1817. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
305 
contrary, a change is advisable whenever an animal 
equally as well bred and of superior points can bo ob¬ 
tained; but the selection should always be made from 
a stock which in its general characteristics closely re¬ 
sembles the one which has before been bred from, 
otherwise the change may defeat the object desired, 
by breaking up the tendency of the stock to assimi¬ 
late to a common standard. With breeds that are 
already established, the course advised by Mr. Youatt, 
is undoubtedly the true one, viz:—-that “ the most per¬ 
fect of the same breed should be selected, but varied 
by being frequently taken from different stocks.” 
The mare is capable of breeding at two years old, 
and will generally continue to breed till she is twenty. 
Some individuals of remarkably strong constitutions 
have been known to rear foals at the age of thirty. 
But the best period for breeding may be said to be 
from the fifth to the fifteenth „year. In proportion to 
the strength and vigor of the mare, will generally be 
the value of the foal. She should be supplied with 
abundance of wholesome food during pregnancy and 
while she is suckling. She should not be over-worked 
at any time, but with proper care may perform light 
labor about the farm up to the time of foaling. 
Breeding mares may be kept during winter at little 
expense, provided they are sheltered and fed with 
care. If they are exercised by work every day, they 
will only need a good stall, well littered at night. If 
not worked, they should have a yard attached to their 
stable, or to which they may be taken, where they 
can have air and exercise. They should not run in 
yards with horned cattle, because the cattle are liable 
to gore them. Their food may be hay, or hay and 
straw cut and mixed together with some shorts, or 
two or three quarts of corn and cob meal daily. While 
they are in the yards, they may pick over corn-fodder 
and coarse hay or straw. Potatoes or carrots at the 
rate of a peck per day, will keep the bowels in good 
order, and improve their general health and appear¬ 
ance. If the vegetables are given, the shorts and 
meal may be omitted, though the latter will be prefera¬ 
ble if the mare is worked much. 
It is better that the mares should not foal till they 
go to pasture. They are less liable to accidents when 
running at large, and the grass will generaly give a 
better flow of milk than the food they will receive in 
the stable. A shelter from rain should be provided till 
the weather has become warm. Until the foal is three 
or four weeks old, it is advisable that the mare should 
be used but very little. After that she will bear to be 
put to light and slow draught; but the blood should 
not be heated, as this would affect the quality of the 
milk, and might occasion the foal great injury: 
At the age of four or five months, the foal should be 
taken from the mare and weaned. It will be best to 
put it in some yard or shed where it can neither see 
the dam nor annoy her by its noise. It should be fed 
with sweet grass, or bright clover hay, or rowen, 
with a few oats and potatoes or carrots. This kind of 
food should be continued through the first winter, and 
till the animal can be turned to> grass the next season. 
Nothing is more essential to the proper development 
of the natural characteristics, than liberal feeding, 
(not pampering,) and good care for the first year. It 
is not recommended to give them a large quantity of 
grain-r-that may be too stimulating—but a pint to a 
quart of oats per day, with from half a peck to a peck 
of carrots or potatoes, and as much good hay as they 
will eat during the time they are kept up, will be am¬ 
ply paid for in the growth and condition of the animal. 
During summer they will require nothing but grass. 
After the first winter they will bear rougher usage 
and coarser fare. An open shed, facing to the sun, 
will answer for shelter. They can eat some straw, 
corn-fodder, and inferior hay, while the weather is 
cold and their appetites are sharp; but a daily allow¬ 
ance of vegetables will serve to keep up their growth, 
and may be given to advantage. 
They should be early accustomed to the halter and 
bridle. During the first winter they should be fre¬ 
quently led out, and be taught to go forward and stop 
at the proper word. They should be used with con¬ 
stant kindness—gently patted with the hand about the 
head and neck—their legs handled and their feet lifted. 
Treatment of this sort, commenced when the animal 
is young, will almost insure a docile and tractable 
horse; and where proper attention is paid to his edu¬ 
cation and training, his attachment to man is scarcely 
less than that of the dog. 
The horse may be put to moderate work at four 
years old; but as his frame does not become fully ma¬ 
tured and settled together till he is seven, he should 
not be subjected to constant and hard labor, till he has 
passed that age. It has been repeatedly observed that 
our best and most durable liorses have been very care¬ 
fully used while they were young; and our fast trot¬ 
ters have generally made their best time after they 
were ten years old. A good horse will work till he 
is twenty, provided the driver is at all times duly im¬ 
pressed with the important truth contained in the pro¬ 
verb— a A merciful man is merciful to his beast.” 
The horse is somewhat more subj ect to diseases than 
most of our domestic animals, though it may be safely 
asserted that a large proportion of them arise from 
ill usage. It is not my present purpose, however, to 
speak particularly in regard to this subject, but would 
recommend Mr. Youatt’s excellent work entitled “The 
Horse,” as containing the fullest, plainest, and best 
directions for the treatment of this animal under all 
circumstances. 
In concluding these articles, the writer would with 
great earnestness enjoin upon the breeders of horses, 
the importance of producing the best. The cost of 
rearing horses, which at four years old will bring on 
the average from $100 to $150, is no greater than that 
of rearing those which will only bring half of those 
sums; and in some instances it would not be as much, 
for it is a fact that the .best stocks are the least liable 
to disease and accidents. Breeding poor horses—such 
as have neither strength nor stamina to fit them for 
any useful business, always has been and will be at¬ 
tended with loss ; while those really valuable will afford 
a remunerating profit. Equus. 
The English Hunter.— At the late meeting of 
the Royal Agricultural Society, Sir Henry Smith. 
after having spoken of the' improvements which have 
been made in various descriptions of stock, said—“ But 
let me call your attention to one branch of produce for 
which this county of England [Northampton,] was for¬ 
merly so famed—I mean the English hunter—that class 
of horse for which England was formerly so famed, 
and which, while it carried the fox hunter, was also, 
when exported to a foreign country in time of war, 
well calculated to teach our enemies that a soldier, 
mounted on a hunter, was an enemy not to be resisted. 
Let me, therefore impress upon you, and upon the 
members of this institution, that you ought not to 
lose sight of this valuable class of horses in England. 
I cannot too much, in a military point of view, im¬ 
press upon the members of this society the importance 
of preserving this breed of horses, which are at present 
degenerating in their native land.” 
Trotting Horses for Hunting. —His Majesty 
George Third was much devoted to the sports of the 
chase. It is said that he generally preferred fast trot- 
ing horses, when hunting the stag, or on the road, and 
he mostly left all his courtiers and attendants behind. 
