208 PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



bulkier throughout. He must stand i6 hands high, 

 weigh from 1,200 pounds up, the heavier the better, 

 and must be heavy boned in proportion to the in- 

 creased weight. To produce a mule of this type, 

 heavy draft mares must be used. The danger of 

 making a cross of this kind is of sacrificing quality 

 and conformation to mere size; and the production 

 of one of these heavy mules so as to insure con- 

 siderable quality and heavy enough bone to make 

 an ideal animal requires very careful judgment in 

 the selection of the mare. It is easy to select a 

 mare which has a blocky build, large feet and heavy, 

 strong legs, but this type of mare is very likely to 

 lack quality and life. Where it is impossible to 

 choose the ideal mare for this purpose a lot of at- 

 tention should be given to the quality. Above all 

 she should be of an ambitious disposition and have 

 good life and good action. Generally speaking, the 

 mule inherits from its sire the characteristics of the 

 neck and head and in a marked degree its legs and 

 feet, while its body conforms quite strongly to that 

 of its dam. It can readily be seen that breeding a 

 mare of markedly light bone and small feet to a 

 jack simply tends to intensify in the mule the light 

 bone and small footed characteristics of the jack. 

 It used to be said that the size of a mule's foot was 

 a matter of little importance, that his hoof was 

 naturally small and compact and his legs light and 

 slender. But when a 1,200 to 1,400-pound body is 

 bred upon feet and legs intended to support only 

 900 or 1,000 pounds, the tendency toward strains 

 and permanent impairment is introduced and in- 

 tensified from the very beginning, while if the mare 

 has heavy, strong legs and large, firm feet, the mule 

 will have some chance of inheriting in part these 

 desirable characteristics. 



