42 
Half-bred  Horses  for  Field  or  Road: 
if  it  has  been  well  kept,  condition  will  hide  faults,  it  is  un- 
mistakably growing  the  wrong  way  every  day,  and  at  four 
years  old  is  fit  only  for  some  such  job  as  slow  London  night 
work,  which  simply  means  dead  loss  to  the  man  that  bred  him. 
In  addition  to  his  shapelessness,  being  by  a big  horse,  he  is 
pretty  certain  to  be  destitute  of  action,  as  it  very  rarely  happens 
that  a big  horse,  even  if  he  can  move  a bit  himself,  has  the  power 
of  putting  that  bit  into  his  stock.  In  making  this  statement,  I do 
not  wish  to  be  misunderstood,  as  I allude  in  the  main  to  dealing 
with  the  country  mare,  though  I am  bound  to  say,  that  with  the 
thoroughbred  mare  I arrive  pretty  much  at  the  same  conclusion, 
viz.  that  too  big  a horse  is  a mistake.  Of  course,  there  is  the 
glorious  exception  of  “ Stockwell ; ” and  even  in  his  case,  marvel 
as  he  was  with  thoroughbreds,  I do  not  believe,  from  his  great 
size,  and  long  hind-legs  bent  to  a fault,  that  he  would,  as  a rule, 
have  got  a nice  horse  either  for  the  field  or  road  from  the  sort  of 
mare  I am  recommending  to  the  farmer. 
Returning  to  the  farmer’s  mare,  and  taking  the  produce  to  have 
been  a filly,  the  usual  practice  is,  in  order  “ to  save  a year,”  as  it 
is  called,  to  put  it  at  two  or  three  years  old  to  a big  horse,  with 
the  idea  of  expanding  the  mare,  and  that  “size  with  two  crosses 
is  sure  to  hunt,”  and  so  it  may.  But  I can  honestly  say,  if  it 
turn  out  to  be  a safe  and  easy  hack,  without  which  qualifica- 
tion there  can  be  no  chance  of  it  getting  into  the  hands  of  any 
one  who  cares  about  comfort  after  a hard  day  in  the  saddle 
with  hounds,  I have  no  recollection  of  having  seen  a good 
hack  bred  in  this  way,  though  others  may,  as  there  is  no  royal 
road  to  horse-breeding.  For  myself,  however,  I have  no  faith 
in  mixing  the  mongrel  blood  of  the  country  mare  with  that 
of  a lumbering  thoroughbred  horse.  I would  advise  my  friend 
the  tenant-farmer,  in  order  not  to  go  on  further  at  fault,  to  try 
and  put  all  this  unsymmetrical  work  straight,  by  mating  the  old 
mare  and  her  daughter  with  a horse  of  another  cut  altogether, 
viz.  with  short  back,  rather  arched  loins  with  length  under- 
neath, good  bone,  short  fore-legs  set  on  well  in  front  and  on  the 
outside  of  him,  long  sloping  shoulders,  deep  middle,  not  too 
short  a neck,  freedom  from  all  blemish  (particularly  that  of 
curbs,  which  blemish,  I may  here  remark,  is  handed  on  more 
than  any  other  to  which  horseflesh  is  liable,  and  takes  so  much 
off  the  value  of  otherwise  a good-looking  youngster),  with  a 
blood-like  head,  which  is  very  important  when  dealing  with  the 
vulgarity  of  so  many  country  mares  in  this  respect,  and  standing 
not  more  than  15  hands  2 inches,  with  good  width  to  follow, 
and  fair  width  to  meet.  I make  a distinction  in  these  last  two 
requisites  for  this  reason,  that  although  the  chest  of  a horse  is 
his  basis,  which  fact  is  too  often  overlooked  by  breeders  of 
