308 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



HORSE BREEDING 



The successful breeding of any kind 

 of live stock is an art which may be 

 learned only by the closest and most 

 conscientious attention to all details. 

 The principles of breeding have been 

 discussed in a previous chapter. The 

 practical side must be learned in actual 

 contact with animals. A few general 

 facts worth while may be mentioned for 

 the guidance of the horse breeder. 



Points of the horse — I n the first place, 

 the points of the horse must be thorough- 

 ly understood, otherwise it is impossible 

 to breed with intelligence or with a defi- 



that it is generally neglected in farm 

 practice. As soon as the farmer has de- 

 cided on the type of horse which he 

 wishes to raise he must keep that type 

 constantly in mind in his breeding. No 

 cross-bred or grade sire should be used, 

 and no change of breed should be permit- 

 ted. By following this plan persistently, 

 and using tbe same breed of stallion 

 from year to year, the herd of horses 

 will gradually approach the pure, fixed 

 type. There will also be a greater uni- 

 formity of conformation, size and color 

 among all the horses on the farm. Such 

 uniformity is a great point in selling 



Fig. 221 — BELGIAN STALLION 



nite purpose. In other words, the horse 

 breeder must be a judge of horses and 

 must know the points of the horse. The 

 score card serves merely as a guide and 

 help to the beginner. The experienced 

 horse man does not carry a score card 

 about with him. He has the points in 

 his eye and fingers, and also much more 

 information, which cannot be set down 

 in a score card, but which comes from 

 experience only. 



Importance of sire_I n the general 

 discussion of breeding in Part I. it was 

 pointed out that the selection of a sire 

 is an important matter in the case of all 

 domestic animals. With horses it is par- 

 ticularly important, partly for the reason 



horses for a remunerative price. It is 

 only by adopting a rational system of 

 breeding and following it without waver- 

 ing, that the farmer can build up a 

 reputation for having horses which are 

 worth the buyer's time in looking at 

 them. 



The stallion must not only have the 

 right breeding in him, but he must be 

 free from defects, blemishes, all forms of 

 unsoundness or disease. Of course acci- 

 dental wounds, barb-wire cuts and simi- 

 lar injuries have nothing to do with he- 

 reditary characters, but spavins, splints, 

 ringbone, sidebones, any form of lame- 

 ness, incorrect position of the leg should 

 not be tolerated in the stallion or the , 



