264 
Breeding Horses. 
I admire them ; I feel sure everybody everywhere admires them 
as much as 1 do. It is the breeding of them of which I am 
to write, not of themselves. My observation and experience in 
breeding them induce me to think they are more surely bred, 
more easily sold, at an earlier age, with less trouble and more 
profit, than any other class. They may be bred, too, from mates 
that can do the work of the farm thoroughly Avell. The Cleve- 
land bay, the Scotch gray, and the Clydesdale mare, put to the 
good thorough-bred horse, will all breed capital carriage-horses 
for the London market. If the mares are well selected, and the 
high-stepping action not overlooked, very valuable horses indeed 
may be thus produced. Where this is aimed at, more attention 
must be paid to fine heads and necks than is necessary for cart 
use. Thorough-bred mares breed first-rate horses, put to a good 
cleanly three-parts-bred cart-stallion. The young stock intended 
to come out early, at three years old off, must not be neglected in 
their early keeping ; if they are, force-meat must be had recourse 
to, and then follow the strangles, distemper, roaring, lameness, 
&c., (Sec, which I need not parade before my readers, who are 
in some instances too well acquainted with them, without, 
perhaps, having ascertained the cause. 
Before concluding with draught-horses, I must not omit .to 
mention what appears to me an important guide in selecting 
horses for their different purposes. They all have either to 
draw or carry weight — two distinct purposes. The line of the 
vertebrae indicates to which of these purposes they can work 
with advantage to themselves. If the backbone is arched 
downwards, they cannot carry weight. If it is arched upwards, 
they cannot draw weight. The horse to carry, should have 
the arch upwards ; and the horse to draw, should have the 
arch gently downwards ; in other words, be rather hollow- 
backed. It took me a great deal of time and trouble to dis- 
cern this, and I am anxious to impress it forcibly on my readers. 
I observed that my horses working in harness with low backs were 
in good condition ; and those with high backs, poor. I saw the 
fact, but for a long while could not ascertain the cause. What is 
the cause of this? is a question I put to myself as constantly as I 
observed it. At last the answer came, " The bridge that was so 
strong one way, was equally weak the other." I wish to illustrate 
this more clearly to my readers. The bridge arched upwards, 
will carry almost any weight you can place upon it; turn it 
upside down, and it can carry scarcely any weight at all. If the 
horse has to carry weight, and the backbone is arched upwards, 
it is in the position of the greatest strength ; on the other hand, 
if the horse lias to draw, the forces brought into action will tend 
