H O 
•when fet again ft the advantages of railing capital ftock, 
which, for a long feries of years, muft command an ade¬ 
quate price. And if vve take into' confideration the uni- 
verfal deftruelion of horfes throughout the whole conti¬ 
nent, occafioned by the prefent moft cruel and difaftrous 
war, (1809,) in Germany and Spain, and that they muft 
be, in part at leaft, recruited from this country, it may 
be very fairly inferred, that at no former period was the 
profpeft of breeding lb inviting as at the prefent moment. 
That confiderable fortunes have been produced to the 
owners by fuch high-bred horfes, will readily occur to 
the reflecting mind. Eleven thoufand guineas was the 
fum offered at Newmarket, by earl Grofvenor, for Ecliple ; 
and afterwards, in London, another offer of fix thoufand, 
was made for the half (hare of him, both of which were 
refufed by O’Kelly5 whole demand for the purchafe of 
his lrorfe was, twenty thoufand pounds down, a well- 
fecured annuity of live hundred for his own life, and 
three brood-mares to be annually covered by him. Match- 
em earned his owner more than twenty thoufand guineas; 
and both Herod and Highflyer produced very large an¬ 
nual incomes to their refpective owners. 
It is, however, lamentable to reflect, with what unac¬ 
countable thoughtleffnefs or difregard thefe generous and 
noble creatures are, at forne feafons of the year, when 
their fervices are leaft wanted, tamed over entirely to the 
management of drunken and carelefs grooms. The fa¬ 
mous ftallion, king Herod, was fo fhamefully neglefted, 
as to be fuffered to lie in his own dung until it baked 
upon him; and he at laft died of an inflammation in the 
flreatli ariling from his filth! Ofmer complained of the 
too general negleft of the feet of ftallions and brood 
mares in his time; and it was fo with Eclipfe, which ce¬ 
lebrated borfe had fcarcely a foot to ftand upon for fome 
years before his death. Another ftallion of prime note 
was fo exhaufted by the avarice of its mafter, that he made 
a premature exit from the fervice, dying in great agonies 
from exceflive covering. The folly on both fides is here 
fuflicientiy obvious; but that of the owner of the mare 
is certainly moft to be marvelled at; for who could ex¬ 
pect any fuccefs from fuffering her to be prefented to a 
horfe already exhaufted by having obliged half a dozen, 
or perhaps half a fcore, females the fame day! 
This branch of the fubjeft being of confequence, and 
frequently involving the prefervation of confiderable pro¬ 
perty, it may be requisite to notice the proper manage¬ 
ment of the covering-ftallion. In the winter, he ought 
to be expofed to the bracing properties of the air, in a 
warm paddock, where he may command fhelter at his 
pleafure; this will alfo preferve his legs and feet. It is 
an erroneous doftrine never to phyfic ftallions, the con¬ 
fequence of which is often premature blindnefs. A ftal¬ 
lion ought to be prepared early in the fpring for the co¬ 
vering feafon, by two or three cooling dofes of the neu¬ 
tral felts. Mild purgatives difembarrafs the animal 
fprings, and promote their utmoft eiafticity; they atte¬ 
nuate the blood, which every ftate of luxury has the in¬ 
variable effect to infpiffate, far beyond the criterion of 
health and vigour. The feet ftiould be conftantly cleaned 
and waftied, and care taken to preferve the proper ftiape 
of the hoof, by preventing a too great increafe of the toe. 
The falutary exercife of good grooming is at no time to 
be neglected; and the ftallion ought to be regularly led 
abroad, to imbibe the exhilarating and invigorating in¬ 
fluence of a varied atmofphere, and on no pretence to be 
kept fucceflive days breathing the noifome effluvia .of the 
fcable. In cafe of debility from over-exertion, mafties of 
boiled rice, decodtion of rice infufed in his drink, or fmnll 
quantities of ground rice mixed in the feeds, will be 
found beneficial. Preternatural heat, coftivenefs, inertia, 
or ffuggifhnefs of the blood, will be belt remedied by 
tvarm pollard mafties, and felined water; nor will gen¬ 
tle evacuants, in fuch cafes, detradl from, but rather add 
to, the conftitutional vigour of the ftallion, by relieving 
nature from the debilitating load of obftruction. 
