseness or lack of 

 symmetry, which is still more objectionable, invariably fol- 

 lows the mating of a large stallion with a small or medium- 

 sized mare. Strange as it may seem, size with quality is 

 invariably attained by mating a medium-sized stallion with 

 a large or at least a roomy mare. The reason of this is 

 obvious when we recall the fact that conformation follows 

 the sire. Mere size in colts is more a question of room in 

 the mare, of abundance of nutritious food during the period 

 of gestation, and of a plentiful supply of milk from the 

 dam after the colt is born. Of the two conditions neces- 

 sary to grow a colt with size, a roomy mare and feed, 

 the former is perhaps the more important. The disappoint- 

 ment that invariably results for hunting men who breed 

 their best hunting mare to the best stallion they can find 

 comes from not understanding this simple fact. 



A mare that is kept constantly at work during the period 

 of gestation is physically incapacitated to produce a sizable 

 foal, owing to having hard, contracted, or unyielding 

 muscles. It is on this account that the first foals of mares 

 accustomed to work are usually inferior in size to the sub- 

 sequent foals. This should teach us that the mare should 

 be taken from work soon after mating, and treated in every 

 way possible to relax her muscles. At the same time she 

 should be fed liberally on all the succulent food she can 

 eat, with bran and crushed oats added during the latter half 

 of the period. With a medium-sized stallion of the high- 

 est quality, and a mare made as roomy as possible, you may 

 rely on feed to produce the necessary variation in size. 



