HORSE-BREEDING

FOR FARMERS

ALFRED E. PEASE

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JOHNA.SEAVERNS

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\AM8ler Family library of Veterinaiy

Cummings School o^ Veterinary MecScmfl

TufiS Univarsity

200 Westboro Road

North Grafton. MA 01536

HORSE-BREEDING

FOR

FARMERS

HORSE-BREEDING

FOR

FARMERS

BY

ALFRED E. PEASE

AUTHOR OF "the CLEVELAND HOUNDS AS A TRENCHER-FED PACK," ETC.

ILontron

M ACM ILL AN AND CO.

AND NEW YORK
1894

Ailrio-hts rcse7i'ed

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGE

Introduction ....... i

CHAPTER II

The Oriental, the English Thoroughbred, and

OTHER Breeds . . . . . . 14

CHAPTER III
Agricultural Horses . . . . . . 34

CHAPTER IV

Vardy, Chapman, Cleveland, and Yorkshire

Bay ........ 50

CHAPTER V I

Heredity. Hackneys, Hunters, Weight-
Carriers ....... 60

VI

HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS

The Mare

CHAPTER VI

PAGE
71

The Sire

CHAPTER Vn

81

The Foal

CHAPTER VHI

90

CHAPTER IX
Mouthing, Breaking-in, Cost of Breeding

99

CHAPTER X

Ailments and Diseases

CONCLUSION . . - .
APPENDIX

116

132
135

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The object of this book is to show the British
farmer who has not yet seriously attempted the
breeding of horses as part of his business that horse-
breeding is a profitable pursuit, that it can be
practised with general benefit to other departments
of the farm, and that it may, if wisely followed, do
much to mitigate the hard lot of the agriculturist,
suffering as he is at present from bad seasons and
low prices. With this end in view the various
breeds of English horses will be considered with
regard to their adaptability to the farm. The manner
in which sires and dams should be mated, the treat-
ment of in-foal mares and foaling mares, the way in
which young stock should be brought to maturity
and marketed, will be amongst the subjects dealt
with, always giving full weight to the requirements
of the farm and to that economy which, in such
times as these, every tenant-farmer is bound to
consider and to practise.

The greater portion of the book was originally
written during a prolonged stayin Algeria in i 892-93,
& B

2 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

and naturally I touched upon some of the lessons to
be learnt from the Arabs amongst whom I was so-
journing. I mention this as an excuse for leaving
unaltered certain passages which may appear to deal
with matters somewhat foreign to the subject in hand.
One of our national faults, due to our insular pre-
judices and to that self-confidence which has never-
theless done so much for our race throughout the
world, has been our slowness to learn lessons from
abroad. We have for so long been the schoolmasters
of Europe in all equine matters, that it is difficult for
us to believe that we can learn anything, or have
anything to fear from the foreigner. But other
countries have been learning from us in a few years
the knowledge we have gained through two centuries
of experimental experience. Other nations have
been taking our best blood to put into practice the
lessons we have taught. Now we are waking up to
find that in some respects the pupils have beaten
their masters, and are able to compete successfully
in many directions with us in the horse markets of
the world, and we are warned that we must look to
our laurels.

It is not too much to say that the French,
Germans, Belgians, Russians, and Hungarians have
already flogged us in the general carriage horse,
omnibus horse, and tram horse trades. Germany
and France have long devoted attention and public
money to the production of superior classes of these
animals, and the great majority of the better bays
and browns for harness work in London and else-
where now come from these countries. Many have
the idea, for instance, that the Frenchman knows

INTRODUCTION

little about horses ; yet I say, without fear of contra-
diction from any one who has had experience of
them, that in some respects their knowledge is
superior to our own. Take, for example, the scientific
aspect of horse-breeding, or veterinary science. In
the latter case the average French veterinaire is a far
neater and far more carefully trained and skilful
operator than his English confrere. Far too often
the English " vet." is a rough man with rough ways,
who presents himself with a few dirty knives or
locally-made instruments in his pockets, and proceeds
with unwashed hands to operate, as if less delicacy
and cleanliness were necessary in the case of a horse
than in that of a human being. Contrast such a
condition of things with that which exists in France
or even in Algeria, where such " vets." as I have seen
were not a bit behind the surgeon in the manner of
dealing with the animal under their charge. Under
such men a cure is more certain and much more
rapid, to say nothing of the alleviation of suffering,
than under the rough and horny-handed man with a
dirty knife. I have often wondered how it is that in
these days, when it is said to be so difficult to find
a profession for young men, this important and
honourable one does not obtain more recruits from
amongst the higher ranks of society. There is no
doubt that in' this country, as abroad, if we had
more highly-trained, clever, and neat practitioners,
they, in many districts, could make a better living
than the average country doctor, besides being an
incalculable influence for good.

It is not part of my purpose to dwell either on
the Arab or the English Thoroughbred, beyond using

4 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

the history of these breeds to illustrate the science of
breeding.

Scientifically speaking, there is no such animal in
existence as a thoroughbred horse. The term is
only relative, and indicates that inbreeding and
interbreeding have been restricted within certain
limits during a number of generations.

The mistaken idea is still prevalent in some
quarters that the " pure " Arab horse is the one
thoroughbred horse, cast in the same mould as
the first created one, retaining the same original
qualities without deterioration or alteration, and the
eternal prototype of the species ; — that as he was in
the beginning, so he is and ever shall be, — or, as
some French writers have described him, the " natural
horse " (cheval de la nature). No, — no one has yet
discovered where the original ancestor of the horse
lived, or what the equine father Adam was like.

The cradle of the species may have been in
Tartary, Siberia, or in America, but certainly not in
Arabia. It is certain that the horse could not live
in Arabia without the attention and care of man.
Perhaps in no country is the horse more dependent
on his owner for water and food. It is indisputable,
however, that the Arab horse is the result of cultiva-
tion of the inferior original type or types through
thousands of years under favourable conditions. No
one can doubt but that the Orientals had brought
the horse to a degree of perfection long before his
history was written. In the time of Mohammed, of
course, he had reached a very high development, and
hence the preference shown by the Prophet to him
above all animals in creation. Ages before, he must

INTRODUCTION

have been a noble animal, possessing beauty, strength,
and quality, as no one can doubt who reads the Book
of Job.

Hast thou given the horse his might ? Hast thou clothed his
neck with the quivering mane ?

Hast thou made him to leap as a locust ? The glory of his
snorting is terrible.

He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength : he
goeth out to meet the armed men.

He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed ; neither turneth
he back from the sword.

The quiver rattleth against him, the flashing spear and
the javelin.

He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage ; neither
believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.

As oft as the trumpet sotmdeth he saith Aha ! And he
smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and
the shouting. Job xxxix. 19-25.

From a practical point of view, the Arab may be
regarded as the one pure race in the world, having
become saturated with his peculiar and superior
qualities by centuries of inbreeding under careful
selection. The impressiveness of the Arab sire is
due (and this is mentioned in order to guide those
who desire to maintain or cultivate other " pure
breeds ") to —

(i) The jealous care bestowed in selection and
mating during hundreds of generations.

(2) The conditions of his life and habits — bred for

one trade, namely, to be the war-horse of the
desert, he must have strength, pace, endurance.

(3) The purity of the air and climate, as well

as the wonderful pasture of the Euphrates
valley, which assisted in no small degree his
development. We find that even in some

6 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

minor details the Arabs of to-day may teach
us something, and that the Arab horse, if
inferior in size and pace, has other quaHties
in which, for cavalry purposes at least, he is
superior to our own. Our horses would be
better if they had more of the endurance, the
hardihood, and the wear-and-tear qualities of
these wiry " drinkers of the air." A French
cavalry, Arab, or Barb horse will carry above
24 stones on a military expedition, counting
his rider, accoutrements, arms, and five days'
provisions ; and is required to do it equally
under a hot sun in the sand of the desert, or
on rocky ground amongst the snow-clad
mountains.^

1 The following is a table given by General E. Daumas as to the
regulation allowance of weight carried by an Algerian trooper. I give
it as it stands, an order, given by Colonel Duringer, on the departure
of a column.

POIDS PORTE PAR LE ChEVAL d'UN ChASSEUR d'AfRIQUE

PARTANT EN EXPEDITION.

(Weight carried by the horse of a Chasseur d'Afrique departing on service.)

(Trooper) Cavalier armd et en tenue .
(Accoutrements) Harnachement avec le

pistolet
(Bread) Pain pour 2 jours
(Biscuit) Biscuit pour 3 jours
(Coffee) Cafe pour 5 jours
(Sugar) Sucre pour 5 jours
(Bacon) Lard pour 5 jours
(Rice) Riz pour 5 jours
(Salt)Sel
(Forage) Fourage roule pour 5 jours
(Barley) Orge pour 5 jours
(Cartridges) Trois pacquets de car

touches
(Shoes) Quatre fers

Kilogr.

(i kilogr.

= 2.046 lbs.)

82

Hectogr. D^cagr.

(3.527 oz.) (.353 oz.)

o 0

24
• I

I
0
0

0 0

5 0

6 5
6 0
6 0

25

159 6 3 = about 352 lbs.

This weight is 19 kilos, more than a carabineer's horse and 26 more
than a cuirassier's horse carries in France.

INTRODUCTION

(4) The high place always accorded him in re-
ligious writings and by religious teachers
amongst the Mohammedan peoples.

Before I formally enter on my subject, I would
commence by expressing a hope that my readers
may experience the blessings Mohammed has pro-
mised to all lovers of horse-flesh in the following
description of the creation of the horse, taken from
the Prophet's Conversations : —

And God said unto the south wind, " I will bring out
from thee a creature. Be thou condensed." And the wind
was condensed. Then came the Angel Gabriel and took a
handful of this material and brought it before God, who formed
therewith a horse — bay, with black points. And the Lord
cried, " I have called thee a horse (' frass,' signifying pride).
I have made thee Arabian, and given thee the colour of
bay. I have given happiness to the hairs that fall between
thine eyes ; thou shalt be blessed above all other animals ; men
shall follow thee wheresoever thou goest. Fitted for pursuit,
as for flight, thou fliest without wings. On thy back licth
weatth, a?id through thee riches are i7icreased.^^ And the Lord
placed upon his forehead a star for a sign of glory and
happiness.

It is scarcely necessary to warn any one so taught
by hard experience as the farmer that success in an}-
undertaking on the land depends on personal atten-
tion, care, and thought. The man who would breed
horses with satisfaction and profit must take as much
trouble and expend as much time as in any other
branch of agriculture ; and though those who are
ready to do this may no doubt suffer vexations,
disappointments, and make mistakes such as attach
to all human efforts, yet they will derive a greater
interest and a greater profit in the raising of horses

HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS

CHAP.

than in any other branch of stock-rearing, if they
pursue it with intelHgence, care, and perseverance.

If we consult the returns of the Board of Agri-
culture, it will be seen that each year shows a
tendency towards increase in the number of horses
imported to this country. Thousands of good
serviceable foreign horses are sold in England
annually. An idea of the number thus sold will
be gained from the following figures : —

No, of horses
imported.

1841 339

1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1892

3,443
1,595
3,448
9,950
21,715
21,026

The great majority of carriage horses to-day are
foreigners, nearly all the omnibus and tram horses
are from abroad, and many hundreds of trappers,
vanners, cart horses, trolly horses, cab horses, etc., are
brought from the Continent to supply the enormous
and ever-increasing demand in our large towns and
great centres of industry. Even the Queen's stables
are full of horses from Oldenburg and other horse-
breeding districts of Germany and Prussia, and the
majority of the high-priced horses seen in the London
season in the carriages in Hyde Park are foreign
importations. Is it not time to put the question —
How is it that we leave it to the Frenchman, the
German, the American, the Belgian, and the Dutch-
man to supply our Queen, our nobility and gentry,
our brewers, millers, tradesmen, and the millions who

INTRODUCTION

travel by tram and omnibus, with horses for their
work ? Why should all these hundreds of thousands
of pounds go into the pockets of the foreign breeder
and importer? Are not our pastures, is not our
climate, are not our native breeds, more suitable ?
and have we not the best markets at our door ?
These last questions are answered for us by the
foreigner, who breeds to sell here, and buys from us
the foundation to improve and recuperate his native
stock. Who is to find the remedy for this condition
of things ? Surely the British farmer. And it is no
unkindness to tell him that he ought to be ashamed
of himself for not attempting to secure a share of the
piles of gold that are being held out at home and
abroad to be exchanged for good, sound, serviceable
horses, fitted for every trade.

I can picture a reader saying, " But we do export
great numbers of horses." Yes, we do ; but look
once again at the returns of the Board of Agricul-
ture, and it will be seen how few we sell abroad in
comparison to those we buy abroad, and how great
is the difference in their average values.

No. of horses

exported.

1841 4,538

1851

1,526

1861

2,960

1871

7,172

1881

6,108

1891

1 1,238

1892

11,232

The value of the horses imported in 1892 was
^425,336, or i^20 : 4 : lO per head; and of those
exported, ;^563,097 : 12s., or ^^50 : 2 : 8 per head.

lo HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

And what are the horses we send away all over the
world ? Stallions and mares form an enormous
proportion. In 1892 there were 872 stallions
exported; in 1891, 1103; in 1890, 2308. In
1892, 3015 mares were exported; in 1891,
3436; in 1890, 4156. Of the 21,026 horses
imported in 1892, 17,147 were geldings. What
does this mean ? Nothing else but that we are sell-
ing the picked sires and mares of our best breeds
to supply the foreigner with the necessary and in-
dispensable material to produce the article he sells
in the British market. What are the horses we
import from Normandy, Hanover, Mecklenburg,
Oldenburg, and even from America ? They are the
horses got by exported English sires or out of
exported English dams. The American carriage
horses are the best — the result of great and long-
continued importations of English blood into the
States. The Oldenburg horses that draw the
Queen's carriages are of the Yorkshire bay or Cleve-
land type bred in Germany. So, examine the
problem how we will, we are driven to the humiliat-
ing confession that we have allowed the foreigner to
do to our loss what we could have done to our
profit, and that which could be done more easily and
successfully at home.

One of the curious things that strike the
inquirer into this subject is that in certain parts of
the United Kingdom the farmer is a horse-breeder,
and in other parts naturally more favoured and
nearer the markets, he seems to know and care little
about it. Ireland contains perhaps the best horse-
breeding districts ; and high-priced, well-bred young

INTRODUCTION ii

Irish carriage horses and hunters are bred by small
farmers who would be poor men but for this source
of income. Why is the average Irish half-bred or
hunter superior to the English half-bred or hunter ?
In my judgment it is the sense, knowledge, and
appreciation of the breeder rather than anything in
soil or climate that gives the Irish horse his well-
deserved name for substance, quality, and hardihood.
The Irish breeder knows that there is no more
valuable animal than a strong, well-bred horse, and
he sets himself to produce one full of activity,
quality, and strength. By avoiding hairy -legged
mares, and by using the best sires he can obtain, he
succeeds in turning out the best and hardiest carriage
horses and hunters. I regard the average superiority
of Irish half-breds over English as being due to
their keeping clear of cart blood.

Many English farmers make the mistake of
thinking that they can breed good half-breds off
cart mares. Here and there there may be a high-
couraged cart mare with quality that may breed a
useful half-bred, but cart mares had far better be
kept for the propagation of their own kind. I have
little hesitation in saying that 80 per cent of
English weight-carriers are bred this wa}^ ; and a
more ugly, unsatisfactory, dangerous, slovenly, faint-
hearted animal than the average English weight-
carrier it is hard to imagine ; and for real wear-and-
tear harness work the carting strain is equally bad.
Such horses not only soon work out their legs and
lives in fast work on hard roads, but wear out their
drivers' whipcord arid temper into the bargain.

The Irish and American carriage horses, free

12 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

from all cross of cart blood, can do more work, do it
faster, do it more cheerfully and courageously, and
will wear far longer than the carriage horse which
has that cross of cart blood which, if even two
generations back, will show itself in gradual loss of
courage, in fast work, and general want of bottom
and wearing qualities. Whilst the Irish and
Americans can beat us with the average half-bred,
there is nothing to compare with the Yorkshire bay
horse and the best Yorkshire hackneys ; indeed the
most praiseworthy examples of horse-breeding are
probably in Yorkshire, Cumberland, and Durham.
But when these counties, with the addition of
Northumberland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire,
Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Devonshire,
have been mentioned, you have almost exhausted the
real horse-breeding counties. And yet there are
grass counties far exceeding in their proportion of
grass to arable some of those I have mentioned, such
as Cheshire, Wiltshire, and the Midlands generally,
where very little is done by the ordinary farmer to
take advantage of the natural facilities he has.

Even in the north, in those districts where horse-
breeding is general, there are so much carelessness, so
much want of thought, so much happy-go-lucky sort
of breeding, so much undersized rubbish, and so
many unsound horses reared, which, with just a little
more forethought, might have been valuable, that
even the north-countryman has something to do if
he desires to encourage and partake of a profitable
trade in horses. You will find in the best districts
some men who do not breed at all, others who
breed rubbish from valuable mares, others still who

INTRODUCTION

13

breed and rear good foals, but by mismanagement
and bad breaking send them away at unprofitable
prices ; all of whom yet continue, year after year,
turning out useless, undersized, and unclassed brutes
from mere habit. It is preferable even to see this
than the custom of not attempting horse-breeding at
all. How many farmers use the first horse that
passes their gates ! And when a foal has somehow
or other been got, they practically leave it to shift
for itself, and you may see the unfortunate little
animal wandering in a bare pasture, in a tight,
staring' skin, and as it grows older but not much
bigger, huddled in with anything else into some foul
and unventilated outhouse, out of which it emerges
after its first winter in a half-starved condition, and
is then left for a couple of years more to lead a dirty,
neglected, half-fed existence. Yet some of these
turn out remunerative enough to encourage the
breeder (but no true lover of horses) to " chance
t' awd mear " again and to let " t' faul tak its chance "
after.

