188 THE PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING 



Revision of the rules is generally in the direction of increased 

 requirements and is justified in the case of comparatively new 

 or young breeds which have increased in numbers to a point 

 where the old and more liberal rules are no longer necessary. The 

 American Trotting Registry Association has already dropped 

 rules which during the formative perio<^l of the breed were essen- 

 tial. It is reported that they contemplate further tighteniug 

 up tlieir requirements by elimination of tlie " standard by per- 

 formance " clause. 



Stallion Legislation. — Stallion license laws have been passed 

 by a numlx r of the States. Because of the much longer time and 

 greater capital involved in the breeding of horses than of other 

 classes of li\^ stock, some legal regulation of the standing of 

 stallions f of public service, having in view the protection of tlie 

 mare owr .^r and the promotion of the interests of the good bi-eed- 

 ing sires, is important. The idea is not new ; all foreign coun- 

 tries in which horse breeding has made any great advancement 

 have either patronized or protected the horse breeding interests 

 by statute. The French systeui is perhaps the most elaborate. 



The Fren-ch System, — All breeding stallions in France are 

 either oT\nied by the government or have government authority 

 to stand for service. All privately owned stallions which are 

 accepted for service must be free from roaring and moon blind- 

 ness or periodic ophthalmia, as detennined by inspection to Avliich 

 they are required to submit, aud this fact is attested by the 

 star branded on their necks. Then they are classified according 

 to merit. Those of the l^est class are designated as " approved/ ^^^ 

 and many of them are liberally subsidized in order that they may 

 be made available to all owners of high class mares ; those which 

 are not quite up to the requirements for approval but are yet 

 desirable sires are classed as " authorized " ; while all others 

 which have passed the veterinary inspection covering roaring 

 and moon blindness are simply '' certified." The stallions from 

 the government ^' haras " are systematically distributed through- 

 out the breeding districts during the season. 



Ideals in stallion license laws differ, there being a marked 

 lack of uniformity in the provisions of those enacted in the dif- 

 ferent States. A stallion may be licensed to stand for sen^ice 



