720 
THE HlSTOllY OF THE HORSE, 
By degrees he could better manage his mash, and ate a little 
hay; and on the 18th was turned out to grass, the muscles of the 
neck and jaw being sufficiently relaxed. The abscess likewise 
very speedily healed. 
THE HISTORY OF THE HORSE : 
BREEDING — HEREDITARY PREDISPOSITION. THE TOO EARLY 
AND TOO LATE PERIODS FOR BREEDING — THE WANT OF 
ATTENTION TO CERTAIN FAULTS IN ONE OR BOTH PARENTS. 
THE FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FOAL—PURE AIR— 
EXERCISE—OCCASIONAL FAULT IN THE MILK OF THE MARE— 
WEANING — PROTEST AGAINST THE TOO EXTENSIVE DETE¬ 
RIORATION OF THE ENGLISH BREED OF HORSES. 
By Mr. G. Baker, Reigate. 
[Concluded from page 595.] 
Having now traced the history of the horse, with the many pe¬ 
culiarities practised b}^ several nations, I shall conclude my subject 
with a few observations on breeding, and instance the remarkable 
circumstance in the history of malformations,—their not unfrequent 
hereditary occurrence in particular cases, and the disposition of cer¬ 
tain animals to produce at the same time, or successively, an off¬ 
spring affected with the same or somewhat similar defects, and this 
disposition not being confined to either sex. 
The importance of attention to the subject of breeding will force 
itself upon the notice of all who are desirous that we should main¬ 
tain the superiority of our national stock. 
It must have been observed in the preceding pages, that wherever 
there was neglect, the breed proportionably deteriorated. The mo¬ 
dern Italian horse is a striking instance of this fact; and we may 
observe, that whenever there was an importation of better blood 
into a country by conquest or otherwise, the national breed was 
sensibly improved. The foreign powers are now on the qui vive, 
all becoming alive to the importance of a subject, of which many 
never thought before. French agents have been actively engaged 
of late in Hungary in the purchase of horses until the government 
was induced to check the exportation. The immense plains bor¬ 
dering on the Theiss, where horses have wandered wild in a state 
of nature, have recently been rented by individuals, with the inten¬ 
tion of turning to profit the best resources they afford. The court 
of Russia is awake to the necessity of attention to the important 