CHAPTER II

THE ORIENTAL, ENGLISH THOROUGHBRED, AND
OTHER BREEDS

The following is a brief survey of certain foreign
breeds of horses that have influenced British breeds
in the past, or might be advantageously used to
improve certain classes of horses at home.

The Arab and Barb

The influence of the Arab in our country can
never be calculated. Centuries ago he was intro-
duced, with the result that most of our native breeds
were entirely transformed. If any of the pedigrees
of the most noted sires of the past amongst our
lighter breeds, such as the founders of the hackney
or coach horse, are examined, we find, as far as
pedigree is recorded, the undeniable existence of
Arab or Oriental blood. It was this cross which
remained recorded, the owners of such sires dwelling
on the existence of the blood cross as specially
recommending the sires they owned. Take, for
example, the breeding of the Original Shales or
Marshland Shales in the hackney breed, and it will
readily be seen how much Oriental blood there is in

CHAP. II

ORIENTAL BREEDS

15

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II ORIENTAL BREEDS 17

the veins of the Norfolk hackney. Could we know
the history of their breeding farther back, it is not
too much to suppose that there were other foreign
crosses ; but here at least we have the fact that
Blaze, the sire of (Original) Shales, was seven-eighths
Oriental in blood, and that Flying Childers, the sire
of Blaze, was practically purely Oriental in origin.

The cultivation through ages of the pure Arab
gave him an impressive power that no other breed
has yet attained to, nor ever can till it has gone
through ages of similar cultivation and judicious
inbreeding.

It is not too much to say that almost every
distinguishing characteristic of beauty, endurance,
and speed in every horse in Europe is due to the
Arab blood. Studied historically, the Arab is the
purest and most potential horse; considered physically
and scientifically, the best balanced and proportioned
horse ; tried by experience, the most enduring and
companionable of man's equine friends ; judged by
his intelligence, the most sagacious and docile.
Why, then, is he not more used in England ? Partly
because we have him and his qualities engrafted to
an enormous extent in all our best breeds ; partly
because we do not know him as we ought to ; partly
because we prefer great pace over a short distance
to a fair pace over a long one ; partly because we
prefer quantity and size to quality and symmetry.
The Arab certainly cannot approach his English
" thoroughbred " descendant in respect of speed over
a short distance ; no one would be foolish enough to
think that he could. The English racehorse is in
the main an Arab, with but one of his superior

C

iS HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

qualities, that of speed, developed to the utmost.
For small horses Arabs may be by no means con-
temptible racers. Not long ago an Arab on the
racecourse at Calcutta covered two miles, carrying
9 stone, in 3 mins. 45 sees. In the race for the
Bengal Cup between the two Arabs, Crab and
Orranmore, these two horses ran five two -mile
heats, carrying 8 stone 7 lbs. The third heat was
run in 3 mins. 56 sees. A century ago, stamina
and pace were sought after — not stamina over five
furlongs, a mile, or even two miles — but the capacity
to race several four- mile heats in a single day.
This quality, more valuable to man and the future
of the half-bred horses of the world, has gradually
been sacrificed to mere speed ; and there are more
improbable things than that the day may come
when once more the pure Arab will again be
brought into requisition to replenish the failing
stock of stamina and soundness.' Major-General
Tweedie, C.S.I., however, in his great work, The
Arabian Horse, published in 1894, after impartially
examining the question of the adaptability of
Oriental blood for the improvement of English
breeds, unreservedly puts it to one side.

The Arab has long since reached the perfection
required for the trade for which he is intended. His
intelligence, docility, and courage, as well as his
physical conformation, have been developed to the
utmost in order to fit him for the companionship of
the warrior of the desert. He possesses resistance,
endurance, strength, with the greatest speed con-
sistent with these qualities ; and his structure, the
result of ages of practical attention, can be demon-

II ORIENTAL BREEDS

19

strated scientifically to be a perfect machine of
power, pace, and endurance. His hind-quarters are
full of propelling power and activity, his forehand
is built for reaching over the ground, and the two
ends are knit together by a wonderful back and
loins ; all the levers of the skeleton are adapted
in such a manner as to make his construction the
acme of mechanical power ; the thighs are long,
narrow, and closely placed ; the top of the
quarter is almost level, and the tail is elegantly
carried ; the shoulders are long and sloping ;
the withers high, with neck set on prettily ; the
chest is deep behind the arms, and runs right
back under the shorter but well-sprung ribs ; the
head is very fine, having a wide square forehead, and
a full large eye which shines with intelligence and
mettle ; the lips are thin and small, the nostrils
wide, large, and finely chiselled ; the ears are
long, finely cut, active, and turn in at the points a
trifle ; the breathing apparatus is well fitted for
such a creature, for he has an immense thorax, great
lung space, a large larynx and trachea placed between
jaws which give plenty of room for inspiration and
expiration ; his height varies from 14.2 to 15.2.

The Barb is an offshoot, and at present a some-
what deteriorated and enfeebled one, of the Arabian
family. In a large degree he partakes of the Arab
character, and is probably a mixed descendant of
the Arab horses (which entered North Africa since
the first Arab conquest under Sidi Okba) and of
the pre-existing native Berber breeds, these in their
turn, no doubt, having the blood of Phoenician, Punic,
and Roman horses in their veins. Here and there a

20 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

symmetrical and valuable Barb may be found, but as a
race the Barb is at this moment inferior to the Arab.
His forehand is often excellent, his hind-quarters
generally defective, but he possesses the qualities of
great endurance and vitality, of hard limbs and
sound constitution. The Barb in other times was
a much superior horse, and played an important part
in this country, no less than forty-six Barbs having
been imported and used as racing sires since the
time of James I., including such horses as the
Lowther White - legged Barb, the Taffolet Barb,
Massey's Black Barb, Burton Barb, and Croft's
Bay Barb — whose blood runs in some of the best
English Thoroughbreds of the day.

The Godolphin Arabian is by many of the best
authorities believed to have been a Barb ; but as Mr.
Joseph Osborne (" Beacon ") says : " Granting that
he was either (Arabian or Barb), there is no means of
determining whether he was of pure breed or high
caste beyond his extraordinary influence on the stud,
which has never been surpassed. He therefore
forms a remarkable example of the difficulty of
ascribing this new equine development to any
particular source."

The term Barb covers a wide field. There are
in Northern Africa at least three groups of the Barb
which have distinct characteristics : —

(i) The Saharian. A small horse, well pro-
portioned, nicely sprung ribs with a deep
wide chest, long sloping shoulder, and
' good crupper with the tail well set ; big
long thighs, long muscular forearm, strong
clean tendons standing out from the bone,

II THE ENGLISH THOROUGHBRED 21

small feet, the neck properly set, neat head,
square muzzle, strong throat, and sharp-cut
jaws.

(2) The Common Barb. Inferior in quality,

drooping quarters, long head and ears, but
often reaching 15 to 15.2, and even 16
hands in height.

(3) The Tunisian are big Barbs, well covered with

muscle, possessing arched necks, with big long
heads, carrying more flesh and showing less
quality than the two former classes. Owing
to the attempts of the French Government in
Algeria to improve the size, appearance, and
quality of the Barb by placing English and
Ancrlo-Arab stallions at the free service of
the natives and all others, it will soon be
difficult to know whether the native horses
are pure Barbs or not. There are many
who fear that the qualities of wear and
tear and endurance on scant nourishment
in a trying climate, are now being sacrificed
to quality and appearance.

TJie TJioroiigJibred

The history of the origin of the English
Thoroughbred would be foreign to the object of
this book, and yet no work on horse-breeding, how-
ever unpretending, can pass altogether unnoticed
the race that has given its value to most of our
lighter breeds, and which is by far the surest source
to go to for renovation and improvement. Let
those who wish, learn, as far as it can be learnt,

22 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

from such authorities as Joseph Osborne, Count
Lehndorff, Frenzel, Goos, and others, whose experi-
ence and research have given to the world all the
information and data that we are ever likely to
possess as to the origin of the Thoroughbred and
whence he has acquired his impressive powers. A
study of the facts and all the probabilities and possi-
bilities that these works set forth, will entitle the
student to have his own opinion on the subject
with the best authorities. There seem to be certain
points, however, which are established beyond doubt,
and these, may be briefly noticed.

The English climate, soil, and pastures are
favourable to the development of the equine species.
English horses, even from the time of Caesar, have
attracted notice. Horse-racing was in vogue during
the Roman occupation of these islands, and Arab
sires were introduced by the Emperor Severus. In
the reign of King John a large number of Eastern
sires were imported. Henry VHI. did much to
restore the breed of horses, and also used Eastern
blood. James I. encouraged racing, and there were
imported during his reign, amongst many foreign
stallions, eleven Neapolitan " coursers " and a large
number of Eastern sires, including the Markham
Arabian. The many famous breeds imported at
various times from Europe, such as the Andalusian
and Neapolitan stallions, were no doubt largely
Eastern in origin. Under Charles I. the Eastern
blood continued to come in, including the Helmsley
Turk. Under Cromwell some more Eastern stallions
came into the country, including the White Turk,
introduced by the Lord Protector. After the

II THE ENGLISH THOROUGHBRED 23

Restoration, the period commences to which the
Thoroughbred is traced. Charles II. imported not
only sires but a number of mares, Arab, Barb, and
Turk, which went by the name of Royal Mares.

From this time onward for a considerable period
there was so great an importation of Eastern blood,
that writers at a later period described the origin of
the English Thoroughbred as entirely Oriental and
as dating from this era.

Under James II. the Lister Turk, and in the
reign of William and Mary the Byerly Turk, the
Selaby Turk, the Harpur Arabian, the Akaster Turk,
and the Honeywood Arabian, left their inefface-
able marks on the breed of racehorses. Under
Queen Anne the Darley Arabian arrived in York-
shire ; the Leedes Arabian and 7 other Arabians,
8 Barbs, and 6 Turks are known to have been
brought over in 1728. The Godolphin Barb, known
as the Godolphin Arabian, was imported from Paris,
being the most celebrated Eastern sire ever intro-
duced into this island.

From this outline it will be gathered that Eastern
and foreign blood played a great part in the produc-
tion of the English Thoroughbred, and that the
admixture had gone on through centuries previous
to James I. There appear in the General Stud
Book the names of 90 Arab, 46 Barb, 32 Turk, 4
Persian, and 2 " foreign " stallions from the time of
James I.

But when all has been said that can be said of
the Eastern blood, there remains a great quantity of
" native " blood in the English Thoroughbred, the
origin of which can never be traced, and which must

24 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

have been of a very composite character. Frenzel,
in his laborious work, traced every existing Thorough-
bred mare to her original ancestress, as recorded in
the General Stud Book, and we are able from his
work to make the following certain deductions : —

That in 1886 there were 4605 Thoroughbred
mares in England, and that these were descended
from 97 original ancestresses.

That only 14 of these 97 were of pure Eastern
blood.

That of these 14, the families descended from 7
were of no importance at the stud or as racers,
though one of them is the maternal ancestress of one
of the best racing families. That there are left 83
original mares whose origin is unknown.

That the original quantity of unknown blood
must remain so, and consequently it can never be
ascertained how much of the superiority of the
English Thoroughbred is due to Eastern blood
and how much to native blood. In other countries
with greater facilities for obtaining the highest-caste
Eastern sires, and where the experiment of develop-
ing Oriental blood by every kind of method and
over long periods has been tried, the attempt has
hitherto entirely failed in producing anything like
an equal to the English Thoroughbred. Hence it
would appear probable that the English Thorough-
bred owes much to native blood.

That nearly all the most remarkable Thorough-
bred sires and winners are to be found amongst the
descendants of 3 out of these 97 mares. Three
families out of 97 stand out as the most remark-
able : — Family 4 contains both the True Blues,

II THE ENGLISH THOROUGHBRED 25

Buzzard, Chateau Margeaux, Glaucus Lannercost,
Pyrrhus the First, Soothsayer, Sir Peter, Stockwell,
Flying Dutchman, Velocipede, Master Henry, etc.
Family 5 contains Ancaster Starling, Camillus
Catton, Grey Momus, Don John, Lord Clifden, Pheno-
menon, Rustic, Rubens, Selim, Sir Hercules, Volti-
geur, etc. Family i i contains Goldfinder, Spectator,
Whisky, Waterloo, Whalebone, Glencoe, Melbourne,
Partisan, Bay Middleton, Morel, Cobweb, Lord
Lyon, etc.

That all animals of especial excellence are more
or less inbred, but that the closeness of this relation-
ship to the common ancestor has its limits, and that
the greatest possibility of breeding successfully lies
in the fact of sire and dam being four, five, or six
degrees removed from their common ancestors {cf.
Count Lehndorff).

Beyond these facts it is .reasonable to suppose
that the climate, soil, herbage, and water of this
country have aided man in his conscious and un-
conscious efforts to improve and perfect the race-
horse. That the prepotency, or power of transmitting
its qualities, inherent in the English Thoroughbred
is due to (i) the amount of Eastern blood, the most
potent because the bluest and purest in the world, in
his veins ; (2) the careful inbreeding and selection
practised since the inauguration of the Stud Book.

" In breeds of high race, quality, and antiquity,
it is the influence of blood which is the very founda-
tion and principle of the preservation of the breed.
It is the quality which struggles incessantly against
any alteration in the type or any deterioration in the
structure.

26 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

"In common breeds, their origm (being plebeian,
low, mixed, or unknown) is the source of their
imperfections and vices. This origin has a tendency
to oppose all other influences, including those of soil,
climate, and food, and can only be counteracted or
its power minimised by a constant weeding out of
bad animals, or by introducing the more potent
blood of a higher and purer caste " {vide the works
of Messieurs Moll and Guyot).

Racing and love of a good horse gave us the
foundation. The Stud Book has for a century
recorded pedigree, and the Racing Calendar per-
formance ; and whatever the earliest horse was like,
it is man that has said, I will have a racehorse,
a war horse, a hack, a hunter, a coach horse, a
carriage horse, a draught horse, and has proved that
it is the " horseman makes the horse."

In other days the Thoroughbred could be de-
pended on more than at present to transmit sound-
ness and stamina to his half-bred descendants as
well as quality ; for the racehorse was then required
to run long races and repeated heats under heavy
weights. He had to be a horse of great power and
mature age to support the test, and to this end the
Arab blood was called in. Now stamina, soundness,
and strength are sacrificed to speed over short
distances, and abnormal maturity — with the conse-
quence that the Thoroughbred no longer maintains
its reputation for stoutness and soundness ; and the
user of the blood for getting half-bred stock must
carefully select his sires.^ The Hunters' Improvc-

1 " There is little doubt the English racehorse of the present day is
far more remarkable for speed than for stamina. ... It may well be,

II THE ENGLISH THOROUGHBRED 27

ment Society and the Royal Commission on Horse-
breeding have none too soon come to the aid of the
half-bred by helping the breeder to select sound and
stout horses.

The remedy for the deterioration in the Thorough-
bred is in the hands of the Jockey Club and the
public. The old qualities have not yet been de-
stroyed, and the Thoroughbred still retains within
itself the power to regain its old reputation, though
there are great authorities who consider that it may
be necessary to have recourse to Arab blood to
restore stoutness and soundness.

The Anglo- Arabian

The Anglo-Arabian is a Continental breed that
deserves some attention from British breeders.

The creation of this breed was the result of
an endeavour to obtain the advantages of English
Thoroughbred blood, combined with additional
stamina and wear-and-tear qualities, in order to have
a source to which the inferior races on the Continent
could go for improvement. Foreign breeders recognised

therefore, that the introduction of new strains from the old sources
would strengthen the failing quality if only the proper source»could be
hit upon and properly and perseveringly applied " {vide J. Osborne,
p. xli).

' ' My own view ... is that the English Thoroughbred has pal-
pably degenerated in stamina from several distinct causes. Prominent
amongst these (independently of the haphazard manner they are now
bred) is that which has had direct effect upon their action and upon
their lungs, and by the undue increase of sprint racing and the style
of training for it. The 'jumping off' tactics, which have come to be
considered as an important item in the training curriculum of a two-
year-old, have in my belief had a disastrous effect upon the action of
our modern racehorses," etc. {ibid. p. Ixxviii).

28 IIORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

the enormous influence and power of English blood ;
they saw that this was due to the General Stud Book
and the Racing Calendar — the two peerages of English
horse-breeding, one recording purity of lineage and
the other measuring its worth and power. But they
observed that the modern policy of promoting pace
at the expense of the other advantages that purity
of blood can give, has deprived the English Thorough-
bred of a large measure of its use. They, therefore,
endeavoured to restore it, and, I think, have suc-
ceeded to a large extent in forming a thoroughbred
race. which has much of the potential influence of the
best type of Thoroughbred without its defects in
reference to general utility: The Anglo-Arab is full
of courage and strength, is hardier than the English
Thoroughbred, and more fully developed than the
Arab. Less docile than the Arab, he is less fastidious
and has fewer needs than the English Thoroughbred,
and thrives on inferior nourishment. Probably more
time is required than has yet expired for a new
breed to produce the stallion that can be absolutely
counted on to stamp his stock.

