No 144.] 379 



should breed work horses. Any farmer may breed and feed ani- 

 mals if he will turn his attention to the acquisition of the neces 

 sary knowledge. The two kinds of horses are, one for purely 

 agricultural purposes, the other for riding, hunting, working, 

 &c. Different qualities are of course required. For farm use, 

 horses of weight and promptitude : for quick purposes, those of 

 elasticity and speed. The farmer must learn how to produce 

 these results. A general mistake is committed by farmers, viz: 

 ^^Any mare is good enough to breed fromP Not so. The value of 

 the progeny depends fully as much, if not more, on the dam than 

 on the sire. The female imparts to the foal, size^ strength and 

 vigor of constitution capable of performing any work required, 

 and the male will supply spirit and muscle. 



The mare should be perfectly healthy, her carcase roomy — 

 barrel- wide — large and round formed, with the ribs curving from 

 the back, the short rib "well home," or leaving a small space be- 

 tween it and the hook bone; thighs deep and muscular, bone of 

 the legs flat and thin, clean of rank hair, must have no appear- 

 ance of swelling or any kind of thickness; feet clean, firm and 

 sound, pasterns short, but not thick and greasy; the arm in front 

 wide and brawny, chest deep, shoulders oblique and sloping back- 

 wards at the withers, and shortening the back; top of the 

 shoulder narrow, neck rising in an arched form from the withers, 

 and drooping a little to the set on of Ihe head ; crest strong and 

 firm, and thickening downward; ears long and firm, and quick 

 in motion; eye prominent, bold, quick and lively; face broad 

 between the eyes, and tapering to the muzzle; cheek bone not 

 very broad, which shows coarseness; muzzle small, lips short and 

 thin, nostrils expanded but neat; fore legs standing well forward, 

 and not under the belly of the animal ; bone clean, and short in 

 hair, feet standing concave, and not flat; knee joints flat and 

 broad; color of the animal black or black hvo\^n^ with white on 

 the hind feet, hut no more. 



A variety of color shows much cross descent. Horses that are 

 white in color, or even having a white hair mixed in the coat, as 

 grey horses, are reckoned to be delicate in constitution, and ex- 

 perience seems to confirm the observation. 



