SELECTING BREEDING STOCK. 157 



smooth and free from all bunch or blemish ; firm but elastic 

 cords ; short in the pastern ; short from knee and hock to pas- 

 tern joint. 



The legs should stand squarely and firmly under the animal, 

 the toe turning neither in nor out. She should be of full nor- 

 mal size for the breed represented, neither over nor under size ; 

 should be possessed of a good head with broad forehead, wide 

 between the eyes and ears ; ears should be fine pointed and 

 well set. She should have a full, bright, clear but pleasant 

 eye, with not an over-abundance of white about the lid, — but 

 better white than red ; — should have a good, well-set neck, car- 

 rying her head in good style ; should be short on the back, long 

 on the belly, with a deep, full chest ; well and closely ribbed 

 up, a long hip and possessed of a superabundance of muscle of 

 the flanks. 



She should be .possessed of a good, clean, trappy gait, — 

 whether intended as a producer of speed or draft; — should 

 have a fine, glossy coat and of a fashionable color for the breed 

 to which she belongs. 



Disposition is also one of the most important items to be 

 considered in the selection of the brood mare; for while we 

 desire plenty of spirit and high-life, we despise a low, base- 

 spirited and treacherous mare to breed from. Never select a 

 vicious mare from which to breed any class of horses. 



There has been much said and written against using un- 

 sound mares as brood stock, and while I fully agree with such 

 champions for sound stock for breeding purposes, I cannot con- 

 scientiously advise the discarding of good mares on account of 

 accidental unsoundness ; the proofs to the contrary being too 

 strong* when taking into consideration the following facts : The 

 dam bf Sherman Morgan, the Earragansett pacing mare for- 

 merly ridden by John Brown of Providence, R. L, and after- 

 wards taken to Vermont by James Sherman and bred to Justin 

 Morgan, had a spavin. The fleet, high-spirited gray mare,, 

 dam of old Ethan Allen, also had a spavin. The Charles Kent 

 mare, dam of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, was driven in the city 