At Pompadour, in France, two stallions were,
however, produced in the second generation, which
being bred into fixed the stamp of the Anglo-Arab.

The process by which the breed was originally
created was as under : —

1st Generation — Produce

English stallion . . . '2 English 50^

Arab mare . . . . • \ Arab 50 j

2nd Generation-
English stallion . . . . ^ English 75")
Anglo-Arab mare . . . . | Arab 25/

II OTHER BREEDS 29

3rd Generation — Produce

Anglo- Arab stallion, | English, | Arab, | English 75^
Anglo- Arab mare, | English, ^ Arab, ^ Arab 25 J

4th Generation —
Anglo-Arab mare, f English, ^ Arab, Arab 62.50)^
Arab stallion (French bred) Arab, English 37.50J

A bitter war waged between those who wished
to have a breed of racehorses equal to the EngHsh
and those who wished to have one dependable for
general utility ; and in the fight between the Turf and
general requirements the Anglo-Arab went to the
wall, the policy of the French Jockey Club, initiated
in 1852, almost exterminating him. Since 1874
there have been attempts to re-start the Anglo-Arab,
and some sires are now to be seen that have done
much towards improving native breeds and producing
fine cavalry horses.

The Anglo-Norman

The French and Germans having beaten us in
the harness-horse business, it may be instructive to
see how they have done it. Normandy had two
native breeds of horses renowned in their day, the
Merlerault and the Cotentin, the first a coach horse,
the second a saddle horse. They were crossed in
the last century, at first with half-bred English sires
more or less well bred. Later, English Thorough-
bred blood was introduced ; and in modern times
French Thoroughbred blood from Pin and stallions
of the new breed have been extensively used.

The most noted of the half-bred English sires

30 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

introduced in the last century were Glorious, Badin,
Lancaster, Warwick, Somerset, and Doctor. In
1790 the breeding harras were suppressed, and
during the First Empire England was closed, with
the result that all sorts of sires were used with dis-
astrous effect; but after 1830 English blood was
poured into the Normandy breeds. At that period
the Norman was an ugly beast. " In truth," says a
French writer, " he was a horrible brute, and long is
the list of shameful epithets fastened to his name.
And as with his moral, so with his physical con-
dition, one had no longer a horse but a pig to do
with."

From 1850 English blood has been properly and
carefully administered with the very best results,
though at one period (i860) substance was sacri-
ficed too much to activity and lightness. The
English blood introduced to improve this breed in-
cludes Thoroughbred, Cleveland, and Hackney.

Merlerault — Cotentin

The Merlerault variety of the Anglo-Norman
differs from the Cotentin and the Vallee d'Auge,
being lighter and shorter coupled, and an excellent
saddle horse, fairly fast, with nice action and plenty
of bottom.

As I shall endeavour to show that the breeder in
England can devote himself profitably to breeding
general utility and harness horses, I shall allude to
one or two other Continental breeds that have at
present cut out the home producer.

II OTHER BREEDS 31

The Bigoiirdane Amelioree

This breed is really an offshoot of the Anglo-
Arab, and is known sometimes as the " Anglo-Arab
Half-bred" (deini - sang A7iglo - Arabe), and is the
result of the efforts of the Administration des Harras
between 1833 and 1852 to improve the Anglo- Arab
for general service.

The foundation of the breed is from Navarre
blood, and the Navarian breed owes its origin to the
Andalusian. The Andalusian horse was a heavy,
full-bodied animal, and at one time had a great
reputation in this country. The Duke of New-
castle, in Charles II.'s reign, preferred some foreign
breeds over English. " The best breed of horses is
in Andalusia, especially that of the King of Spain
at Cordova. The best stallion is a well-chosen Barb
or a beautiful Spanish horse." He, however, de-
generated in France to the type known as the
Cheval Navarrin, and became a light, weedy animal,
slack-backed, heavy-shouldered, and having little of
the size of the Andalusian except in a thick, heavy
neck ; he retained, however, high, graceful action,
and an elegance and suppleness that made him an
agreeable hack. The problem was to add strength
and size without depriving the breed of its quality,
grace, and action. First recourse was had to English
Thoroughbred blood alone ; but this was abandoned,
and the mares were sent first to English blood,
and their produce being mares, to Arab blood, and
the produce of this cross to English blood again,
giving a most successful result. The breed is now

32 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

a fine one, without loss of action, their paces are
less high but farther-reaching, quicker, sharper, and
cleaner ; their substance has increased and the beauty
of their contour fixed. And no longer merely light
saddle horses, they are now adapted admirably for
light carriage horses.

Amongst other breeds competing seriously with
England in the carriage horse and general utility
class, may be mentioned the Hanoverian, Mecklen-
burg, Oldenburg, Danish, and Prussian or East
Prussian. All these owe their present excellence
to English blood. The Oldenburg is perhaps the
best breed of bay carriage or barouche horse out
of England, and in the main owes its present excel-
lence to three Cleveland sires introduced in 1850 —
Duke of Cleveland, Lucks All, and Astonishment.
English horse-breeders should note that the Cleve-
land and Yorkshire bays for the royal carriages have
been of late years purchased in Germany — the pro-
duce, to a very large extent, of Cleveland and York-
shire horses and mares imported during the last
thirty years. In the following pages it will be
shown that even these, the highest -priced carriage
horses, can be bred profitably and easily in this
country by farmers who have, at their very doors,
the advantage of the best materials for their
production.

Foreign Draught Breeds

We have not much to learn from the foreigner
with regard to the production of the best types of
draught horses. Careful inbreeding is the secret for

II OTHER BREEDS 33

fixing type and obtaining impression, power, and
resistance to crossing. And it may be said that till
lately most foreign draught breeds have not been
long enough fixed or carefully enough watched to
give them the value of a pure breed.

The various draught breeds of France, for in-
stance, such as the Boulonnais, the Percheron, the
Franc Comtois, the Race de Trait Bretonne, and the
Cheval Poitevin, remain types when kept to their own
soil, trade, and surroundings, but have not sufficient
purity and inherent uniformity to be reproductive of
their best qualities in crossing.

Those who are inclined to despair of persuading
farmers in those districts of England where horse-
breeding is little practised to attempt it, may find
encouragement in the fact that some years ago the
farmers of Le Perche did not trouble themselves
about horse-breeding, and devoted their time and
attention to their flocks and herds ; but to-day,
from small beginnings, they possess, in the greatest
numbers, perhaps the most renowned and sought-for
of all foreign breeds of draught horses, the " Race
Percheronne." The well-known Grey or White
Percheron, whether of the stronger or lighter class,
has won a decided position as a horse suitable for
certain classes of draught and harness, and finds its
way into our omnibuses, trams, and vans. It would
pay the English farmer to supply this class of horse,
but, believing as I do that we can produce some-
thing better and more profitable than the Per-
cheron, I shall not occupy the time of the reader
with a description of the breed, its uses, its many
good qualities, and its decided faults.

D

CHAPTER III

AGRICULTURAL HORSES

The day having gone by when a small farmer could
till his holding with a yoke or two of oxen, it is
safe to say that every farmer must have one or two
draughts of horses on his farm. He has the choice
between mares and geldings. Curiously enough, in
non-breeding counties at least, preference is usually
given to geldings.^ The gelding commands, where
other things are equal, a better price than the mare.
I have no hesitation in saying that for a farmer a
mare is of greater value than a gelding. I will not
stop to discuss the English prejudice against entire
horses further than to say that the perfect horse is
undoubtedly a stronger and more enduring animal
than the gelding, but that the custom of castration,
so peculiar to our country, has at least one good

1 The European horse-breeder as a rule looks to the stallion, and
esteems him more highly than the mare as a producer. The Oriental
always gives the first place to the mare. The English breeder gener-
ally hopes for a colt foal. The Arab says : " The fountain of riches is
the mare that produces a mare," and, " Prefer the mare, her belly is
a treasure and her back the seat of honour." The value of the mare as
a charger is higher than that of the horse amongst the Arabs, because
she is easier and pleasanter to ride, she does not betray her master's
camp or ambush by neighing, and she supports heat and thirst better
than the stallion.

CHAP. Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES " 35

result, in that it tends towards the best horses being
kept for sires ; and that, as far as horse-breeding is
concerned, it would not be a bad thing if many more
were cut which now travel the country, spreading
hereditary disease, begetting weeds, and doing much
to discourage those horse-breeders who have had the
folly or the innocence to use them.

Granted that the average gelding is larger and
stronger than the average mare, I would respectfully
maintain that he has not as a rule stamina, courage,
and wear-and-tear qualities to an equal extent with
the mare, which has not undergone, as he has, that
mutilating process which must emasculate him as it
does every animal upon, which it is performed. Not
only will the average mare wear longer than the
average gelding, but she will earn her keep equally
well, and present her owner, if she is carefully
attended to at the right time, with a foal almost
every year ; and she will do this with very little
deterioration of her power for continual work, as I
shall try to show later on. Again, the cart horse
may have an accident that makes him valueless ex-
cept for the price of his hide and what the M.F.H.
will give for his carcass at the kennels. A good
mare, however, in a similar case may prove as
valuable at the stud as she did in the shafts, and
will at least be worth keeping where there is hope of
recovery, if she can bring up a foal or two meanwhile.^
And yet again, a mare that is a good breeder when
partially and not totally incapacitated for work will
be worth keeping, for she will be handy for odd jobs
and relieve other draughts when the farmer could

1 Vide Estimates of Breeding from Working and Idle Mares, pp. 102- in.

36 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

not easily afford to buy or keep a horse to fill such a
place alone. To every farmer who can afford to keep
two draughts of horses for the farm, I would say, have
one draught at least of mares. In foal or not, they
will earn their living, work the year through, and
need little care beyond that given to the horses, save
when in foal, to keep them out of severe shaft work
in the spring for a few weeks before foaling. For all
spring work on the land, in the plough, the harrows,
leading in the team, and short journeys in the carts
on level ground, they can be used right up to within
an hour or two of foaling, and many a mare in my
own neighbourhood has come in from the plough at
dinner-time, foaled, and within a short period been
between the cords again. The mare can return to
her ordinary work within two or three weeks of
foaling.

Generally speaking, then, the farmer, in choosing
his brood mare, should see that she is qualified at
least for the work of half a plough. Naturally the
man with a small holding who can only keep, say
two, three, or four horses at most, will choose his
mares from purely agricultural breeds. Perhaps the
natural course in his case will be the wisest ; he may
miss the chief prizes and best things that horse-
breeding offers, but he will be following a safe and
sure road to a certain, if sometimes only a small
profit. So much success depends on the turn of a
man's fancy and his taste, that it is as impossible here,
as in other things, to point out a clearly-defined road
or a royal way to certain success. That man will
probably succeed best who follows his natural bent
and applies himself to produce the animal in which

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 37

he takes the most interest ; therefore no one should
be discouraged — not even the " small " man who loves
and prefers the shape and action of the carriage horse,
the quality and courage of the hunter, the display of
the hackney, more than the agricultural breeds — from
pursuing his fancy and trying to produce his ideal.
We may feel sure that those who try wisely will
succeed, and, like the Arabs of the desert, will
find Mohammed's promise fulfilled in themselves :
" Heaven will help those who love horses, and lessen
all expenses that they may incur." There are various
types of agricultural horses, and some men prefer one,
some another ; one man is impressed with the size
and magnificence of the Shire, another with the
compact and concentrated strength of the Clydesdale,
another with the moulded neatness and handsome
form of the Suffolk, or with the special attributes and
individual merits of some other breed. It is a mercy
we do not all see and think alike on these subjects.
The Yorkshireman and Irishman are fond of a bit of
blood ; the Scotsman is fond of hair ; the Norfolk
man of a little horse with a lot of action ; and there
are happily others having minds not excited by
ambitious and fancy notions of any sort, who are
content to plod carefully on, breeding the useful
nondescript, the ordinary half-bred, and the common
cart or draught horse, — but each and all doing
something to maintain the credit of the country for
horse-flesh, and at the same time turning an honest
penny for themselves. All the best class of brood
mares of the breeds I have mentioned may find a
place on the farm. I know stout -barrelled, stiff,
well-stepping hackney mares working well on land ;

38 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

fine, high-quality, strong-loined, big-Hmbed hunter
brood mares and Yorkshire brood mares, all working
honestly for their living, and in some cases putting
to shame their more hairy -heeled companions.
Therefore I say that while the farm is undoubtedly
the proper place for raising agricultural breeds, it is
also adapted for producing the half-bred, the trotter,
the carriage horse, the hunter, and the general utility
horse, be it for tram, omnibus, van, or tradesman's
cart.

The man who has one animal, of a lighter type
than the cart horse, will find it a great convenience.
There are many jobs on the farm for which a light
horse is better suited, being handier and quicker, such
as the market cart, the milk cart, the hoe, the scuffler,
moving feeding racks, and light leading ; whilst a
mare of this sort will be always ready to take her
turn when necessary in hay or corn harvest, in the
plough, in the harrow, or as leader in a team.

Let us consider, first, however, the man who elects
to breed only cart horses, and what course his
common-sense would instruct him to pursue. If his
capital is small, he will, if he is not in immediate
want of horses, bide his time, till he can sell one he
has to advantage, or circumstances demand a new
purchase, in the meantime keeping his eyes and ears
open to see or hear of a mare to suit his purpose.
He will look out for a mare of from five to eight
years old, used to all gears, with short legs, deep
middle, strong loins, muscular, active, and game-
looking, free from all unsoundness, especially from
side-bone and hereditary ailments. He should not
think only of size, or that the biggest and weightiest

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 39

mare is necessarily the one that will breed the
biggest foals. A stout, stiff, little mare, got by a
horse known for getting the right sort, will probably
breed stouter and bigger horses than a long-legged
coarse one. Let him be sure that she is not afraid
of hard work, that she is generous and cheerful in
her collar, and when he is ready to buy, let him not
lose the right sort by fighting over a pound or two
in the price. It will be a satisfaction to the pur-
chaser if he knows that the mare has bred a foal
before he buys her, though most mares breed if
properly attended to. The purchase of the mare is
not all that is requisite ; the wise selection of the
sire, the treatment of the foal, and the rearing of the
colt have to be considered carefully as time goes on,
on which subjects there is a good deal to be said.
If the buyer is in no great hurry, he may seize an
opportunity, as it offers, of buying a good foal or a
young filly ; he may thus buy cheaper, though he
loses time. Such opportunities are often to be met
with at farm sales in spring, and I have seen good
filly foals sold for an old song on such occasions ;
but before buying such, full inquiry had better be
made of those who have known the sire and the dam,
as to their character for soundness and willing work.
Generally speaking, the sire is the more impressive of
the two parents ; he will determine in the main the
bone, the tendons, the nerves, and will the more
certainly transmit the infirmities, especially of the
bone, limbs, and feet. The dam, whilst having
considerable influence on these parts, and often
giving her colour to the foal, may be said to be more
impressive than the sire in general appearance and

40 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

temperament, provided always that the breeding of
sire and dam is similar. Where the breeding of one
parent is purer than the other, the purest-bred parent
is the more impressive. But these are generalities at
best, and are also questions of dispute amongst the
highest authorities. The safest rule to follow is to
mate the mare with a sound sire whose character for
getting good stock is established and which is calcu-
lated to remedy defects in the mare.

The fashion for Clydesdales and Shires has
exterminated the old north-country prejudice against
hairy heels, and the old clean-legged Northumber-
land and Yorkshire cart horse is no longer to be
found : he has been replaced by hairy-legged horses
approaching one or other of these types. This
seems to point to some advantage in the new fashion
over the old, but whilst I admire Clydesdales and
Shires, I confess never to have understood why value
attaches to the quantity of hair a horse may have
on his leg. I feel inclined to consider it merely a
question of taste, a cultivated and rather unnatural
development of the hirsute appendages of the cart
horse. The hair on the leg, to the extent it is seen
on prize animals in the show - yard, cannot be an
advantage to a farm horse or draught horse ; it adds
to the labour of keeping a horse clean and smart,
and must be an impediment to him on a wet or
clayey farm. A well-feathered Shire must lift many
pounds of balled and matted clay on each leg when
in the plough, or when carting in miry lanes, and at
least it cannot add to its ease, quickness, or neatness
in work. Whilst I am not prepared to admit the
utility of a large amount of hair on the leg, I strongly

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 41

advise the man who desires to breed pure stock,
either of the Shire or Clydesdale stamp, to pay
attention to this as to other points, as these
little niceties and finishing touches to the animal
have a considerable influence on his market price.
It is well for the breeder to follow fashion, but let
him also take care to create a character for his young
stock for possessing soundness and courage, and he
will never be long in search of a customer, for the
good cart horse is easily sold in the north as in the
south, and there is a place for every size and every
sort. Brewers, carriers, local authorities, railway
companies, and traders are always ready to pay a
good price for strong, active, fresh horses, four, five,
or six years old, of the larger and heavier classes.
There is a steady demand also at high prices for a
smaller but weighty stamp ; and powerful, short
horses, even if undersized, will fetch ^^50 to £6^ for
hauling purposes, for work in the ironstone mines,
and about collieries and works in the manufacturing
districts. The more ambitious farmer may be
anxious to prove his capacity as a successful breeder,
and to obtain the high prices and honours that
reward the successful exhibitor in the show-yard.
In such a case, if he is a man like most of his
brethren at present, without much loose cash, he will
have to watch carefully the sales of well - bred
pedigree stock and pick up a filly or two. The
prices that are obtained at the great sales of pedi-
gree Shires and Clydesdales are not seldom sensa-
tional, but there is often a yearling or two-year-old
filly which, if not quite up to show-ring form, may
prove equal to the best as a brood mare — and these

42 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

are frequently knocked down cheap as dirt. Such
sales are usually advertised in local newspapers and
in the agricultural journals.

