CHAPTER III 
AGRICULTURAL HORSES 
THE day having gone by when a small farmer could 
till his holding with a yoke or two of oxen, it is 
safe to say that every farmer must have one or two 
draughts of horses on his farm. He has the choice 
between mares and geldings. Curiously enough, in 
non-breeding counties at least, preference is usually 
given to geldings.! The gelding commands, where 
other things are equal, a better price than the mare. 
I have no hesitation in saying that for a farmer a 
mare is of greater value than a gelding. I will not 
stop to discuss the English prejudice against entire 
horses further than to say that the perfect horse is 
undoubtedly a stronger and more enduring animal 
than the gelding, but that the custom of castration, 
so peculiar to our country, has at least one good 
1 The European horse-breeder as a rule looks to the stallion, and 
esteems him more highly than the mare as a producer. The Oriental 
always gives the first place to the mare. The English breeder gener- 
ally hopes for a colt foal. The Arab says: ‘The fountain of riches is 
the mare that produces a mare,” and, ‘‘ Prefer the mare, her belly is 
a treasure and her back the seat of honour.” The value of the mare as 
a charger is higher than that of the horse amongst the Arabs, because 
she is easier and pleasanter to ride, she does not betray her master’s 
camp or ambush by neighing, and she supports heat and thirst better 
than the stallion. 
