CHAPTER XIIL 

 How to Breed. 



While racing has grown to almost stalwart proportions 

 in the land of the free and the home of the brave, it must be 

 admitted that breeding is not now carried on as judiciously 

 as it might be. That is why the class of the horse is 

 deteriorating. 



In the olden times the breeders gave more attention to 

 the subject than they do now, and they were more careful 

 in their matings. When a man had a mare that was weak in 

 one point he invariably bred her to a stallion that made up 

 for this defect, and the result was that the progeny was 

 brought forth in almost faultless condition. 



This careful judgment has produced the horses of to-day 

 that are winning the purses and stakes from one end of the 

 continent to the other. I could name a hundred horses now 

 that are useless simply because their breeding was de- 

 fective. The idea seems to be to breed a mare to any 

 stallion without regard to his or her temperament. 



It is to this carelessness that the sturdy hardihood is 

 being lost. The whole idea is to secure speed without 

 regard to durability. If a horse is able to step out and win 

 a few stakes, he is considered as having performed his part 

 and the one for which he was intended. As a point in illus- 

 tration I would mention the case of Halma, truly a fine 

 animal. He is fine of form, as pretty as a picture, and is of 

 royal blood. When he came down from Lexington to run 

 for the Louisville Derby he was truly an animal fair to see, 

 and every turfman who saw him fell in love with him. It 

 was impossible for a man to look at this colt, see him work, 

 notice his graceful movements, and then fail to at least have 

 a desire to bet on his chances. 



See what he did. He won the Louisville Derby with- 

 out even extending himself, and when he passed under the 

 wire he shook his black head with the air of a king. It is, 

 therefore, no wonder that Julius Fleischmann, of Cincinnati, 



