CHAPTER III 



CHOICE OF A BREED AND PRINCIPLES IN 

 BREEDING 



THE farmer who desires to raise horses for 

 market should first consider carefully and 

 earnestly his choice of the kind of horses 

 he shall raise. Shall it be draft stock, carriage 

 horses, thoroughbreds, or trotters? There is a 

 demand for all. Draft horses are constantly 

 needed ; fine carriage horses were never worth more 

 than they are now, and horses for speed will un- 

 doubtedly be wanted as long as civilization endures 

 and our human nature remains what it is. 



First of all comes the question of fitness of lo- 

 cality. As we have said, horses can be raised suc- 

 cessfully in any place where it is fit to farm at all ; 

 nevertheless, when it comes to the choice of breed, 

 the question of environment cannot be wholly ig- 

 nored. A rough, hilly farm, for instance, where 

 the pasturage is scanty and the animals have to 

 " rustle " more or less for a living, is a very poor 

 place in which to raise heavy draft horses. On 

 the other hand, a rich, level country is especially 

 well suited to such stock, and is equally unsuited 



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