HYGIENE OF BEEEDING 885 



ever good in other respects. We hold that it was a very 

 good thing for the race-horses of England that Ormonde 

 was sold out of England, although he was the horse of the 

 century and had proved himself a prepotent foal-getter. 

 He would have been mated with all the best mares in 

 England, and, being unsound of wind himself, must have 

 done incalculable harm to English thoroughbreds by trans- 

 mitting a tendency to this unsoundness, which is, unfor- 

 tunately, already only too common in England ; in fact, 

 he had already proved his prepotency in this respect among 

 the few foals he got before leaving England. 



In addition to the above there are many other unsound- 

 nesses, qualities, and conformations which it is not 

 desirable to reproduce, and which should, in consequence, 

 be avoided in breeding animals. Among heavy cart-horses 

 ' Sidebones ' are of frequent occurrence, and should be care- 

 fully avoided in breeding stock, as they constitute a grave 

 unsoundness in animals which are required for work on 

 hard roads and in the streets ; in fact, in all classes of 

 horses any tendency to unsoundness or weakness in any 

 part of the foot should be rigidly excluded. The old adage 

 ' No foot no horse ' should always be in the breeder's mind, 

 as the best-looking horse in the world without sound, strong 

 feet is quite useless for street work, and consequently will 

 not command a high figure. 



' Shivering ' is another unsoundness of heavy coarse cart- 

 horses which is very liable to be transmitted to the progeny. 

 ' Splints ' are a source of trouble in all classes of horses ; 

 they are nearly always to be found on the limbs of horses 

 which have done much work, and may constitute a most 

 serious unsoundness if they interfere with a joint or tendon. 

 From the breeder's point of view they are of importance if 

 present to a marked extent, as they are usually associated 

 with a bad class of bone, or are particularly found in 

 animals whose limbs are too light for their bodies and are 

 consequently over- weighted. 



'Curb' is an unsoundness which, from the breeder's 

 point of view, is of considerable importance, as this sprain 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