Vo I.. X. No. 668. 
t 
R S E. 373 
A mare intended for the Important purpofes of breeding, 
whether for whole-blood, half-blood, or draft-horfes, 
ffiould be chofen of fufficient bone and fize, well-faftrioned, 
free from, vice or humour, and pofffefiing as nearly as pof- 
lible her ffiare at leaft of thofe perfections which we hope 
to fee realized in the offspring. It is a very miftaken 
notibn for men to fuppofe, that any cheap, broken-down, 
ill-ffiaped, or greafy-heeled, jade, will anfw.er their expec¬ 
tations in a breeding-fpeculation. The folly and abfurdity 
of this practice is daily before our eyes, without extir¬ 
pating the evil; becaufe the ignorant and thoughtlefs 
imagine, when they purchafe a mare, that, ffiould they be 
deceived iiqlier, they have Itill this advantage, “ that they 
can have her covered, and turned out.” Thus one folly 
begets many; and bad horfes are multiplied upon the 
public, without the fmalleft advantage to the breeder. 
When the ftallion is chofen, and the brood-mares fe- 
leelcd, the ftud ffiould be placed in a dry foil, and in a 
fuitable pafture, proportioned to the number of mares and- 
ftalli >ns intended to be ufcd. This fpot ftiould be divided 
into feveral parts, inclofed with rails or ditches well 
fenced ; in the part where the.pafture is the richeft, the 
mares in foal, and’thofe with colts by their fides, are to 
be kept. Thofe which are not impregnated, or have not 
yet been covered, are to be feparated and kept with the 
fillies in another clofe, where the pafture is lefs rich, that 
they may not grow too fat, which would obftruft the 
progrefs of generation. The young ftone-colts and gel¬ 
dings are-to be kept in the drieft part of the fields, and 
where the ground is moft unequal; that by running over 
the uneven furface they may acquire a freedom in the 
motion of their legs and ffioulders. This clofe, where 
the lfone-colts are kept, muft be very carefully feparated 
from the others, left the young horfes break their bounds, 
and enervate themfelves with the mares. If the trafl be 
fufflciently large to allow of dividing each of thefe clofes 
into two parts, for putting oxen and horfes into them, 
alternately, the pafture will laft much longer than if con¬ 
tinually eaten by horfes; the ox improving the fertility, 
whereas the horfe lefiens it. In each of thefe doles 
ftiould he a pond ; Handing water being better than run¬ 
ning, which often gripes them ; and, if there are any trees 
in the ground, they ffiould be left Handing, their fliade 
being veiy agreeable to the horfes in the hot fummer 
months, and much more conducive to health than their 
flieds or flails, where a free circulation of the air is im¬ 
peded. In thefe paftures the whole ftud ffiould feed 
during the fummer ; but in the winter the mares ffiould 
be kept in the liable artd fed with hay. The colts alfo 
muft be lioufed, and never fuffered to lie abroad in winter, 
except in very fine weather. Stallions that ftand in the 
liable ffiould be fed more with clean wheat ftraw than 
hay ; and moderately exercifed till covering-time, which 
generally lafts from the beginning of April to the end of 
June. But during this feafon they ffiould be plentifully 
fed with the bell of corn. Before the ftailion is brought 
to the mare, he Ihould be dreffed, as that will greatly in¬ 
creafe his ardour. However able a good ftallion may be 
for covering every day during the three months, it is much 
better to let him be led to a mare only every other day; 
his produce will be better, and he himfelf lets exhaufted. 
With regard to brood-mares, the lieat ufually conies on 
in nine days after their delivery; and on that very day 
they ffiould be led to the ftallion to be covered; and, 
nine days after, by the fame experiment, it may be known 
whether they are ftili in heat. If they are, they muft be 
covered a fecond time; and thus fuccelflvely every ninth 
day, while their heat continues: for, when they are im¬ 
pregnated, their defire in a few days ceafes entirely. 
When the mares are'pregnant, they muft be feparated 
from thofe that are not, left they receive any hurt by 
kicking or otherwife. They ufually go eleven months 
and fome days ; and foal Handing, whereas moft other 
quadrupeds lie down. Thofe that cannot foal without 
great difficulty, mult be affifted. The general cultoni is, 
5 C t© 
