1852. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
173 
On Raising Horses.—No. 2. 
I closed my last communication with a promise that this 
one should relate more particularly to breeding. This is 
a subject of great interest and importance—one involving 
many intricate and curious phenomena, and one which 
may be both studied and practiced with profit, by every 
intelligent farmer in the world. But to study it with 
profit, requires constant and long continued observation 
of those subtle phenomena, which often involve such ap¬ 
parent contradictions, as to lead the impatient superficial 
observer to regard the whole matter as either a hidden 
mystery of science, or a blind subject of chance. To 
practice it with profit, requires that confidence in its is¬ 
sues, that determination to succeed, which will insure a 
proper prepation for it, and a deliberate purpose to make 
it a business—not a sole business, but one that will be 
strictly attended to—and pursued with diligence and fore¬ 
thought, with a view not only of advancing science, but 
of increasing wealth. 
And I may here remark, that any person who expects 
to reap the profits from this department of husbandry, 
of which he so often hears and reads, without pursuing it 
in such a spirit, and with such a purpose, will meet with 
decisive disappointment. 
The great error has been, that farmers have always re¬ 
garded the raising of colts a collateral and minor branch 
of business—much on a footing with chicken-hatching and 
bee-swarming—to receive the attention of boys only, dur¬ 
ing odd hours, and to cost but little, first or last. The 
mare must be a cheap or unsaleable one—perhaps crip¬ 
pled. She must go to some neighbor’s two-jmars-old, 
gratis, and do as much work during the year, as the geld¬ 
ing at her side. If the colt is born alive, it must follow 
the dam at her daily toil, and live on what it can get un¬ 
til winter, when it is turned into the yard with the cows, 
and bull, and oxen, to eat straw and stalks until spring; 
and if one or other of its companions above named, does 
not suddenly end its life long before that time, when it is 
four or five years old, its owner may perhaps get for it, 
sixty-five or seventy dollars—i. e., an old buggy waggon, 
a yearling bull, and silver watch. 
Now, certainly, it is no marvel that such persons should 
testify so positively against the profits of breeding hor¬ 
ses. They , of couse, can buy, not only cheaper, but bet¬ 
ter, than they can raise them. But to those who regard 
it more intelligently, as a branch of business requiring 
the same relative care and capital that is required for the 
successful raising of crops, or the making of cheese or 
butter, it will always prove to be an employment as pro¬ 
fitable as it is pleasant and instructive. 
But I am forgetting our excellent author. Of the se¬ 
lection of mares, he says: 
The most practicable, and generally the most profitable 
and satisfactory course to be adopted, for the establish¬ 
ment of a stud of brood mares, is that of purchasing 
good shaped animals, combining the most fashionable blood 
that can be obtained, and which have been already tried 
in the stud, as well as on the turf, or the road. Those 
only, should be admitted, possessing the recommendation 
of sound constitutions,and freedom from hereditary defects 
or blemishes, with good legs and feet—uniting the sour¬ 
ces of those perfections, with the symmetrical propor¬ 
tions of the body, on which is dependent the position of 
the legs, and to a great degree, their quality. 
“ Like begets like,” is a maxim which, although not 
infallible, ought not to be forgotten. It is more fre¬ 
quently applicable to defects than perfections. As it is 
more frequently the case that hereditary imperfections, 
and constitutional defects, are entailed on the offspring, 
than otherwise, too much circumspection cannot be ob¬ 
served in these particulars. 
What defects are constitutional, or hereditary, and 
what are not, our author intimates, can only be deter¬ 
mined by circumstances. As for instance, blindness, or 
roaring or spavin, or curbs, may be owing to accident, 
violence, cataract, malformation of joints, See. &c. In 
the former cases they would not probably prove heredi¬ 
tary—in the latter they sooner or later would. 
As to the age at which mares should be put to breed¬ 
ing, our author says: 
It has often proved the case, both with mares and stal¬ 
lions, that their best foals have not come forth till they 
became advanced in years; this however, more generally 
applies to stallions than mares. I am quite unable to 
state the cause, or even to assume the reason, neither 
have I ever met with any person who could do so satis¬ 
factorily. 
But we are not to infer from this remark, that we are 
advised to select aged mares as breeders, for a little fur¬ 
ther on we are told that, 
To commence breeding with an old worn out creature, 
sixteen or seventeen years old, cannot be sanctioned, the 
object being profit, by breeding fine, vigorous and power¬ 
ful animals. To obtain a good sort of mare, it is far bet¬ 
ter to give a good price for one at six or seven years old, 
than to attempt the speculation with one whose infirmi¬ 
ties render it very problematical, whether her produce 
will be worth rearing. Many breeders, on the other hand, 
appear to covet very young mares, but from the observa¬ 
tions which I have made, I have no reason to recommend 
them. Mares will continue to breed till five and twenty, 
sometimes till they are nearly or quite thirty years old; 
but as they approximate to that age, their produce is 
generally smaller than during the more vigorous term 
of their lives. 
I will close this article with one other extract, which I 
think suggestive and pertinent: 
It is a matter of opinion whether the offspring partakes 
most of the faculties of the sire or dam. They no doubt 
participate in both, though from which they shall derive 
the greater amount of perfections it is difficult to deter¬ 
mine. 
In some instances it may be observed that all the pro¬ 
duce of certain mares partake of her peculiarities, while, 
on the other hand, some mares will throw foals whose 
characteristics follow their sire; and, on some occasions 
peculiarities are traceable to grand-sires, grandams. or 
even more remote kindred. These are subjects which 
demand attention. The breeder who devotes most skill 
in the selection of suitable animals to breed from, will 
assuredly be more successful than one who leaves all to 
chance. 
And now, reader, you perhaps have had patience to 
read the whole of this article. What dees it amount to? 
What does it teach? 
Does it, in the first place, claim for the subject, the dig¬ 
nity of a study, and a business? Does it insist that those 
who pursue it shall employ capital, fore-thought, patient 
observation and an indomitable determination to succeed? 
Does it awaken in you any new energy? Does it convey 
any new truth, or remove any old error? Does it even 
set you a thinking? If so, I am your obliged and hum¬ 
ble servant, B. Syracuse, March 5. 1852. 
The mind is never right but when it is at peace within 
itself, and independent of everything abroad. 
