68 MANAGEMENT AND BREEDING OF HORSES 



Hambletonian lo, furnishes a good example; for to him 

 may be traced the most illustrious trotters of history. 



The breed stud book. — When the founders of a breed 

 decide. that the distinctive characteristics are reasonably 

 well fixed, they publish what is known of the breeding of 

 the better animals and call the volume, in which this 

 record of breeding appears, a stud book. Thus the breed 

 makes its official appearance. It will readily be seen that 

 when an attempt is made to start a breed, the first pedi- 

 grees must be based on unpublished records. Frequently 

 the foundation stock is recorded simply by name, and 

 nothing is said of the ancestors, because nothing is 

 known. At first the rules governing the registration are 

 not difficult, and half-bloods, three-fourths bloods, and 

 even animals of unknown origin are sometimes registered. 

 As years go by, however, the rules for admission to regis- 

 tration are made more strict, and finally no animal is 

 eligible for record whose sire and dam are not recorded. 



The stud book stimulates maintenance of breed purity; 

 it certifies to a line of descent from ancestors of high class, 

 and is a most important factor in live stock improvement. 

 Other things being equal, the longer the breed has been 

 established the greater are the chances that the offspring 

 will closely resemble its ancestors in all of its character- 

 istics. If one is familiar with the breed under considera- 

 tion, he will quickly recognize the names of the superior 

 animals recorded in the pedigree. This will naturally 

 lead to a study of the history and performance, which is 

 likely to result in an endeavor to improve the breed along 

 definite lines, and this in turn serves to stimulate an 

 honest pride in the breeder's profession. 



Records of performance. — The main use of the stud 

 book is to preserve a record whereby we may trace the 

 descent of our animals to the purest source, but it tells 

 us nothing of the individual merits of the animals re- 

 corded. If this register could be supplemented by a 

 record of performance, it would be of greater value still. 



