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MANAGEMENT OF THE STALLION 
2. Unsoundness, Diseases, and Other Defects 
At the Gossard Breeding Estates, such defects as “curby hocks, spavins, 
ringbone, bad low backs and short quarters” are brought out as sufficient 
to bar a stud sire for breeding services. Hine mentions under this sub¬ 
ject, ‘‘stirility, unsoundness of limbs, and venereal diseases,” while Ster- 
icker states that ‘‘windiness, side-bones, spavin, and ringbone” are con¬ 
demned in the breeding sire. Pallister makes this statement: ‘‘The only 
unsoundness I ever have seen transmitted was bog or blood spavin.” 
Hanmer takes in ‘‘bog or jack spavin, ophthalmia, small hoofheads and 
small feet” as enough to bar a stud horse from standing for breeding pur¬ 
poses. According to Edmonds, special attention should particularly be 
given to ‘‘sidebones, bone spavin, bog spavin, ringbone and bad eyes” in 
excluding the breeding sire for breeding work and Truman believes that 
“sidebones, ringbones, spavins and roaring” are enough to disqualify him. 
The Lefebure Sons’ Co. points out “sidebones and defects of hock, wind, 
eyes” as disqualifying factors, while Good condemns the presence of oph¬ 
thalmia, ringbone, sidebones, curby conformation of hocks, and small feet. 
McMillan says that “ring-bone, spavin, curby hocks and bog spavin, bad 
eyes, and, of course, bad defects in conformation” should bar the breeding 
sire from services, while Henderson takes in under the same subject 
“sidebones, ringbones, curb, bone spavin, bog spavin, thick wind, string- 
halt.” Fuller reports on “large sidebones, ringbones, bone spavin, heaves, 
blindness” as disqualifying defects of a breeding stallion, while Peterson 
includes “sidebones, periodic ophthalmia, spavins, boggy hocks” under the 
same head. Holbert bars the breeding stallion affected by any unsound¬ 
nesses or diseases unless these have been caused by some serious accident 
and, similarly, Kiddo speaks of “anything transmissible” as being suffi¬ 
cient to disqualify a sire for stud work. According to Moon, “poor wind, 
poor eyes, poor feet, poor action, and under size” should bar the stallion 
for breeding purposes. Thompson says in regard to this: “Better get 
them sound, healthy and without any glaring defects,” and, similarly, 
Sanborn says “nothing but a perfectly sound, well-developed individual 
would be considered.” At the Cornell University, the same rule holds true 
by barring any unsoundnesses for breeding purposes. 
3. Systems of Breeding 
Of the breeding establishments surveyed, line breeding is reported to be 
the exclusive system followed on the following farms: Gossard Breeding 
Estates, Lakewood Farm, Selma Farm, Longview Stock Farm, Oakdale 
Farm, Lefebure Sons’ Co., Ritchie Stock Farm, Arngibbon Farm, Long- 
wood Farm, Waddington Farm, Thompsondale Farm, Truman’s Pioneer 
Stud Farm, White Oak Stock Farm, Raboin Pioneer Homestead Farm, 
Holbert Farms, and at the Universities of Missouri, Minnesota, Cornell, 
and Purdue. Among those that reported, the only farm where exclusive 
inbreeding is pursued is at the Maple Lawn Farm, and at the University 
of Wisconsin it is -claimed that “only a few cases of inbreeding are prac¬ 
ticed,” and, likewise, at Hayfield Farm inbreeding is said to be followed 
whenever practicable. Both inbreeding and linebreeding are practiced at 
wherever practicable. Both inbreeding and linebreeding are practiced at 
the Woodside Farm, J. H. Serven & Son, Thos. Kiddoo Farm, and at the 
Michigan agricultural college and the University of Illinois. In the latter 
two, however, the animals are more line-bred. At the Pentolia Stock 
Farm line breeding is followed while outcrossing is resorted to with in¬ 
dividuals, neither of which are closely bred. With the exception of one in¬ 
stance of inbreeding, the rule at the Iowa State College is to follow the 
line-breeding system. 