The Clydesdale's merits as a farm horse of well-
earned repute deserve particular attention at our
hands. The Clydesdale, as his name implies, comes to
us from the south-west of Scotland. He is the result
of various infusions of blood into the native Scotch
mares — the first step in the rising road to fame being
sometimes considered to have been taken when
about two centuries ago one of the Dukes of
Hamilton introduced a number of Flemish coaching
stallions into that part of the country ; but the
effect or even the existence of this cross is denied
by many of the best authorities.^ However this may
be, it cannot be denied that the Flemish stallion
brought by John Paterson between 171 5 and 1720
into the district of Lochyoch exercised a distinct and
lasting influence on the breed. There is no doubt
that its present fame and excellence is due in the
main to the unremitting endeavours of local farmers
to improve their native breed. Previous to the
existence of a Stud Book, a great deal of English
carting and Shire blood was introduced to improve
the native stock. One of the horses that has left
his mark was Mr. Scott's " Blaze," purchased by
him in 1780, which horse, though a black, was
credited with having a great deal of coaching blood
in his veins. But if any stallion can claim to be the
father of the breed it would be " Glancer " alias
"Thomson's Black Horse," bred about 18 10. It is
believed that the dam of " Glancer " was related to

1 Vide Retrospective volume Clydesdale Stud Book, 1878.

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 43

the Lochyoch breed descended from the black Flemish
stallion introduced by Mr. Paterson.

Later (about 1823) the Cleveland bay played a
part. The Highland Society adopted a policy of
giving premiums for Clevelands and encouraging
this class. " The object of the Society," to use
its own words, " is to encourage the breeding
of a very active and at the same time a very
strong horse which may be adapted according to
circumstances either for working the land or for
meeting the demand for harness horses of every
description. The Cleveland bays are the basis of
such a breed, but the Society does not wish to limit
the competition to any particular breed." This
policy " had the desired effect in the introduction of
large numbers of Cleveland stallions." ^ The Gal-
loway and Clyde valleys remained true to their own
breed, while Dumfriesshire made use of the Cleve-
lands. In the beginning of the century Mr. Frame,
of Broomfield, was the first influential man to set his
face against the great variety in colour, a fault, if
fault it is, that still remains characteristic of the breed,
and which is due to its mixed origin. Being the
leading stallion-owner of the day, he castrated all colts
that were not black, brown, or bay, creating a fashion
for browns and bays, and checking the reproduction
of greys, then very common. The difficulty of
eliminating a tendency to variety in colour is clearly
shown, as to-day there still remains the tendency to
variate from the standard colours. And this fact is
indirect evidence of the antiquity of other breeds,
such as the Cleveland bay, where colour must have

1 Retrospective volume Clydesdale Stud Book, p. xviii.

44 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

been fixed from a time farther back than is recorded
in any history of the breed. Border horses (such as
Nonsuch, 655), more of the Vardy type perhaps,
were also used in forming the stock from which the
Clydesdale is descended.

The points of the Clydesdale may be summarised
as follows : —

The Head. — On the Continent to-day, as was the
case in olden times in this country, more attention
is given to the head than is the fashion in the horse
markets of England. In my humble judgment the
head is indicative not only of the temper and intelli-
gence, but of that brain power which gives value
to the whole machine. Here is the seat of courage,
of spirit and activity, which, if not occupied, renders
valueless the largest and most symmetrical horse.
From the study of a horse's head much may be
inferred as to his quality and character, his activity,
endurance, and breathing powers. In the Clydesdale
the jaw is broad, the muzzle somewhat coarse and
short, but the nostrils large and open.

Eye. — Full, vigorous, and kindly.

Forehead. — Large and wide.

Ears. — Long and active.

Neck. — Not too long, thick-set and strong.

Shoulder. — Free, and with considerable slope, to
give him his long quick step.

Fore-arm. — Side view broad, muscles long and
strong.

Knee. — Broad and flat.

Shank Bone. — " Should be flat from a side view,
thick and gently rounded from a front view, and
tapering to an edge as it goes back (' razor-legged ').

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 45

The back part, from the knee, should possess a nice
flowing fringe of silken hair which should spring from
the very edge of the bone " {C, S, B. xlii.). The
quality of the hair is indicative of the quality of the
bone and of the horse. Apart from this, I am
inclined to think that the value of hair on the leg is
due to fashion and not to utility.

The Sinews^ as in all horses, should be hard,
easily handled, and stand well out from the bone.

The Pastern should not be too upright or too
short, but should harmonise with the slant of the
shoulder. The short upright pastern is well enough
for the farm, but will not mitigate the concussion
which attends the action of a horse on hard roads
and paved streets.

The Foot is generally good and well shaped ; but
side-bone and ring-bone should be always looked for,
as the Clydesdale is, if less liable than some other
draught breeds to this class of disease, not free from it

TJie Back. — A common defect has been undue
length in the back. Slabby, low- backed animals
should be avoided.

The Ribs are too often flat.

The Chest should be low, broad, and full.

Hind Parts. — Broad, low-set hind-quarters, with
muscular thighs, " descending into broad and propor-
tionately-developed hocks, sum up the hind end of
the Clydesdale" (C S. B. xliv.).

" From the hock to the ground the leg should be
short, broad, flat, clean, evenly and straight or slightly
curved forward, the sinews standing out from the bone
and having a similar fringe of hair to that on the fore-
leg, and rising as high as the bottom of the hock joint."

46 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

Height. — 16.2 hands.

Colour. — The most fashionable colour is dark
dappled brown, but all colours are found, from
blacks, browns, bays, to the less-liked greys and the
hated chestnuts and roans. In later times white
markings have become so common as to be regarded
as a sign of pure breeding.

Action. — " In walking the horse should, if
approaching you, come with his head well carried
and with an apparently measured stride, lifting his
feet well off the ground and placing them down
again, regularly, evenly, and with apparent delibera-
tion."

His hind and fore action should correspond — his
hind feet should be brought forward with flexing
hocks as deliberately as the fore feet. The hocks
must not turn out in moving forward.

His trotting action should be clean, and high
enough to enable the inside of the foot to be seen as
he lifts it.

Constitution. — Healthy. The Clydesdale is perhaps
the most water -proof of all breeds, standing wet
weather admirably.

The prices that Clydesdales fetch if they are
sound and well-bred are very remunerative. As
much as 1000 guineas has been given for a mare
and foal, and for entire horses from 600 to 1500
guineas.

A word as to some other cart horse breeds before
turning to other classes. There is no doubt that the
Suffolk Punches have been very much improved
owing to the pains taken with them by several
enterprising breeders with a view to eliminating their

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES 47

worst faults, and also to the patronage and encourage-
ment this breed has had from the Royal Agricultural
and other societies. Their chestnut colour has now
been fixed, and it is much more rare to find bays
and incorrect colouring than formerly. There is a
kinship between bay and chestnut, and in the few
instances where there has been a variation from the
bay of the Cleveland, the colour has almost invariably
been chestnut.

I know of one chestnut Cleveland mare, but if
her legs were blacked she would be a golden bay,
and all her foals have been true bays. There
appears to be a greater tendency among the Suffolks
to throw bays than for any other breeds to throw
chestnuts, but these questions, however interesting,
are a little foreign to our present subject. The size
of the Suffolk has been increased, and that without
any loss of its distinctive cobby mould, perhaps the
most attractive characteristic of the breed. Their
feet, always their worst point, are much more satis-
factory than of old ; and this is well, for it has been
the shallow, brittle feet of the Suffolks, unfitting them
for travelling on rough and hard roads, that has
prevented these handsome animals from gaining a
much higher position in the public estimation than
they have hitherto occupied. There is something
very fine and impressive in seeing a team of these
grand-looking, shining chestnuts drawing their load,
each with an air of cocky consciousness of his neat
appearance in his whole carriage and bearing, whilst
the action of his cleanly limbs is often admirable.
As a mere spectacle nothing is more imposing than
a well -filled class of Suffolk Punches, in all their

48 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

golden splendour, uniformity in colour, and stamp in
the show-ring ; and in spite of north-country pre-
judice against this breed, I still incline to the opinion
that they have valuable qualities which may yet
bring them to the fore at home, as they have in
many countries abroad.

The Suffolk is noted for his courage at a dead
pull, and will go down on his knees to move his
load in a way that few other horses will.

I feel convinced that, for a certain class of half-
bred stock, the Suffolk would form a much superior
basis for crossing than the ordinary cart mare, and
I would recommend farmers who would not patronise
a lighter farm mare (such as the Cleveland or Chap-
man, which I exclude from the ordinary category of
carting breeds) to satisfy themselves as to the merits
or demerits of the Suffolk. Without compromising my
expressed conviction that carting blood is a noxious
thing in the carriage horse as in the hunter, I believe
that, if such blood is to be used, the evils of the
cross will be less prominent in the produce of the
active Suffolk mare to Blood, or Coaching, or Hackney,
than in that of any other cart mare. Such a mare will
probably throw foals of a uniform colour, chestnuts
or bays, enabling the breeder to turn out match pairs.
They should have good looks, good action, and fine,
clean legs, though probably betraying their origin in
coarseness of the quarter and elsewhere. If the sire
is carefully selected, the produce of such a mare
should not lack altogether the wear-and-tear qualities
and sustained vigour in quick work that are so im-
portant in the harness horse, trooper, and general
half-bred. I cannot bring myself to commend breed-

Ill AGRICULTURAL HORSES

49

ing weight-carrying hunters in this way, though I
have Httle doubt that horses thus bred would sell
well as such, and, in appearance, be counted a fine
stamp of that much-coveted and high-priced article ;
for it may be regarded as certain that when a second
fox was found, and the blood horses were going free
and fast over grass and through dirt, the son of the
Suffolk dam would, in comparison, be a spiritless
sloven that required spurring along, and a tiring,
aggravating, and dangerous mount for the rest of
the day. Still, there is a man in the hunting field
for nearly every kind of horse, and such a horse may
be the pride of the macadamising 1 8-stone follower
at a safe distance, or suit those whose name is legion,
who are treated so unmercifully in the song —

For coffee-house gossip some sportsmen come out.
Of all things they're prating, but what they're about ;

From scandal and cards, they to politics roam,
They ride forty miles, head the fox, and go home.

E

CHAPTER IV

VARDY, CHAPMAN, CLEVELAND, AND YORKSHIRE

BAY

Having said something about the merits of mares
which come under the description of purely agricul-
tural classes, let us look at one or two breeds that
hold an intermediate place between the Vardy type
of Northumberland, and the lighter type of Cleve-
land, the North Riding of Yorkshire and Durham.
But we must hark back for a moment and criticise the
generalisations made in the last chapter. Whilst I
maintain that purely agricultural mares are properly
fitted only for the produce of heavy horses, and those
intended for haulage, it can be fairly urged that high-
couraged, active cart mares are to be found from
which valuable half-breds can be reared. I do not
altogether dispute this, though I do not think it
the best, and am sure it is not the most profitable
method. I seek to guide the farmer to breed pro-
fitably with a minimum risk, and there is always a
risk in breeding between extremes. Extremes may
meet ; but too often in horse-breeding the result is
a compound rather of the faults than the virtues of
each — e.g. the Thoroughbred and cart horse too often

CHAP. IV THE VARDY 51

produce, instead of a perfect combination of strength
and substance with quahty and pace, a coarse, mis-
shaped horse, with clumsy feet, round soft legs, ugly
carting quarters, and a coarse head ; or a horse with
the frame of a draught horse and the limbs of a
weed. In fact, there is no counting on the result.
Even the attempt to get a carriage horse by the
apparently simple course of crossing the hackney
with the Cleveland, in order to combine the perfect
action of the one with the beautiful coaching form
of the other, is not likely always to succeed, as
the result will often be disappointing, in that the
horse, even if big enough, will have the ugly short
quarter and short neck of the hackney. When good
judgment is used, and great pains are taken, this
cross is a success ; and in point of view of service,
and wear-and-tear qualities, there is nothing left to
be desired. The best results are obtained by cross-
ing those distinct breeds which approach each other
in type, and that therefore most easily assimilate —
e.g. the Shire and the Clydesdale, the Cleveland
and Yorkshire bay, the Cleveland or Coaching mare
and the Thoroughbred, the Half-bred mare and the
Thoroughbred.

We live in an age of great revolution in horse-
breeding, the results of which are so far-reaching
that it is impossible to estimate them. It is the era
of stud books and pedigrees, when each type is being
permanently fixed by the lines drawn round each
breed by Stud Book societies — such as the Clydes-
dale, Shire, Suffolk, Hackney, Cleveland bay, York-
shire bay, etc., etc. ; and our example is being
followed on the Continent and in America. Our

52 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

good horses were formerly produced either by hazard
or by the care and selection of a few intelligent
breeders ; but now our horses and mares are so
classified, and so bred to type and uniformity by the
influence of the Stud Book, that breeding has become
a practical science, the knowledge of which renders
it comparatively easy to breed exactly that stamp
we are in search of Twenty years ago there was
only the General Stud Book for TJioroughbreds^ and
it had not been a hundred years in existence then.
The example set by the racing world with such a
splendid result has been followed by the agricul-
turist, the hackney breeder, the coach horse breeder,
even the pony or hunter breeder, and we are already
reaping the most extraordinary result from this move-
ment. We have literally created a new pattern of
almost every class of horse in the last quarter of a
century. It is astonishing how quickly the stamp
of the racehorse becomes fixed through the obliga-
tion to trace the pedigree to record performance. It
is well known that every English Thoroughbred of
to-day is descended from one of about ninety-six
original mares. Of these more than one-half trace
their origin to Arab, Barb, or Oriental blood in the
main ; but there remain a number of original mares
which were English, or whose relationship to Eastern
blood was not recorded, and which were probably
sprung from generations of selection and crossing
with the view of obtaining the greatest stamina and
speed. As soon as the Stud Book was closed
against unpedigreed horses, the type became fixed,
and with each succeeding generation the impressive
power of the breed became stronger, so that to-day

IV THE VARDY 53

the inexperienced can tell the Thoroughbred at sight ;
and it is certain that when you use the Thorough-
bred sire you will obtain the quality and texture of
the Thoroughbred to a preponderating extent. In
breeding from non-pedigree stock, even from the
best-looking and most meritorious mares, there is so
large an element of chance as to make horse-breeding
a lottery, for she may throw back to some unknown
cross and have a foal that in no way resembles her.
Those who have tried to breed hunters from half-bred
hunter mares know how difficult it is to make sure
of counting on breeding a good hunter. The mare
may be a big fine one, with quality and endurance,
and yet somehow or other her progeny are faulty or
undersized weeds. On the other hand, a little mare
that has been nothing wonderful herself may throw
superb stock. Therefore the farmer who breeds for
the market, unless he is sure of his mare's capacity
for throwing good stock, is wise not to despise pedi-
gree, and should look to " breeding " even in purely
agricultural horses.

I have previously alluded to the old north-country
prejudice against hairy heels, and though I do not
entirely lament its disappearance, I do think the
farmers of Northumberland have made a mistake to
lose the strong, hardy, active, clean -legged breed
known as the Northumberland Chapman or Vardy.
These horses were similar to, but of a heavier make
than, the Cleveland bay of the stronger and old-
fashioned sort in vogue in the days of heavy coaches,
deep muddy roads, and long journeys. The Vardy
was not bred so true to colour as the Cleveland, but
was a purely agricultural horse, though partaking of

54 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

many characteristics of the Cleveland, to which he
owed his origin. The Northumberland Chapman
appears to have been equal to every sort of farm
labour, and to have been capable of more sustained
effort, and able to perform his task with greater
activity and courage than the ordinary cart horse.
Mr. Albert Grey, of Hawick, has taken great interest
in the revival of this breed, and has informed me that
many farmers in Northumberland have welcomed his
efforts and hope much from the experiment. He
has selected a Cleveland sire of exceptional size,
strength, and bone, and time will show whether the
crossing of this stallion with the Northumberland
and imported mares, such as the Clevelands lately
purchased by Mr. Grey, will lead to the restoration
of the old type. Mr. Grey has gone to the only
source whence such a revival can be expected, where
the clean leg, the hardihood, activity, and quality can
be obtained without the loss of that power and
strength that is requisite in a horse for the farm.
If the farmer can obtain mares of such a type as
this, capable of doing all that the hairy-legged, rough-
framed mare can do, he will have a quicker, handier
animal, and a most valuable brood mare for the pro-
duction of half-bred stock and harness horses.

