CHAPTER. Vl 
THE MARE 
THE Arabs of the Sahara say that “the greatest 
wealth is a wise wife or a fruitful mare.” Happy is 
the British farmer who has these two precious 
possessions! There is a pride and pleasure in the 
ownership of a good brood mare and her young 
stock, bred on one’s own holding, that is felt in very 
few other kinds of property. The Arabs consider, 
as we do, that the produce takes more after the sire 
than the dam. They say, “ Remember, the mare is 
but a bag; you will get gold out of it if you have 
put gold in, and you will only take copper out if you 
have only put copper in.” General experience con- 
firms this opinion. There are, and have been, many 
sires that could get good stock off almost any mares, 
but probably there has never been a mare so good as 
to be able to breed a good foal if put to a really bad 
horse with hereditary faults (such as spavin and 
roaring), with a bad constitution and formation. We 
have all probably seen a good foal got off the most 
rubbishy-looking or unsound mare, but it is a risky 
experiment to try, and the Arab is again wise with 
his advice—“ Sow seed only in good soil, and never 
put honey in a dogskin bottle.” It is a fact, and a 
