CHAPTER XI. 



HANDLING AND BREAKING. 



The foal sliould be accustomed to being 

 bandied as early as possible ; as soon in 

 fact as tbe dam, or tbe foal himself, will 

 allow. Care must be taken of tbe former 

 at the first few visits, since the best tem- 

 pered and most affectionate of mares are 

 sometimes transformed into perfect furies 

 by their all-absorbing solicitude for a new 

 foal. I have myself been driven out of a 

 stable by a mare, which at ordinary times 

 was as fond of me as my terrier is ; and it 

 was perhaps lucky for me on that occasion 

 that an athletic training had made me 

 pretty quick on my legs. The maternal 

 is the strongest of all natural instincts, 

 and it is always a thing to be reckoned 



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