On the whole, I am inclined to believe that
carriage horse breeding is the simplest, surest, and
most lucrative of all descriptions of horse-breeding.
The price that the London jobmasters give for a
carriage horse is a high one ; for a four-year-old it
runs from £go to ^140, and they cannot find them
in England. Dealers in fashionable carriage horses
give still longer prices, but are unable to find match

IV CLEVELAND AND YORKSHIRE BAY 55

pairs of bays and browns at any price in England,
and have to scour the Continent and America to
supply their customers. The foreign horse is often
a fine horse in appearance, of noble mien, with fine
quality and action, the head nicely set and well
carried on an arching crest ; but generally he is a
soft horse, and goes to pieces under hard, fast work.
The American carriage horses, on the other hand,
have a reputation for wear-and-tear qualities, though
as a rule they are not so good-looking as the
foreigners. Now at home we can raise a horse that
is better looking, is a freer goer, and that can wear
all foreign horses down.

The finest carriage horse in the world is the
high-class Yorkshire bay, combining as he does the
quality and grace of the Thoroughbred with the
strength, colour, and beauty of form of the Cleve-
land. He is an ideal of all that is magnificent and
useful in the carriage horse. His colour is a rich,
shining bay, his coat is as bright, fine, glossy, and
iridescent as that of the racehorse ; his legs, mane,
and tail are raven black, setting off the splendour of
his golden colour. He is strong and lengthy, he
stands over a great deal of ground, his top has the
flowing lines of the Cleveland back and level quarter,
his ribs are well sprung, he carries his neat head and
arched crest, as well as his high-set tail, with all the
pride and grace of an Arab, and no bearing rein is
needed to make him bend. At rest and in action
he is a picture of stateliness. There may be other
breeds that lift the knee higher, but the movement
of the Yorkshire bay is fine and free ; it is not a
mere snapping of the knee and flexing of the hock,

56 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

but he moves smoothly, evenly, and with liberty
from the shoulder and thighs. Stepping lightly
and airily, yet with a long reach, he covers the
ground swiftly and with ease. The shoulders
vary as in other classes, but the better sort com-
bine properly the slope of a muscular shoulder,
which is required for freedom, and the form that
is necessary to go well into the collar. They
are as a rule hardy and thriving, and almost in-
variably horses of a tractable and sweet disposition.
Being bred to size i6. i to 16.3 and upwards, they
are liable to one failing unless care is taken in the
selection of untainted sires and dams. I allude to
the infirmity of roaring. How much of this is due
to size, to unsound Thoroughbred strains, and how
much to the tendency to force, overfeed, to
fatten for shows, and to catch the eye of the dealer,
it is hard to say. I do not suppose this tendency
to defective respiration is greater than amongst
other big horses, but it used to be by no means
uncommon. Happily the evil is much less to-day,
owing to the pains taken to avoid breeding from all
animals that have a tendency to make a noise.
The Yorkshire bay is a created type, whose home is
the south of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and the
East Riding, and has been formed by selection and
crossing the Cleveland directly or indirectly with the
Thoroughbred. There is, as a rule, a great prepon-
derance of Cleveland over Thoroughbred blood, and
it shows itself so much that it is impossible to detect
the difference between a light specimen of Cleveland
and a strong specimen of the Yorkshire bay.

No blood is more impressive than the Cleveland

IV CLEVELAND AND YORKSHIRE BAY 57

— an evidence of long-established purity of breeding.
It is hard to trace many Cleveland pedigrees back
to beyond the beginning of this century, though in
the eighteenth the breed was regarded as the peculiar
pride of certain districts in the North Riding, and
was of a distinct colour and stamp. The model has
probably been in the eye of farmers for centuries,
but it is useless to declare that there is no cross
of outside blood in the Cleveland bay. In all
probability there are some far-back strains of racing
blood, and later strains of what would be called
coaching blood, but the way in which the type has
been maintained and inbred, in a restricted area,
has given it great prepotency and power of influenc-
ing the produce of any horse or mare with which
the Cleveland is coupled ; and I think justifies its
claim to be the oldest of English breeds.

Put the Cleveland mare to even the Thoroughbred,
be he brown, black, chestnut, or grey, it is fifty to
one that the Cleveland influence will maintain itself,
and that the foal will be the colour of the dam.
The Cleveland has a large amount of quality — as
much, in fact, as it is possible for a farm horse to
carry — and is the best combination of power and
quality to be found. Clean sinewy legs, with large,
fine, dense bone, an elegant and stately carriage, a
coat that rivals the Thoroughbred, all speak to an
innate quality which makes it the finest basis from
which to obtain the half-bred, the carriage horse, or
the weight-carrying hunter. If the Yorkshire Bay
Horse Society desires to prevent the loss of sub-
stance that infallibly follows the continual mating of
coach horse and coaching mare for successive

58 IIORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

generations, they must continue, it would seem, the
wise policy they at present pursue of admitting the
Cleveland stallion of pedigree into their books.
There is much less fear of their losing the special
quality already established by indirect strains of
Thoroughbred blood, but they may have to continue
to admit more direct crosses of the Thoroughbred as
time goes on.

There are Yorkshire coaching mares so nearly
approaching the Cleveland in build and style that
they are admirably adapted for the farm. I know
of Yorkshire mares in farmers' hands that have been
veritable gold mines to their owners. The farmer
v\^ho desires to breed the best pairs of bay carriage
horses should buy a couple of Yorkshire or Cleve-
land fillies from some good strain — all the better if
they are own sisters or half-sisters — and if they prove
good brood mares nothing should induce him to part
with them. Any colts off these mares will be most
valuable. If a man has one such mare the three-
and four-year-old colts out of it by the same sire are
as certain to be a match pair as anything can be,
and should sell, unbroken, for ;^200 at least to the
dealer, leaving a margin of profit (if the cost of
rearing a horse to four years old is estimated at
^40, and the three-year-old at £3$) of i^ 12 5.

Young horses on a farm are supposed by some
to do no good to the land, and indeed many hold
that they do actual harm. My experience is
that, though they do not improve the land like
other stock, they do it good rather than harm. I
have two fourteen-acre fields ; half of each field ten
years ago was good old grass land, and the other

IV YORKSHIRE AND CLEVELAND BAY 59

half of each field was bad, bare, mossy, new grass
land. For ten years these fields have been pastured
almost entirely by horses, with an occasional
meadowing of one or the other. There has seldom
been put on to the land a single load of anything
but the stable manure from my stables and
the loose boxes in the fields. The new land
has improved wonderfully and the old land is
as good as ever. There are some coarse patches
in the places where the horses stand for shelter,
and where they have poached the land near the
gates and boxes, but with these exceptions there
has been a marked amelioration of the grass over
the whole of the fields. Where cattle and sheep are
pastured with horses there is no fear whatever of any
harm being done, — the pastures will be eaten down
evenly, and what is passed over by the horses will be
eaten by the beasts and sheep. The way in which
horses are mischievous on a farm is in gnawing the
gates, fences, and trees, but with a little care this
may be guarded against. Rails and gates should be
well tarred, and where valuable trees are liable to be
barked, a little wire netting nailed round the stem to
the height of eight feet will protect them. It is the
top bar of a gate that generally suffers from young
horses' teeth, and where the owner does not desire to
have his gates tarred, a strip or two of metal nailed
along the top will prevent damage being done.

CHAPTER V

HEREDITY. HACKNEYS, HUNTERS, WEIGHT-
CARRIERS

In the last chapter I took stock of the Yorkshire
coaching breeds ; but the farmer need not Hmit
himself to these mares in his attempt to breed
carriage horses. The late Lord Charlemont, who
was perhaps the greatest horse-breeder in Ireland,
and who made breeding carriage horses pay well,
bred his best animals off hunter mares put to a big
Norfolk hackney stallion named " The Arrow." He
was asked before the Royal Commission on Horse-
Breeding (Lord Rosebery's) how this horse was bred,
and he replied to the effect that he did not know
nor care, as he judged a horse by the stock it got
— not by its pedigree. There is a good deal in this
view. There is an enormous number of stallions
used in England, but it is only here and there that
one is found that is an impressive sire, stamping his
stock with his good qualities, it may be with far greater
excellence that he himself possesses. Such a horse
possibly is undersized ; he may be plain even to ugli-
ness ; he may appear to lack quality or even sufficient
substance ; and yet all his " get " are distinguished

CHAr. V HEREDITY 6i

by singular merit. The breeder should not judge a
horse by appearance only, when he can also judge
of a sire's stock ; the latter is a safer criterion than
simply a combination of good looks and fine action.
It is not enough that a horse is a " Queen's Premium "
winner and is universally regarded as a splendid
animal. The question a breeder has to ask is,
" Can I see his stock ? Let me see his foal, or,
better still, horses by him that have come to age."
When satisfied in this respect, let him spare no pains
to secure that horse's services. Pedigree certainly
goes for something ; it is an indication of probabilities,
i.e. that in certain families of horses you find pro-
minent characteristics, and that the members of each
family have the quality of impressing these charac-
teristics on their offspring. As action runs in the
blood of the descendants of a hackney like D'Oyley's
Confidence ; jumping power in the blood of Bird-
catcher ; chestnut colour and a white blaze in the
blood of Blair Athol ; grey hairs in the manes and
tails of the descendants of Cleveland Barnaby ;
superb form in those of the Yorkshire bay Candidate
— so do faults of form, of construction, and temper
remain the inherent attributes of other horses'
descendants. A knowledge of pedigree assists
the breeder to select, to discriminate, to anticipate,
and to be on his guard. It is the same in all
breeds. Now and then in the course of centuries a
cart horse such as the Packington blind horse, a
Cleveland such as the Hobhill horse, a Barb like
the Godolphin, an Arab like the Darley Arabian,
appears, that revolutionises to a greater or less extent
the future of his kind. Some horses possess this

62 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

power in a large degree, others in a less degree, many
not at all ; and the breeder should try to discover
those sires that are impressive. What is true of the
sire is also true of the dam ; for instance, barrenness
in some families is not uncommon, or some other
fault distinguishes the progeny of the mares of certain
blood. Here and there, however, is a mare, it may
be, of unknown and unrecorded pedigree, which year
after year throws, to whatever fairly good horse she
is covered by, a foal that grows into a high-priced
first-rate animal. " Is horse-breeding such a lottery
then ? Are farmers to embark in an undertaking
where so much depends on the chance of finding the
mare and sire suited for their purpose ? " I will not
reply to these queries by saying " nothing venture,
nothing have," though this is true of trade in general,
for my task is to give an idea of the measure of
venture that is requisite to gain the end. I am very
partial myself to Cleveland bays, and one of my
chief reasons for favouring them is that there is very
little " venture " and much certainty of the '' have."
I know that my Cleveland mares will, when put to
the Cleveland sire, breed foals absolutely true to
colour and type ; I know that if they go to the
Yorkshire coach horse they will retain their Cleve-
land form but with added quality ; that if they go
to the Thoroughbred they go to a pure source that
rivals their own blood for impressive qualities, and
that I shall have whole-coloured foals which if they
favour the sire, will be fine hunters, and if they
favour the dam, will grow into the finest carriage
horses. My experience is only that of those who, in
the past and present, have tried the Cleveland as a

HEREDITY 63

basis for crossing, and discovered that she is the
most valuable brood mare that can find a place upon
the farm.

The tenant-farmer with a draught of these mares
has an agricultural draught suited for his land, his
implements, his carts ; and with reasonable care he
cannot fail to be a successful breeder — whether
of Clevelands, pure carriage horses, or hunters.
Americans and foreigners have for fifty years past
scoured the North Riding of Yorkshire, and taken
all they could get of this breed. They have their
reward in seeing themselves master of the carriage
horse trade, heavy and light ; and their native
breeds, which were without admirers or buyers, are
now envied and in constant demand. The prices
that have been given for Clevelands by Americans,
Canadians, Argentines, Cape Colonists, Germans,
Portuguese, and others in recent years have made it
difficult for the private Englishman with moderate
means to compete in the Cleveland market. The
smash, however, in the Argentine, the M'Kinley
Tariff in America, and the general present impe-
cuniosity of most foreign Governments, have led to
a temporary falling-off in the demand and prices
for Clevelands, just as the supply was in consequence
of, and the great rush was becoming commensurate
with, the demand ; so that prices for Clevelands are
never likely to be more favourable for the buyer
than during the next year or two. The farmer
who does not succeed in buying good Cleveland or
Yorkshire mares can, at all events, find amongst
mares such as are sold for omnibus or tram purposes
many suitable for his purpose at a very moderate

64 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

outlay. Many strong, short - legged mares, with
quality, which are admirably adapted for useful
service on the farm, may be seen in the London
omnibuses and trams ; these would in all proba-
bility breed excellent carriage horses, half-bred stock,
and even hunters. There are always a certain
number of such mares that turn out to be in foal,
bought by the omnibus and tram companies, and
such can often be cheaply bought. I know of one
place near London to which a company sent down
the mares that turned out to be in foal, where they
were kept till they had foaled, all the foals being
knocked on the head and the mares got ready for
work again. Such treatment is expensive and
wasteful, and did farmers look out for like oppor-
tunities, it would be better for both parties.

It may be noticed that many farmers are very
partial to hackney blood. I have seen hackney
sires used extensively on all sorts of mares in the
district in which I live. The neat looks, the fine
action, and compact strength of one of these cocky
little cobs, and his power of giving a little sub-
stance— though too often without size, — combined
with a low service fee, have great attractions for the
Yorkshireman and others ; but I cannot believe that
this sort of breeding is lucrative unless in a dale or
hilly district where ponies and little horses are in
request. Nor do I believe the present rage for
fashionable hackneys will last long enough to justify
a farmer with slender means in attempting to breed
pure-bred hackney stock. It is in my judgment a
fashion that cannot continue at its present level.
The hackney : What is he at his best ? When got

HACKNEYS 65

big enough, say 15.3 hands high, he is doubtless an
excellent carriage horse ; but then he is no longer a
hackney. The hackney of i 5 hands — what is he in
trade ? He is a smart trapper as long as he is fresh,
but likely often to lose his chief attraction — his high,
fast action — in hard work, or to knock up his legs,
ankles, or feet in perpetual hammering on the hard
road. As for his name, it is a misnomer; he is about
the most uncomfortable and fatiguing hack that can
be devised, and though often a hardy, handy, plucky
little horse, and a pleasure to look at, there is no
trade except that of " trapper " that cannot be better
filled by another breed. The real carriage horse is
his superior in harness in respect of strength and
size, should approach him in action, and at least
equal him in appearance. The blood hack is
immeasurably his sup'erior in comfort and ease, in
every pace ; the high-stepping trot, the rough canter,
and the jolting gall6p of the one cannot for a
moment be compared with the easy walk, the swift,
smooth trot, the swinging, gentle canter and even
gallop of the other. No man who appreciates
comfort in riding would get on to a hackney
whilst he has either hack or hunter in his stable.
There will always be some people who like to air
themselves in the Row or elsewhere on a horse that
carries himself so much better than his rider, and
which will attract attention by his showy action, his
mould, his conceitedly-carried head, prettily-arched
neck, and general appearance of being well pleased
with himself; and this being so, I would not say a
word to discourage any man who has a fancy to
breed hackneys. It can be done profitably if proper

F

66 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

attention is given to the model that is in demand ;
but above all action must be studied, sire and dam
must have the full-reaching, fast, high, true action, in
which the shoulder works freely, the knee and hocks
lift and bend, and where all the four legs, with every
joint flexing, reach over the ground with the splendid
movement — rhythmic, precise, true, and free — which
is the just pride of the breed. The hackney, if only
he is bred big enough, will find a place in the
carriage market, for his hardihood and action point
him out as fitted for this trade.

As with the hackney, so with the hunter, though
I regard him as the king of the brute creation. I
would not encourage the farmer without a special taste
for the hunter and for hunting, to attempt hunter
breeding. It is most difficult and risky, and should
only be tried by those who thoroughly understand
what a hunter is, how he should be made, and
perhaps also how he should be ridden. To such it
may be profitable enough, and happily for hunting
men there are hundreds of farmers in England and
Ireland who breed hunters, and many of these
no doubt make money. But I do not believe there
are many getting the best price for young hunters
who do not either hunt themselves or have at least
one of their family a bold and careful rider. If I
knew of a recipe for breeding a 15- or i6-stone
hunter, I would gladly give it. The farmer who has
had the luck to breed such a horse will sacrifice a
large part of the profit he should have out of him if
he cannot ride him to hounds and keep him until he
can sell him as a " made " hunter. Most farmers
prefer the smaller profit and the minor risk of selling

HUNTERS (i^

their promising three- or four-year-old to the dealer
at a price perhaps half or two-thirds less than the
dealer eventually takes for the horse, and yet at a
figure that will leave the farmer with a nice margin.
In England it is not often that a farmer is to be
found who is a really successful breeder of hunters,
and those there are usually owe their success to
the possession of an exceptionally good brood
mare.

There are many ways in which hunters are bred,
but some are more likely to succeed than others.

( 1 ) The clean - legged active cart marx to the
Thoroughbred. — This is the commonest and worst
way of breeding a hunter up to weight. He is up
to weight, and possibly good-looking, but is a
disgusting horse to ride when the pace is fast, the
day protracted, the ride home a long one, or any
special effort is required ; and as he is the worst
sort to be on, he is the worst sort to be under, falling
like lead when he makes a mistake. He will often
lie for minutes where he has fallen, with no compas-
sion for his flattened rider, and no consciousness of
the want of dignity in his own position.

