their  Breeding  and  Management. 
21 
must  first  inquire  as  to  the  chances  of  profit  or  loss ; and  I 
fear,  if  we  take  the  cost  of  the  mare’s  keep  and  the  cost  of 
the  foal’s  maintenance  until  it  is  marketable,  and  take  into 
consideration  the  failures  to  breed,  that  there  is  not  much 
encouragement  to  breeders  of  blood-stock,  and  the  breeding  of 
carthorses  is  a much  more  certain  and  remunerative  business. 
I have  had  some  experience  and  the  opportunity  of  watching 
the  result  of  breeding  from  good  well-bred  hunting  mares,  with 
at  least  three  crosses  of  pure  blood,  and  I must  admit  that  the 
number  of  valuable  horses,  up  to  say  14  stone,  bred  in  this  way 
is  very  limited  over  a considerable  number  of  years.  I attri- 
bute this  failure  to  the  attempt  to  get  size  from  the  sires  used. 
A big  thoroughbred  horse  and  a well-bred  half-bred  mare,  may 
produce  a tall  leggy  horse,  but  seldom  a short-legged  strong  one. 
Some  of  our  best  weight-carriers  have  doubtless  been  first 
cross  from  the  thoroughbred  horse  and  a cart-mare,  and  I con- 
sider that  it  is  indispensable  that  the  mare  should  have  the  size 
and  substance,  and  from  these  sorts  of  mares  it  has  been  found 
that  medium-sized  and  even  small  short-legged  thoroughbred 
horses,  with  good  sound  feet,  good  legs  and  action,  have  proved 
the  most  successful  sires.  We  all  in  Yorkshire  look  back  to 
horses  got  by  “ Old  President,”  “ MacOrville,”  “ Perion,” — all 
small  horses  ; but  they  were  mated  with  what  were  called  Chap- 
man and  Cleveland  mares,  which  did  the  farm- work  in  our 
northern  dales,  and  produced  the  best  hunters  and  carriage- 
horses  of  the  times. 
These  mares  were  got  by  half-bred  sires  out  of  the  cart-mares 
■of  the  country,  the  sires  generally  having  a cross  of  thorough- 
bred blood.  They  were  kept  as  much  as  possible  to  a good 
bay  colour  with  black  legs,  and  the  colts  were  always  saleable 
either  for  hunting  or  harness.  The  fillies  were  kept  on  the 
farms,  and  bred  from  again.  This,  I am  inclined  to  think,  is 
the  only  way  that  horse-breeding  can  pay  the  farmer.  These 
mares  are  now  very  scarce,  and  have  been  almost  all  bought  up 
by  the  foreigners,  who  will  never  pass  a good  strong  bay  mare  if 
they  can  induce  the  owner  to  sell  her.  Hence  the  importation 
of  horses  into  England  bred  from  our  own  mares  and  got  by 
our  own  stallions.  If  when  the  farmer  has  got  a promising 
three-year-old,  he  would  ride  him  after  the  hounds  for  half  a day 
a week  during  the  hunting  season,  he  would  find  that  a more 
healthful  and  profitable  business  than  gadding  about  to  the 
Shows  all  summer-time  (when  he  ought  to  be  at  home  looking 
after  his  business),  learning  to  drink  and  bounce,  and  spending  a 
fiver  to  get  a 50s.  prize,  the  achievement  of  which  triumph  so 
turns  his  head,  that  he  claps  on  such  a price  on  his  prize-taker 
that  no  one  in  their  senses  will  look  at  him.  He  spends  a 
