THE BREEDING OP HORSES 213 



Extensive breeders of imported mares have experienced con- 

 siderable difficulty in getting some of them in foal the first season 

 or two after their arrival unless they were in foal when brought 

 over; others breed as readily as native mares. 



Occasionally a mare is encountered which breeds only every 

 other year. Others will not come in season, or at least conceive^ 

 while suckling a foal. It is usually more difficult to get mares 

 in foal in the fall than in the spring. The age to which maret? 

 will continue to breed is variable, but many have remained pro- 

 ductive after passing the quarter century mark. Their breeding 

 power declines gradually, being marked by occasional misses, 

 occurring with increased frequency. 



A mare which produces a good foal regularly is of priceless 

 value in the breeding stud. When an apparently valuable 

 breeder, although not in foal at the time, is offered for sale, it 

 is safe to assume that she has proven herself barren or at least 

 a shy breeder, unless, of course, there are other obviously good 

 reasons to account for her being sold. 



Herniaphrodites, individuals in which the sexual organs of 

 both sexes are more or less completely represented , are, of course, 

 sterile. 



Reproduction is a natural function which requires simply a 

 normal state of health and vigor for its accomplishment. The 

 stallion does not need the artificial stimulation of drugs to in- 

 sure his potency, neither can there be any virtue in " breeding 

 remedies '' for mares, other than that they may, like any anti- 

 septic preparation, overcome acidity or correct a catarrhal con- 

 dition in the genital tract. 



When intelligent management of breodins: animals, insuring, 

 especially, a balance between feed and exercise, fails, it is 

 probable that breeding is either str'^cturally or functionally 

 impossible. 



Artificial impregnation is. quite generally resorted to now by 

 breeders of all classes of horses, both as a means of extending 

 the services of the stallion and to insure the mares' getting in 

 foal. The method of conveying the spermatic fluid from the 

 vagina of the mare served, into the uterus of the same or other 