(2) Hackney mare to Thoroughbred. — Very nice
I 3 -stone hunters may be bred this way if the mare
has plenty of quality ; they may be deficient some-
times in jumping quarters and thighs, but hackneys
have often good legs, feet, and shoulders, strong
backs and loins — all important in the hunter. I
have myself, off a 15 -hands hackney mare, bred a
hunter or two this way, which have carried all before
them in the prize ring, and been game, good hunters
in the field.

68 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS ghap.

(3) Hmiter viai'e to Thoroughbred. — A well-bred
hunting mare, say with two or three crosses of blood,
up to weight, that has proved herself a bold, cheerful
hunter with stamina and constitution, is the best
hunter brood mare. Such a mare, not older than
eight or nine when she goes to the stud, will gener-
ally prove a success ; but it is only a mare here and
there that can be depended on for producing one
weight-carrier after another, and a farmer who owns
this sort should never part with her ; if he can afford
it he should keep the best and strongest filly off her
to hunt himself, and look to replacing her by her
daughter in good time, as in all probability the
impressive powers of the dam will be inherited by
the daughter in some degree at least.

(4) The Thoroughbred mare and clean-legged cart
horse. — I have not alluded to the Thoroughbred on
the farm before, as in my opinion it is hardly the
place, as a rule, for them ; but some strong, useful
hunters are in this way bred off Thoroughbred mares
in Devonshire and the south-west. For such horses
as are required for a hilly country, when the pace is
not fast, and not a deal of big jumping to be done,
they seem to be liked well enough, but they are
seldom horses of the first class. It would probably
be better to cross " bloody " mares with a selected
Yorkshire coach horse. Though I have not seen it
tried often enough to venture to recommend it, there
is no reason, if the mare has substance, why weight-
carriers should not be bred in this way.

(5) The Thoroughbred iveigJit-carrier is a com-
paratively scarce animal, and no ordinary breeder can
count on breeding him. He is a giant of his race,

V WEIGHT-CARRIERS 69

and is the ideal hunter when built the right way, and
commands the top price of the market.

The surest way to breed a weight-carrier — a
horse up to 15 or 1 6 stone, that has courage, quality,
fair pace, and bottom — is to breed from a good class
of Cleveland mare, selecting one which is shorter
coupled than the show-ring type. There is a great
deal of quality in the Cleveland ; they are fast and
free in action, enduring in work ; and the Cleveland
is a pleasant and easy hack. I have seen Clevelands
ridden to hounds and have hacked an undersized
Cleveland mare, no one suspecting her origin and
pedigree. A Cleveland mare to a Thoroughbred
produces a very fine type of weight-carrying hunter,
and I know men amongst the hardest riders who say
that the hunters they have had bred in this way were
the boldest, best, and most enduring they have ever
ridden. Mr. Thos. Parrington, of Yorkshire fame,
considers that the very finest hunters that can be
bred are the first, or better still, the second cross off
a Cleveland mare. Such a brood mare may, of
course, miss throwing horses of the best hunter type,
but if she does, she throws a splendid bay carriage
horse, and these lines, seem to be as safe to follow as
any.

So far I have hardly alluded to cavalry remounts,
and I do not intend to say much about them to
farmers. The miserable price offered by the Govern-
ment for troop horses will not at present make it
worth while for farmers to attempt to breed the horse
that is required. ^30 to ;^35 is all farmers will get
for cavalry remounts, which are bought in the first
instance by dealers, and such a price can leave no

7o HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap, v

profit. However, any horse that is strong and yet
active enough, and is thoroughly sound, may be
disposed of in this quarter if he is not quite up to
the mark for other trades. But the farmer will find
that he can sell his trooper at about £^ better price
to the foreign buyer of remounts than to the
purchaser for the British army.

\

CHAPTER VI

THE MARE

The Arabs of the Sahara say that " the greatest
wealth is a wise wife or a fruitful mare." Happy is
the British farmer who has these two precious
possessions ! There is a pride and pleasure in the
ownership of a good brood mare and her young
stock, bred on one's own holding, that is felt in very
few other kinds of property. The Arabs consider,
as we do, that the produce takes more after the sire
than the dam. They say, " Remember, the mare is
but a bag ; you will get gold out of it if you have
put gold in, and you will only take copper out if you
have only put copper in." General experience con-
firms this opinion. There are, and have been, many
sires that could get good stock off almost any mares,
but probably there has never been a mare so good as
to be able to breed a good foal if put to a really bad
horse with hereditary faults (such as spavin and
roaring), with a bad constitution and formation. We
have all probably seen a good foal got off the most
rubbishy-looking or unsound mare, but it is a risky
experiment to try, and the Arab is again wise with
his advice — " Sow seed only in good soil, and never
put honey in a dogskin bottle." It is a fact, and a

72 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

curious one, that with us the preference is ahvays
given in the market to geldings over mares. In
many countries this is not so, and the buyers for
some foreign Governments prefer mares, not only for
their future use as brood mares, but because of their
greater stamina. I myself, where other things are
equal, always prefer to buy a mare. The best
hunters I have had have been mares. I fancy they
have an easier pace, are more facile and quicker,
stand a long day and thrive better than geldings ;
and when an accident befalls, you have a good
brood mare to hand, instead of a horse for the
kennels or the knacker. The English prejudice
against mares for all kinds of work, unreasonable
and absurd as it appears to me, has one advantage —
the buyer in search of a brood mare can usually pick
up what he requires at a reasonable outlay. I have
on more than one. occasion been offered the gift of a
good mare who through some accident has been
unfitted for work, and any farmer on the look-out
may almost beg one.

Probably the majority of farmers who turn their
attention to horse-breeding for the first time will
breed cart horses. Let us suppose one of these to
have two cart mares — all the better if they are
Shires or Clydesdales. In the midlands and the
south, probably, it will be more profitable to rear
Shires ; in the north the demand for Clydesdales is
large enough in the mining and industrial districts
to make raising Clydesdales pay equally well. It
will be well if the mares are not more than three
years old, and then if either of them proves after
trial to be a bad breeder or a bad mother, the farmer

VI THE MARE 73

will have a good agricultural mare to sell at five or
six years old, and will have lost nothing by the ex-
periment, for the mare will have earned her keep
and be at the best age for sale, and should show a
profit. These mares can be worked steadily the
whole year round, can take their turn, if necessary,
up to the day of foaling, and within a month be
doing their share again. Care should, however, be
taken not to give them severe work for, say, eight
or ten weeks before foaling. They should, except
for light or easy journeys, be kept out of the shafts,
and not put to any labour that necessitates their
straining, but they can do their work in the plough
and harrow as usual. The man who goes to buy a
mare for breeding purposes, after satisfying himself
that she is qualified to do her full share of farm
labour, should have her tried for wind, and carefully
examined for side -bone, ring-bone, and spavin. In
general she should be well bred, deep and stout,
with well-sprung ribs, a fair length, but strong in
the loins, full in the chest, compact yet roomy in
build, and free in her movements, bending her knee
well in her trot and going well behind. Her knees
and hocks should be large, her legs flat and big,
with clean, hard sinews, and short between the knee
and fetlock ; her shoulders muscular, and her feet
large, sound, open, and healthy. It is of the greatest
importance that sire and dam should have perfectly
good feet ; the best with bad feet are worthless, and
no fault is more common and more hereditary than
unsoundness in the feet. It is not often possible for
the ordinary tenant-farmer to obtain an almost fault-
less animal, but let him satisfy himself at least of

74 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

her soundness and activity, and do his best to select
a sire that is calculated to remedy her defects in the
offspring. Such a sire should be of the approved
and fashionable stamp, and, if possible, with a re-
putation for getting good sound foals of the right
colour. Colour helps to sell in all breeds. If the
Shire horse is selected, a stallion should be sought
that is big every way, but not higher than 17
hands at the most, and a horse not nearly so tall
at the shoulder may be the better stock -getter.
He should have a quick but kind eye, and a good
temper ; he should be compact, with a deep middle,
and muscular all over — loins, shoulders, and thighs ;
he should have big forearms, thighs, and second
thighs. His top appearance should be one of
lengthiness without weakness, and his body should
be carried on short, flat legs, with big joints. He
should measure about 1 1 inches below the knee ;
his tail should be well set on ; his mane long and
full ; the hair on his legs should be plentiful,
long, and silky ; his feet wide and sound ; and he
should, of course, be free from hereditary affections
of all sorts. Beyond these attributes he should be
a horse with plenty of action, lifting his knee and
flexing his hock. There are, needless to say, many
excellent sires that do not come up to this standard,
and it is better to use a moderate sire with an
ascertained record of merit than even a show horse
with a doubtful record or which has his name to
make. The mare being bought and the sire selected,
pains must be taken to ensure her being got in foal.
Nine out of ten mares that miss are barren simply
from want of care in catching the mare at the right

VI THE MARE 75

time or from subsequent neglect. She should be
watched as soon as January is out, and if suspected
of being in season, should be tried, and a note made
of the date ; and she should never after be allowed
to come in season without its being reported, until
the time arrives when it is decided to cover her.
For agricultural and half-bred stock the first service
should not take place earlier than the end of March.
I myself consider that foals do as well and are much
less trouble, besides being kept much cheaper, when
foaled not earlier than April, as foals that arrive
sooner suffer as a rule from confinement, and the
mares do not give so much or such suitable milk
as when there is grass to be picked up. If the
mare is a maiden in ordinary work, it will be as
well for a month previous to her going to the horse
to feed her on cooler diet than usual — fewer oats
and less dry food, — in lieu, bran or linseed mashes.
When taken to the horse she should have been two
days in season, and if a maiden she should be served
again before the pride goes off her.

Opinions vary as to the best time to serve a
mare. Some consider the service most efficacious
just before the pride goes off, others just at its height.
I do not think any rule can be laid down. Sub-
sequently the mare should be tried regularly every
three weeks' end and every month's end, and whether
refusing the horse or not, she should be tried at
these periods till the end of June at least, as many
mares will refuse the horse for several successive
periods, and then come in season again perhaps
without any great show of their condition. Half
the mares that are geld are so because the mare

76 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

having once or twice refused the horse, she is dis-
missed from all further consideration with the ex-
clamation, " She's standing all right." A foaling
mare is usually much more easily got in foal than a
maiden, or one that has missed a year or more,
especially if served her first pride within eleven days
of foaling. But equal care should be bestowed on
all mares. It may be a little troublesome, but the
trouble is amply repaid by the absence of that dis-
appointment which all feel when they look for a foal
that is not there. There are many prescriptions
advocated by both the knowing and the superstitious
for getting a mare in foal that refuses to breed.
There are those who throw a bucket of water over
the quarters directly after service, those who apply a
turpentine blister on the loins, and those who bleed.
I name these as being supported in some degree by
reason or experience. It is possible that the shrink-
ing and muscular contraction consequent upon such
treatment may tend to the retention of the semen,
or that the withdrawal of the mare's attention from
the service may increase the probabilities of con-
ception. In America and, I believe, in France, a
simple, though delicate, operation is performed with
success by veterinary surgeons, by which the
entrance to the seed - bed is opened artificially ;
but it is a dangerous experiment for the inex-
perienced to attempt. The Arabs have a similar
method. I will not waste time by alluding to super-
stitions as to phases of the moon or other popular
fancies, but recommend those who, after taking every
pains find their efforts unavailing, to try the effect
of not giving food or water for eighteen hours before

VI THE MARE 77

service, and applying a turpentine blister on the
loins immediately after it. I had a mare that missed
to three different stallions, three successive years,
which held the first time the turpentine was applied.
I had also a Thoroughbred mare which after being
served year after year by different Thoroughbred sires
would not breed. Again I had her covered by a
three-year-old Cleveland horse, and she held to the
first service and bred afterwards to a Thoroughbred
again. I am confident that by such tactics nearly
every mare can be got to breed, and I have never
had one mare that I have failed to get a foal off
sooner or later. A cart horse will sometimes stop a
half-bred or blood mare and give her a start on a
productive stud career. Mares in work that are not
in high condition are more easily got in foal than
idle mares or mares that are fresh. It is better that
a mare should be in fair working order, healthy and
blooming, but not fat. It is necessary after a mare
has been served to keep her away from all stallions
and geldings likely to tease her, and it is better not
to put a " shy " breeder to any exceptional labour
for two months after she is believed to have con-
ceived. When in foal the mare should be well done
to and kept in nice condition, but never allowed to
get fat before foaling. When she is heavy with foal
no great strain should be put on her, nor should she
be upset in her temper by fighting with or worrying
her. When other horses are receiving their food, it
is as well, in order to prevent their fretting, to feed
the in-foal mares first ; in fact, everything that com-
mon-sense dictates should be done to keep the mare
in a quiet, natural condition, and then there will be

78 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

no fear of abortion and little risk in foaling. A
mare that slips her foal should be treated with every
care ; she should be covered at night, and receive
gruel and mashes, and water with the chill taken off;
and when in foal again, for three or four months
before foaling, she should only do such light work
on the farm as will keep her in health and exercise.
It is easy to tell when a mare is about to foal ;
her ewer has filled for some time previously, and a
few days before she foals wax is secreted at the
paps. When this occurs, and her quarters begin to
drop in (as a cow's before calving), her time is just
up. When the milk once appears, the mare should
be watched, and should be attended to by the man
she knows best. She should be placed in a roomy
box, with a door opening outwards, in case she goes
down against the door. For a week or two before
foaling a mare should not be turned out into a dewy
or wet pasture ; if she is out at grass she should be
brought in at night, and not turned out till wind
or sun has dried the standing dew off the herbage.
If an owner is inexperienced in the management of
a foaling mare, he should call in a neighbour who
will give such advice as is necessary. The first
thing that should present itself in foaling is the
water bladder and then the forefeet The bladder,
when the feet are well presented, may be broken,
and the assistant may then take the forefeet and
gently pull straight and fairly every time the mare
strains. After the foal is delivered the umbilical
cord should be tied close to the foal's belly and cut
close to the knot, and the foal left near the mare's
head. But, as a rule, nature's operations are simple

VI THE MARE 79

and safe, and should have only the simplest
assistance, the mare being allowed to foal as
quietly as possible, though the foal may at times
require attention during the first moments of its
existence. If it is not a strong foal a couple of
fresh eggs are easily given, and little trouble is
required to teach it to find its mother's milk. The
Arabs induce their foals to suck by giving the foal
a dried fig or date soaked and dripping with milk to
suck first ; he soon takes to this, and when brought
to his dam's side immediately learns to suck. After
the mare has foaled, she and her foal should be kept
perfectly quiet for a few days. For a day or two
one man only should attend to their wants, and for
the first three days they should not be subjected to
constant interruption or to the visits of curious
neighbours desirous of interviewing the new-comer.
Visitors always disturb the mare and foal, and
perhaps their owner, with their attentions, examina-
tion, advice, and criticism. After foaling, a mare
may have warm bran or linseed mashes, and if
chilly she should be covered for a day or two with
a horse-rug, and her water should be made lukewarm.
As soon as the foal is well on his legs, and the
weather is sunny and warm, they should be got out
of doors, for an hour or two at first ; afterwards as
much as possible, or as much as the mare's duties
on the farm permit. When the mare comes in hot
from work, a little of her milk should be taken from
her before the foal goes to her — and of course in
the summer the foal should run with the mother all
night.

Some mares are generous milkers, and such

So HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap, vi

require, if being worked, a generous diet, or they
will keep very poor ; others put most of what they
eat on to their backs instead of into their foals ; and
some few others are such bad milkers that the foal
should be given fresh warm cow's milk at each end
of the day, diluted with water, and sweetened with a
little brown sugar, to supplement his mother's milk ;
he should not, however, be allowed to drink his milk
too quickly and greedily out of the bucket.

