CHOICE OF A BREED 47 



enough good mares in the world to raise colts 

 from, without using the bad ones. 



The instances I have met with of bad disposi- 

 tion that was clearly the result of inheritance 

 have been numerous. One of them, which seemed 

 to me of special interest, is, I think, worth re- 

 counting. A former neighbor of mine, a carpen- 

 ter by trade, with little knowledge of horses, was 

 seized by a desire to raise a fast horse. For this 

 purpose he bought a black mare, of unknown 

 breeding, but very handsome and rather fast; he 

 bought her for a mere song because she was of a 

 disposition so irritable and treacherous as to ren- 

 der her of little real value. With the judgment 

 to be expected of a man who would buy such an 

 animal for a brood mare, he bred her to a stallion 

 whose disposition was as bad as hers. Thus he 

 had the material for a pretty bad inheritance on 

 both sides. 



The result was a filly remarkably handsome and 

 with promise of some speed. The carpenter and 

 his wife made a great pet of her and for three 

 years she showed no ill temper worth mentioning; 

 there was nothing, in fact, to rouse it. Then she 

 was put out to a " breaker " of the old school to 

 be broken to harness. The breaker, as was 

 learned later, had nothing but trouble with her; 

 trouble, too, of so serious a kind that he acquired 



