THE BREEDING OF HORSES 99 



formed for the purchase of the horse, and the price is usually 

 high, as it must contain many and sometimes questionable ex- 

 penses. The "company plan" of purchasing a stallion is 

 therefore objectionable. It is much better for the farmers 

 interested in horse-breeding to get together and choose one of 

 their own members and send him to the importing stable or 

 horse-breeding firm to purchase the stallion. He will have an 

 opportunity to choose and will get one much cheaper. 



Undoubtedly, any reputable breeder or importer of horses 

 would be glad to send into any district the horse desired by 

 a company of farm-breeders and in close accord with their re- 

 quirements as regards pedigree, character, quality, size, and 

 price. It is equally likely that the same firm would be willing, 

 for a certain consideration in price, to replace the stalHon when 

 he could no longer be used in that particular district. If such 

 a plan were followed persistently, each district so acting would 

 secure much better results than at present. 



SELECTING BREEDING STOCK 



In the selection of breeding stock, we must keep in mind the 

 principle of heredity that "like produces like." This applies 

 to the brood mare as well as to the stallion. Bad qualities in 

 the mare are as likely to appear in the colt as are bad qualities 

 possessed by the stallion. The influence of the mare in the trans- 

 mission of qualities to the foal is often very much underestimated, 

 and frequently ignored entirely by horse-breeders. This can- 

 not be other than a serious mistake, and the farmer who 

 keeps worthless mares for breeding simply because he can- 

 not sell them, will not be able to compete with his neighbor 

 who keeps only the best brood mares, even though they both 

 patronize the same stallion. The mare has as much influence 

 on the colt as has the stallion. Once in a while we may get 

 a very fine colt from an inferior mare, but such is very rarely 