CHAPTER VII

THE SIRE

Experience leads me to believe that every farmer
who is the owner of a mare, whether she be good,
bad, or indifferent, considers nearly every merit of
her offspring to be derived from the dam, and
certainly every fault from the sire. If it is a ques-
tion of colour, the mare may have a white face,
a white leg, and a white heel ; the irate owner then
spreads the news from market to market that so-
and-so's Cleveland stallion marks his stock with
white, and the rumour travels round that Mr. Caff's
foal by Brilliant Bay has a white foot — and Brilliant
Bay's season is spoiled. I know of one curby-
hocked mare that has had many curby-hocked foals
by various sires, but I never heard the owner admit
that anything but the horse was to blame on the
few occasions when he would acknowledge that there
was anything there at all ; he knows better, but the
horse is debited with the fault. A library of
jeremiads might be written by those who have
travelled stallions in rural districts. The owner of
the best of horses has to bear the weight of all the
faults of all his sires' sons and daughters, and often
but few of the honours. He hears fictions and false-

G

$2 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

hoods spread by the jealous man who travels other
horses ; before his horse has been on the road a
week he invariably hears from candid friends all
sorts of news — that his horse is a roarer, that his
horse's pedigree is false, and that he is a bad getter.
I take it that every stallion commences with this
character. However charitable the owner of the
mare, and however careless, the horse is always to
blame when she is not in foal. And yet there are
two sides to the question. The country is overrun
with bad stallions — unsound brutes that are travelled
at a low fee, cutting out good sires that have cost
money, not only from earning an honest living, but
from paying for their keep. The saying that you
need not wish to pay off an old score against your
worst enemy better than by giving him a stallion to
travel has too much truth in it. Farmers themselves
are much to blame for the existence of so many bad,
and the absence of good, sires. They too often look
out for a great prancing stallion loaded with fat and
having a jaw-breaking name. By encouraging third-
rate stallions they are doing mischief to the com-
munity and themselves. No economy is worse than
to have a decent mare covered by a bad or
indifferent horse at a fee, say, of i os. — and a glass of
gin for the groom — instead of paying £2 or £^, or
even ;^5, for a horse that gets valuable stock. What
is the result to the man who does this ? He saves
30s., more or less, in 1894. In 1895 he has a
miserable foal, neither a pride nor a pleasure to look
at, however he m.ay " crack " about it to his neigh-
bours. Or he has a foal that grows into a roaring
and spavined, but otherwise good-looking animal ;

VII THE SIRE 83

and in 1899, if he has had patience to keep him so
long, he may get £^0 for him, being probably ^10
out of pocket, and only too glad to see him off the
place. Contrast the position of this man with the
one who has picked out a first-rate sire, gone to the
expense of a £2 or even ^^3 fee, and perhaps
another sovereign or two for travelling expenses to
get his mare to the horse. From the first he is
happy in the consciousness that his mare is in foal
to such a horse ; he at least knows that her chances
of being in foal are greater than if she had been
served by the old or over-done, under-kept horse
that comes touting to his gate. His foal is his
pride ; his affection for the mare is enhanced by the
pecuniary sacrifice he has made ; he watches over
the career of the youngster as if it were a child, and
finds himself when bereaved of his four- year -old
comforted and compensated by a price, it may be of
;^8o, it may be of ;^ 150, Many farmers are ready
to pay a higher fee if they are given the opportunity
of paying half the fee at the end of the season and
the other half when the mare proves in foal. A
north-countryman, at least, shrinks with horror from
having nothing to show for his expenditure. It is,
therefore, well for owners of stallions to consent
to this mode of payment when asked, though
such a system adds much to the difficulty of col-
lecting the money due — an operation not easy
under any circumstances. If breeders understood
how great is the expense and trouble of travelling a
good horse kept in the highest condition throughout
the season, attended by an experienced groom, they
might be a little more punctual and considerate in

84 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

paying their fees. There is many an owner who
would travel a good horse for the benefit of the
public, without expecting to make money, if he saw
his way to covering expenses, and was saved the
bother and trouble he usually experiences in getting
his money in. Many owners would be glad to take
30 per cent off the fee to be paid cash down, the first
service.

We have previously noticed the type of horse a
farmer should select for his cart mare in order to
breed agricultural horses, and the characteristics that
should distinguish the hackney and the Yorkshire bay.
Let us now turn to the Thoroughbred sire, the hunter
sire, and the Cleveland bay sire. The Thoroughbred
stallion may be said to be ubiquitous. Good,
moderate, and bad specimens are to be found in
almost every district. The Queen's Premium horses
are far too few, and I think that more might be
done at headquarters to promote the great horse-
breeding industry of this country. I have alluded
to foreign competition, but I am too much of a
convinced free-trader to think that it would be wise
or expedient to protect the horse-breeder by any
tariff regulations, even when we have to compete
with foreign breeders who are supported by enormous
State subsidies of hundreds of thousands of pounds
a year, and who have the finest stallions placed at
their service at a nominal fee or no fee at all. I
have lately inspected the French Government
stallions in Algeria, and at Blidah I saw eighty or
more that have been serving gratis in various districts
of the country. Many of these horses are fine
animals, well calculated to get the horses required for

VII THE SIRE 85

the army remounts, and they serve all mares free of
charge. I do not suggest that our Government should
give us such privileges as these. I am all in favour
of, and have the greatest faith in, the power of
private enterprise and individual effort, believing it
to be far more effective and more productive than
what is done by those who lean on public authorities
for guidance, and who have to look to taxes to
supply their profit and interest on outlay. But
there would be nothing subversive of free -trade
principles or discouraging to private effort if the
principle were extended that has been adopted in
devoting the Queen's Plate money to giving prizes
to Thoroughbred stallions under regulations framed
by the Royal Commission. This system, which has
just enough flavour of royal patronage and pecuniary
reward to stimulate competition and to tempt out
good horses, has already worked wonders in encourag-
ing and improving the breeding of half-bred horses
and stimulating public interest and attention. The
knowledge that every Queen's Premium horse has
been thoroughly " vetted " and is free from hereditary
taint, has given confidence, and many farmers and
others wish they were placed within reach of
one of these horses. But the ;^5ooo at present
devoted to the purpose is not sufficient to place the
horses within the reach of many. The country is
divided up into enormous districts, and three horses
only are allotted to each ; thus Durham, Northum-
berland, Cumberland, and Westmorland form one
district, and have three Queen's Premium sires,
Yorkshire having another three. Well, a farmer
may as well look for a needle in a bundle of hay as

86 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

find a Queen's Premium horse in Yorkshire. I
have never yet had a Queen's Premium within reach
of me but once, and that was Pursebearer, who
stood some twenty miles away. I think ;^ 10,000,
instead of ;^5ooo, might be wisely devoted to the
Thoroughbred prizes, and another ;^ 10,000 to Shire,
Clydesdale, Cleveland, coach horse, and hackney.
Prizes of ;^200 are necessary perhaps to bring out the
better class of Thoroughbreds, and I am inclined to
think the reduction to ;^i50 lately made, a mistake,
but prizes of ;^5o would do much to encourage the
travelling of good, sound sires among these and
other breeds. It would not be a ruinous sum for a
country like England to give in prizes to encourage
native breeds of horses. We spend thousands for the
encouragement of art, literature, science, and technical
instruction ; and surely horse-breeding is not only
an industry — it is also a science, and, when thoroughly
carried on, is productive of the useful and beautiful.
Why I place so much store by these honours is that
they evoke public interest and secure at least a few
sound sires for use at a reasonable fee. It would be
a great advantage if the Board of Agriculture would
issue certificates of soundness to owners of stallions
at a nominal charge, so that every stallion-owner
might have the opportunity of having one, leaving
the public to judge of those that were without. Prob-
ably we cannot yet go to the length to which the
French Government has gone, of penalising the
travelling or use, for anything but his owner's own
mares, of a stallion that is unsound in certain
particulars.

In considering the selection of the Thoroughbred

VII THE SIRE 87

sire, let us look at the horse qualified to get (i) a
carriage horse, (2) a hunter.

The Thoroughbred to get a carriage horse should,
if possible, be whole-coloured, unless the mare is a
Yorkshire coaching or Cleveland mare, when the mare
may be depended on to give her solid colour to the foal.
He should have great substance, and may be a
lengthy, stout-barrelled horse wearing his head well,
and carrying his tail elegantly at the end of a level
quarter ; he should have as much action as possible,
and some Thoroughbreds are beautiful movers in
their trot ; he should not as a rule be under 15.3 or
over 16 ; but, as I have said before, judge the sire,
where possible, by his stock.

To find the Thoroughbred calculated to get big,
bold hunters, at a fee within the reach of the tenant-
farmer, is indeed a difficult problem in England. I
wish I could at this moment mention half-a-dozen
Thoroughbreds that were sure getters of hunter stock.
The horse to look for — the horse I want for my
hunter brood mares — is one that has stood train-
ing and run fairly well over long-distance races
on the flat, or in the front rank in steeplechases, or
one that is the immediate descendant of creditable
performers. I want him game, without vice, with a
good constitution, free from all suspicion of roaring,
whistling, spavin, or disease of the feet ; his forelegs
big and flat and short below the knee ; arms,
shoulders, loins, and thighs covered with big muscle ;
and deep-chested with plenty of bellows room. I do
not care what his colour is, nor about firing and
blemishes and unsightliness of limb or joint due
solely to a life of hard work. I want the knees and

88 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

hocks clean and big, and I do not want little round
ankles nor shallow or contracted feet His head may
be any shape if his eye is bright and intelligent,
and his ears quick and active, and I would send any
distance to a horse that is known to get stock that
is sizeable, and that can gallop, jump, and stay.
The qualities that are required in a hunter are sound
wind, pace, stamina, jumping power, and limbs that
will wear. The man who can earn a reputation
for producing horses up to 15 stone that possess
these qualities, even without attention to appearance,
colour, action, shape of quarters or head and neck,
may be well satisfied, for with these qualities the
horse will always sell, and there are few with these
attributes which need be afraid of criticism as to
symmetry and action.

As for the hunter sire, that is, " the cocktail " or
horse not perfectly clean bred, he is a scarce article.
The time will probably come when more cocktails
may come to the front as sires, and perhaps some
day we may see fine weight-carrying hunters, with
quality and pedigree, but not thoroughbred, kept
entire and getting fine hunter stock. There is no
reason why man, who has evolved the racehorse, the
hackney, and the coach horse by selection, should
not also create a hunter breed. If this is ever
done, the policy pursued by the Hunters' Improve-
ment Society will entitle it to be considered as the
pioneer in the work, by recording the pedigree of
mares. There appears to be nothing in reason to
prevent those who know of a horse not altogether
clean bred from using him, provided he has the
other necessary qualities in a sire for hunter-breeding.

VII THE SIRE 89

The mongrel-bred horse with an unknown pedigree,
however good to look at, is one to beware of, as
such can never be depended on for reproducing
his like, but may throw back to his worst crosses.

A few words about the Cleveland sire to assist
those, and they are many, who are not acquainted
with the breed. The Cleveland horse should stand
1 6. 1 in height ; in colour he varies between a
light, bright golden bay and a dark mahogany or
brown bay, with black legs, mane, and tail. He
should be lengthy in the body, but deep at the
shoulders, and his ribs well sprung ; strong over the
loins ; his quarters long, oval, and level, the tail coming
out high at the end of them ; his neck should arch
elegantly, and he should wear his largish and some-
times plain, but nearly always intelligent, head well ;
his legs should be clean, fine, hard, sinewy, and flat ;
his feet sound and excellent, neither too large nor too
small ; and he should measure about 9 inches of
bone below the knee. His great virtue is the com-
bination of power and strength with activity, style,
and quality.

CHAPTER VIII

THE FOAL

Before dealing with the treatment of the foal and
the youngster till he reaches a saleable age, let me
add a few words to what I have already said on the
subject of stallions. An entire horse that has been
wintered well and starts his season in robust condi-
tion, with a month's daily exercise to strengthen
his muscles, invigorate him, and prepare him for the
road, should be able, at three years old, to serve 50
mares, at four years old 100 mares, and afterwards
100 to 150 mares a season till he is ten or twelve
years old. Up to a certain point an easy-tempered,
vigorous horse does his work better and foals his
mares more surely, the more he serves. A five-
year-old horse that serves 70 mares in a season will
be a surer foal-getter than one that serves only 20.
When I say that a horse at age may serve without
injury to himself or his reputation 150 mares, I
presume the horse to have been kept on the best
quality of liberal rations, well stabled and cared for,
and to be travelling a fair but not excessive distance
with, say, three nights a week in his own stable.
The capacity of a horse depends on his temperament.
Thoroughbred stallions should, as a rule, not serve

CHAP. VIII THE FOAL 91

more than from 60 to 80 mares a season. I have
known a Cleveland stallion serve 260 mares a season
with a high percentage of foals — a record not to be
commended. Much depends on care being taken
that the mares are in the right condition. It can
easily be understood that a horse that stops the
great majority of his mares with one service apiece
can do a much better season than one that has to
cover his mares three or four times; 50 may be
enough for the latter, 150 not too many for the
former. I had a four-year-old Cleveland that covered
100 mares at that age, foaled his mares wonderfully
well, and finished his season in better condition than
he commenced it. At the end of the season I
showed him in a large class of coaching stallions at
the Yorkshire show, where he took second prize to
Sultan, and where I sold him for a high figure to
South Africa. Let me illustrate what I have said
from another experience. I had an old Thoroughbred
stallion, Syrian, twenty-three years old, and limited
him to about 20 mares besides my own. He foaled his
mares only moderately, and his groom advised me to
let him serve 50 mares and he would do better.
Accordingly next season I let him serve upwards of
40 mares besides my own, and he foaled his mares
splendidly. One man who sent five mares to him
had five foals, one of them off an aged mare that
had refused to breed for some years. A horse that
does not travel or get plenty of exercise cannot serve
as many as a horse that is out most of every day in
the week. Much also depends on the groom. A
steady, careful man, who is fond of and studies his
horse, is the only sort that should have charge of a

92 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

stallion on the road. At the termination of a season,
stallions that have kept full of flesh should be
gradually cooled down and their beef reduced, and
if the owner has not a loose box with a good run
they should be turned out for some hours a day. I
do not say that this is desirable in the case of all
horses, or in the case of a Thoroughbred which has
all his life been used to a warm stable and dry meat.
And now let us return to the foal just dropped,
and which has learned to suck. There are, in the
first place, two things to watch, viz. that the bowels
act, and that they do not act too freely. To ensure
the first, many use a tallow candle as a suppository
the first day. To guard against excessive scouring,
the following treatment should be pursued. As a
rule, nothing should be done to obstruct nature's
efforts, and a little laxness of the bowels need not
cause any anxiety, but where regular scouring or
the " shute " sets in I have found a dose of camphor
dissolved in fine spirits of wine a most effectual
remedy. The foal that scours should be kept
warmly covered in a blanket or woollen rug fastened
round the belly, and its legs bandaged in woollen
bandages up to the arms and thighs. The follow-
ing methods of treatment are also recommended : —
(i) Give 2 oz. of castor-oil with half-an-ounce of
laudanum. Such water as is given should be very
little in quantity, and tepid. The diet should con-
sist of rice boiled to a pulp in new milk, and about
a quart of new milk may be given during the day.
When the foal is stronger, a few crushed oats and
good old hay may be given. (2) 2 oz. of camphor
dissolved, 2 oz. of spirits of wine, add water, and

VIII THE FOAL 93

give 2 tablespoonfuls at intervals of three to six
hours.

It is a mistake to play with foals when they are
very young, as they soon learn that kind of
familiarity which breeds contempt, and pick up such
tricks as biting, using their teeth, and striking not
only with their hind but with their fore feet ; they
are, however, all the better for being nicely handled,
taught to lead, and to understand the voice and
gestures of their attendant. Foals so handled
become very tractable, and with young horses well
handled there is much less trouble when the time
for breaking, mouthing, and backing arrives. I have
had youngsters which have had a show career from
their earliest days. Such an education has its
dangers and disadvantages, but it has always
resulted in their being almost broken, so docile,
intelligent, and teachable have they become from
constant association with man and his ways. They
are at home in any stable ; they take their place in
the train like any Christian ; they will follow, lead,
walk, trot, turn, " come over," back, lift their feet,
stand dressing, shoeing, and clipping, understand the
words of command, and are accomplished in all
those little details which the horse that has run wild
till four years old learns only with great difficulty
and at the expense of much time and patience on
the part of his instructor. To such horses as are
accustomed to being handled from foalhood the
sights and noises of the road and town have no
terror. He does not plunge at the sight or sound
of the steam-engine, start at the whip crack, shy at
the wheelbarrow on the roadside, or fly from the

94 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

bird darting from the fence ; he knows the ways of
the world, and has an intelHgence all the greater for
its early development. A foal may be weaned
towards the end of September or in October, and he
will be all the better fitted to encounter the hard-
ships of his first winter if he has been living out of
doors day and night throughout the summer. It is
highly desirable when he has learnt to eat that he
should have his little ration of crushed oats or bran-
mash when his dam is having her feed in the earlier
part of the year ; and for keeping foals in sleek,
healthy condition, a teacupful of lime-water and
linseed oil well mixed together and put into the
bran-mash once a week is effective in keeping skin
and bowels in order. It may be said that this sort of
thing is all very well in a gentleman's stable, but it is
not worth a farmer's while to trouble about such details.
My reply is that nothing is truer economy than to do
well to the foal, for the foal is father of the horse just
in the same way as " the child is father of the man."
It is during the first eighteen months of a horse's
life that the whole foundation of his future career is
laid. In this period the bone and framework is to
be made and receive its form, and strength received
to overcome any defects and infirmities which, with-
out generous treatment, will become intensified.
The first winter is the hardest time in a horse's life ;
he is an orphan, deprived of the shelter and the com-
panionship of his dam, and if a colt, after the hard-
ships of winter he will probably have to undergo the
shock of castration in the spring — and for all this,
and against the ailments of youth, it is necessary
that he should be well fortified. I am no advocate

VIII THE FOAL 95

of coddling young horses, but to fit them for grow-
ing, thriving, and enduring cold, their diet should be
a generous one, of crushed oats, bran, turnips, chaff,
and good hay, and anything extra afforded them in
wintry weather will pay well. Should strangles or
influenza seize the foal that has been weaned in
October, kept in a poor pasture in November, and
on short or bad rations during winter, what chance
has he of surviving or of quick recovery ? If he
lives he will be left so exhausted that his growth
will be permanently stunted, whereas, if equipped
against all events by a liberal diet, he will generally
defy attacks such as those mentioned. Throughout
late autumn and winter, foals should be housed at
night, but not put into close, ill-ventilated places. I
have sometimes seen the door of some outhouse
thrown open and a mob of foals and yearlings
plunge out, followed by a rush of hot, fetid air, —
this much more likely to knock you down than the
actual charge of the prisoners out of the steaming
black-hole into the cold piercing air of a January
morning.

