II 
MANAGEMENT OF THE STALLION 
1. Selection 
To quote Cooley, the chief points looked for in the selection of a breed¬ 
ing stallion are “Pure-breeding of the right blood lines, size, character, 
quality, strong, clean bone, good feet, good action.” Truman desires a 
“good masculine head, plenty of size, good bone, good feet and well-sprung 
pasterns, plenty of height and as close to the ground as possible.” The 
“mare-looking head and neck, poor feet, straight pasterns, little, chunky- 
built fellows,” and individuals that are too fine are objected to. Peters 
places four principal points to be looked for in the stallion, viz: “Sound¬ 
ness, type, pedigree, sureness as a breeder,” while unsoundness, lack of 
masculine appearance, lack of size or type” are matters that should be 
discriminated against. Shaw and Hudson call for an individual “with 
prominent breeding, size, quality,” as well as “masculine, sound, and of 
good draft conformation,” and it is also brought out that if the stallion is 
old enough his record should show that he is a proven sire. “Bad habits, 
unsoundness, inferior breeding and conformation” are considered unde¬ 
sirable points with the stud header. Haxton mentions “type, soundness 
and prepotency” as favorable qualifications, while “unsoundness, faulty 
conformation and disposition” are disliked. According to Reed, “sound¬ 
ness, size with quality, type, and masculinity” are the important points 
to be looked for in the stallion, whereas unsoundness, lack of size, bad 
feet, side bones and deformed hocks are disfavored. McMillan empha¬ 
sizes on “size, character, quality, and soundness,” and, in a general way, 
Fuller speaks of “draft conformation and breeding” as qualifications of 
a stud horse. Fuller objects to poor feet and crooked hocks as well as un¬ 
soundnesses. White gives most weight to the feet and legs in the selec¬ 
tion of the stallion, and “any unsoundness and unevenness in gait” are 
objected to. Edmonds points out “soundness, type, good action” as the 
principal points to consider in the selection, while Henderson states that 
“very good conformation, clean-cut head and neck, good feet and legs,” 
and size, which is governed by the size of mares with which he is to be 
mated, should form the chief guiding points in the process of choosing 
the stud header. “Scale, quality, soundness, breed type, vigor, good con¬ 
formation” are the principal points to be considered, according to Trow¬ 
bridge, while Pallister speaks of “conformation, breed type, and sound¬ 
ness” under the same category. Hanmer takes in “breed type, constitution, 
prepotency, soundness of legs and feet” as important qualifications of the 
stud horse, and Servens says that he should be “sound,” and his size and 
general make-up and breeding” must be approved. Kiddoo makes the 
statement in regard to the selection of the stallion to “always look to 
good, sound, clean-legged” horse of a “rugged constitution.” Peterson de¬ 
scribes the stud horse as one that is characterized by “good bone and feet, 
sound in eyes, wind and limbs”; one that has “lots of weight, and some 
quality, short back, but thick and deep.” The individual that is narrow 
in the breast, of poor feet, bad eyes, long back, bad hocks, and lacking in 
quality, is discriminated against. Dix states that he must be masculine, 
sound, and must be set right on his legs, while Ritchie looks for a sire 
“that has plenty of size and quality and lots of ‘pep,’ clean flat bone, good 
feet, sound and good straight mover.” A stallion that shows with a “dead 
head,” undersized, and of poor underpinning is rejected. Good gives 
credit on masculinity, right conformation, and further states that as 
