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The Theory of the Four Stallions, [march, 



THE THEORY OF THE FOUR STALLIONS.— 



TYPES OF STALLION REQUIRED FOR 

 BREEDING HORSES FOR THE ARMY. 



W. Phillpotts Williams. 



In the number of this Journal issued in August, 1908, an 

 article appeared on Army Remounts, and attention was 

 drawn to the widely different types of horse purchased by 

 Remount Officers. The difficulty which the Remount 

 Department experiences in procuring a sufficient supply of 

 several of these types is well known, and while this is in 

 part due to the fact that too few horses are at present bred 

 in this country, lack of numbers does not explain the whole 

 situation. Every farmer who has gone in for breeding 

 horses suitable for remount purposes knows how speculative 

 the business is. Good specimens of the lighter and smaller 

 horses may be bred with comparative certainty if reasonable 

 care is taken in selecting brood mares, but when both 

 substance and staying powers are aimed at, for each success 

 obtained there are many disappointments. The really good 

 weight-carrying animal when he is bred commands a 

 high price, and is, of course, too good for the Army, 

 but the majority of the horses of this class which 

 farmers are able to offer are third or fourth raters 

 which the Remount Officer will not take. The result 

 is that the Army has great difficulty in finding satisfactory 

 horses, and the breeder is disheartened and very often gives 

 up the attempt to combine pace and substance. 



I am well aware that no single remedy can be found for 

 the present unsatisfactory condition of horse-breeding, and 

 it is not my intention to discuss the whole subject in this 

 paper, but I wish to point out one very obvious reason for 

 the want of success which has hitherto attended this branch 

 of live-stock breeding. 



My view is that we do not possess a sufficient number of 

 types of stallion. At the present time we can command a 

 sufficient supply of one type only, whereas we should have 

 four. Agriculturists have hitherto given nearly all their 

 attention to heavy-legged horses, — Shires, Clydesdales and 