Some persons advise the docking of foals, but
though undoubtedly the operation may be done then
with greater ease than later on, I believe it to be a
mistake ; I am sure it is with half-bred foals. It is
easier when they are three years old to know how
much or how little to take off, and many a foal that
is docked may require a second docking at four
years old to suit the taste of some buyer or dealer.
If the foal turns out to be neither hunter nor hack,
but more suitable for harness or a trooper, he cannot
be given back the lost inches of his tail. It is wiser

96 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

to wait till the horse is three years old, and when
his trade is fixed his tail can be arranged to suit the
taste of the market The operations of docking and
castration should be performed by an experienced
practitioner or veterinary surgeon in cool spring
weather if possible, when there is no danger either
from frost, summer heat, or flies. Care should be
used after both operations, and the newly -docked
horse should not be worked or heated for some two
weeks after the event. Docking is really a needless
operation, but will be continued as long as the
fashion for short tails lasts, and it is not such a
cruel operation as it is sometimes represented to be.
I have seen a young horse docked when eating the
feed of oats which had been taken out to catch him
with, and never take his head out of the manger
during the amputation or dressing. A horse in his
second or third year needs less attention than in his
first, but all that is given him is not lost. He
should have good pasture and change of pasture
during the summer, a run in a clover or old-land fog
in the autumn, and sound hay, chaff, chopped straw,
and turnips during winter. The water supply should
be pure and plentiful, and in cold weather he should
have the shelter of a shed or fold-yard. It is good
for foals and yearlings to run together ; they
exercise themselves better than when alone, and for
blood and hunter foals, that will have to gallop if
they are to sell well, it is important that they should
run out with another of their kind. It is well worth
while looking over the feet and mouths of young horses
from time to time, and having the hoofs that require
it trimmed, and "wolf teeth" extracted — which

viii THE FOAL 97

latter are often the sole cause of a young horse
doing badly and losing flesh.

A two -year -old agricultural colt or filly may
begin to do a little work on the farm, and help
towards its keep, but if a filly two years old and
rising three is put into light work she should on no
account be put to the horse at that age. I have
observed no harm done by breeding off two-year-old
mares that are left unbroken and well kept till they
are rising four ; in fact, it is better for a two-year-
old mare to go to the horse, say, in June, foal in
May when she is three years old, and not go to
work till the following " back end " when she is
rising four, than to go into hard work on the farm
straight away. A hunter mare need not be any the
worse for having a foal in May at three years old and
remaining unmade till the following December, when
she may be backed and ridden, and not only see,
but go to, hounds before the end of the hunting
season.

A young hackney should be run in hand fre-
quently— the more the better after he is two years
old, to teach him to trot and move fast and freely ;
his action thus early cultivated will rapidly improve
when he gets into work and on to hard meat, and
has his nose pulled in by his rider.

As for the manner of accustoming young
agricultural horses to the harrow, the plough, and
the shafts, it would be more appropriate for the
farmer to teach me than that I should attempt to
advise him, but all young horses that have learnt
to run well in hand show themselves off to much
greater advantage when the day of sale comes than

H

98 IIORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap, viii

those which have to be hauled about at the end of
a halter, and whose only attempt to go is to flounder
and buck forward in response to the application of
the whip behind. Those farmers who have the old-
fashioned horse-wheel thrashing machines often find
that for young horses there is no better method of
teaching them their first lessons in farm labour than
to put them in with the older horses, where they soon
learn that it is easier to cheerfully perform a task
they cannot escape from than to refuse it. There
are many useful lessons that may be taught a young
horse, and he should always be corrected from his
earliest days for any vicious tendency ; he should
never be allowed to strike, bite, or rear without a
severe reprimand. A horse should be taught to
stand when left by his master. The Arabs teach
this to perfection. My Arab horses in Algeria, like
all Arab horses, were taught to stand anywhere at
any time immediately the reins are thrown over
their heads on to the ground. You can thus leave
them in the desert for hours together with perfect
confidence that they will not move a yard from
where you have left them. One day I was going at
a hand gallop on one of my Arab mares when the
buckle of my snaffle rein became unfastened, and the
two ends fell through my fingers to the ground ; she
immediately stopped as if shot, throwing me forward
on to her neck. It takes about three days to teach
a young horse this, by leaving a lad with the animal
to put his foot on the reins every time the horse
attempts to move, thus giving him a sharp " chuck "
that unpleasantly reminds him that he must remain
where he is.

CHAPTER IX

MOUTHING, BREAKING-IN, COST OF BREEDING

The farmer will probably break and " make " some
of his agricultural colts and fillies before selling
them ; some he may dispose of, unbroken, at
remunerative prices ; and he will seldom fail in
getting a fair price for a fair animal of this descrip-
tion. If, however, he be not a good rider and
driver, and has not a good bid for his unbroken
hunter, carriage horse, or hackney, he will do best to
put his horse into the hands of some cornpetent
horse-breaker, who, at the end of a fortnight, should
hand it over mouthed and broken. The horse now
should be kept in good condition and exercise, in a
comfortable stall or box, and should be ready to be
produced at any moment to the buyer, who often
comes, like an angel, unawares.

A young horse on a farm ought to be accustomed
to lead, long before he is of breaking age. Through-
out the colt's life he should not only have become
used to the voice of his owner or attendant, but
have learnt that his master means well and kindly
by him.

For mouthing, a plain wooden mouthing-bit with
keys, or a thick, plain snaffle with keys, should be

lOO HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

inserted in the colt's mouth ; the bit should not be
attached tightly by the side reins to the surcingle,
and it is better if the rein is a running rein from
one ring of the bit to the other, just tight enough to
bring the horse's nose in a little. An hour is long
enough for the first mouthing ; the length of time
the bit is in, and the tightness of the side reins, may
be gradually increased later.

The next part of his education will be to put on
the reins and drive the colt, either in a ring or on
the straight (the former plan has its advantages),
and thus he will be taught to go, to stop, to
turn, and to back ; and when this is learnt he may
be " backed," and then, if required for harness,
" yoked." The horse wheel and the harrow are
good elementary schools for harness horses. Patience,
perseverance, and gentleness will nearly always over-
come all difficulties in horse-breaking, and leave the
horse "kind," good -mannered, and with a good
mouth. The best mouth is soon spoilt by a bad
rider. Never let a man who uses. the reins "to hold
on by " or who keeps up a tight long pull on the
horse's mouth, get a second time on to your young
colt.

Let us look now as to the probable cost to the
owner of rearing and breaking a horse on the lines
I have attempted to sketch. If an agricultural
horse, he should not have cost his owner on the
average more than 4s. a week at most till he is
three years old. In his third year he should have
contributed something substantial towards his keep
in work on the farm, but to be safe we will put that
against shoeing and other incidental expenses. He

IX COST OF BREEDING loi

will thus, at the outside, have cost his owner ^3 i : 4s.
to bring him to a saleable age and condition — a cost
that leaves a fair margin of profit if he sells at ;^40
or ;^45, and an excellent return if he is good enough
to sell to the railway companies, carriers, and others,
who frequently give £60 to ^80, or even more, for
their strong horses. If the horse belongs to the
other lighter classes he may, when all is added, have
cost his owner on an average ;^I2 a year, though I
should put it at i^io myself Taking the higher
figure, however, he will have cost his owner, at four
years old, ^^48 to bring into marketable condition ;
and such young horses, if they have been bred and
reared with care, will average badly if they are not
worth £6^ or £^0 apiece ; while over a course of
years some are sure to bring prices well enough
over three figures to ensure the breeder against any
losses, misfortunes, and disappointments. It is
extremely difficult to draw up a general statement
of profit and loss applicable to horse-breeding, but
the following estimates may assist the breeder to
form his own calculations : —

[Tables.

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112 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

// is over a course of years rather than in any
one year that horse-breeding yields its profits. Farmers
in Yorkshire often sell their foals, especially Cleve-
land and coaching colt foals ; they are sold on the
farm or at local shows, at the dam's foot in the
summer, and are usually delivered in October. The
price obtained from the foreign and home buyer for
such colt foals in the last few years has averaged
over £^0 apiece ; whilst I have seen prize foals sold
for as much as £6q. When this can be done, as it
is done in Cleveland, horse-breeding is often very
remunerative and risk is reduced to a minimum, the
whole price for such a foal being practically found
money, as, except the original service fee, he has
cost very little. With regard to selling young
hunters, a farmer who hunts himself, or whose sons
ride the young horses, should ride to sell ; he should
go out often for an hour or two rather than try to
distinguish himself and his horse in long days with
hounds. He should be careful and bold, riding
fearlessly but with judgment ; and when hounds are
not running, teaching his horse to stand still at
covert side, to go kennel fadge with the hounds, as
well as to be in the first flight in a fast run ; having
had one good spin and jumped a few big places, he
should take his hunter quietly home without paying
calls on the way. A young hunter should be taught
to be handy at opening gates, and to jump anything
and everything in reason on the farm before he sees
hounds, as nothing is more likely to earn a good
horse a bad reputation as to see a conflict of opinion
between him and his rider in the hunting field.
Many a brilliant and promising young horse has

IX COST OF BREEDING 113

been ruined in the attempt to teach it the most
rudimentary lessons in the hurry of the mounted
field ; that is not the place for elementary instruc-
tion, but where the education should be completed.

Through the market, the fair, the dealer, and the
private buyer, there is seldom wanting an opportunity
to sell a good horse, but the saying is true that you
may run to buy, but you must stand to sell, and each
man must judge for himself when it is wisdom to
take an offer and when it is wise to wait The men
who do best are those who take a fair profit as soon
as they see it ; many too often forget how soon the
expense of keeping a horse on, the loss of interest
on the money, and the want of the money, run away
with any extra price that is afterwards obtained.
It is seldom worth while to lose a customer for a
difference of ^5 between the buyer and seller,
especially if there is a probability that the horse
may have to wait six months without any certainty
of making its price, putting aside altogether risks of
accidents and illness. We have all of us often seen
an owner proud of his horse, when offered a good price
which would leave him a large profit, stand out for
a bit more, and, in the end, after keeping him a year
or perhaps two years, sell him for less than he had
had originally offered ; or, worse still, the horse has
become damaged or gone amiss, and has to be sold
at a heavy loss.

It is no new criticism to pass on farmers that
they are bad hands at combining to protect them-
selves, and in co-operating to push their own
interests. The butcher, the miller, the brewer, the
dealer, and others are generally able to take advan-

I

114 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

tage of a divided and undisciplined host. Hard
times and the spread of co-operative principles have
taught farmers in some districts that they must
depend mainly upon themselves for any development
of their interests. Co-operation has been applied
with success in some parts of England to horse-
breeding by the formation of stallion clubs, which
have for their object the procuring of suitable sires
to travel certain districts. This policy is most
commendable, and is simple and practicable any-
where where there are two or three enterprising men
with the question at heart. In my own neighbour-
hood good agricultural stallions have been provided
in this way for some time past, and it may
possibly be useful to describe the method, or one of
the methods, of procedure. A few farmers meet
together, review the position, discuss the necessity of
a first-rate sire and the means of procuring one, and
the sources from whence funds can be obtained, and
then call a meeting of farmers, landlords, agents, and
others to consider their suggestions. It will be a
poor district indeed that cannot find a few landed
proprietors willing to subscribe their £^ or i^io
apiece to so excellent an object. If there is not
enough subscribed at once, with a little organisation
and going round with the hat amongst those inter-
ested in horses, ;^ioo to ;^2 00 is raised without
great difficulty. The subscribers meet to decide on
the class of horse that is most required, and there
are generally two candidates — the Shire and the
Clydesdale — which go to the poll. Supposing the
Clydesdale to have got the majority of votes, a
committee of two or three is appointed to go to

IX COST OF BREEDING 115

Glasgow, Dumfries, or some other suitable place, to
hire the best horse they can find for their money for
the ensuing season. This horse then travels the
district at a reasonable fee — say £1 at the end of
his season, and £1 when the mare proves in foal.
Where such a horse proves a good sire an effort
should be made to continue its services if sufficient
funds are not forthcoming to purchase it. There
must be many districts in which this principle might
be adopted, and where funds could easily be raised
for placing Shire, Clydesdale, or other stallions of the
highest class within the reach of tenant-farmers.
If this were done, it would result in a great im-
provement in agricultural and heavy horses.

CHAPTER X

AILMENTS AND DISEASES

In all serious ailments and accidents a veterinary
surgeon should be called in. But a few brief notes
indicating the direction in which " first aid " should
be given may be of use to those who are unable to
obtain the services of a good veterinary without
delay. To this is added some information with regard
to those maladies or misfortunes which an owner of
horses is competent to deal with himself.

Shoeing

A horse without sound feet is useless. The utility
of thousands of horses is impaired or destroyed by
bad shoeing. The knife should be used very spar-
ingly if at all on the sole and frog of a healthy hoof
The frog should be left, if possible, so as to touch
the ground with the shoe on. The bars and heels
should not be weakened and opened by the knife.
Shoes for light horses should be light and open at
the heel, and the inner heel of the shoe should
generally be thicker than the outer heel, as the
former is the weaker and usually a little farther off
the ground. The walls of the hoof should never be

CHAP. X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 117

weakened by rasping. For cart horses, if caulking
is necessary, the caulks should be the same height
as the toe-piece.

Lameness 171 Horses

For the purpose of examining a horse as to the
soundness of his feet and limbs his step may be
divided into four separate actions, namely —

(i) The " lift" — The moment the foot leaves the
ground.

(2) The "step" — The moment the foot comes

forward in lifting or falling.

(3) The "pose" — The moment the foot reaches

the ground.

(4) The " rest " — The time during which the foot

is placed on the ground and receives some of
the body's weight.

In a sound horse these four movements are equal
when he walks or trots with his head free, but pain
will make the "lift" quicker, the time of the "step"
longer, the " pose " slower, and the " rest " as quick
as possible. It is usually easy enough, if the lameness
is well marked, to see that the horse is lame, and
where or when he is lame, but in slight lameness it
is often difficult to detect the seat or cause.

In such cases, the horse should be trotted slowly
at first on hard ground, with his head as free as
possible, and the " pose " of the sound as well as of
the suspected leg watched carefully ; he should be
turned round to the near side and afterwards to the

ii8 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

off slowly and then sharply. If the seat of mischief
is not then detected go through the same process
with a man on his back, who must sit still without
touclmtg his head, for the head often indicates the
unsound limb. The head drops when the sound
forefoot is on the ground, and lifts when the lame
forefoot goes down, in order to put the weight of the
head and neck on the sound foot. But the order is
reversed if the horse is lame behind — that is, the
horse's head " bobs " on the lame side and lifts on
the sound. The crupper may also show unsoundness
by a " wobbling " or irregular balancing.

In shoulder lameness, the leg is lifted and comes
forward with difficulty with a tendency to " mow "
or to describe a curve.

Clean, well - lighted, well - ventilated but not
draughty stables, clean habits in those attending
to horses, good food and pure water, will keep
off most diseases, maintain horses in health, and
prove true economy. A little extra care in keep-
ing the litter and bedding dry and sweet, a little
extra trouble bestowed in grooming and washing
horses' feet out, will keep the skin healthy, and
prevent the risk of thrush and cracked heels and
many other evils that lead to loss and expense.

Spavin {Bone Spavin)

Spavin is a bony enlargement on the inner and
lower part inside the hock ; and the higher up the
bony deposit is situated the more serious it is. A
small spavin in an old horse that goes sound may
be of little consequence, but any appearance in a

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 119

young horse is reason for anxiety, as the spavin is
liable to grow. The disease can be detected by the
eye, the hand, and by noticing the flexion of the
hock. A horse with bad spavin may, when warm,
walk into a stable sound, but if he is brought out
cool an hour after he will be certain to betray his
unsoundness.

Cause. — The result of a strain or injury ; or
heredity.

Treatment. — The best cure for incipient spavin
is complete rest, good nouritiLre, and blistering. If
there is inflammation, apply hot fomentations or
poultices. In worse cases a seton may be tried, or
firing, or punching.

Curb

Nine horses out of ten with curb can be made
perfectly sound for practical purposes. Curb is,
whatever its cause or nature, observed by a bulging-
out or filling on the back of the hock.

Cause. — Strain ; formation ; heredity.

Treatment. — Complete rest. Remove hind shoes
and replace with high - heeled shoes to relieve
tension on' the back sinew ; keep plenty of cold water
going on the affected part ; cold bandages ; and cold
hose pipe. When swelling is reduced and heat gone,
blister ; if one blister does not remove the curb repeat
it up to four or five times. If this treatment fails,
fire. Personally, in any serious case of curb, I
would fire at once, my experience being that firing
has never failed to remove all future liability to
lameness. Firing is the most certain remedy.

I20 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

ThorougJipin

Thoroughpin is shown by swellings, soft or hard,
on both sides of the hock, under the tendon which is
attached to the cap of the hock. If they are soft,
they are usually wind-galls, and except in appearance,
of little moment. They are the result of strain,
overwork, or constitutional local weakness.

Treatment. — Rest ; cold water ; friction ; pressure
by truss or bandage.

Bog Spavin

This disease resembles a wind-gall in its character
and is situated inside the hock joint. For practical
work it is of no great consequence ; it is, however, an
unsightly sign of local weakness that pulls down a
horse's value.

Capped Hock

Capped hock is due to kicking in the stable, or in
harness, or to standing and slipping in badly-paved
stables.

Treatment. — Cold water and friction ; hobble the
hind legs if a kicker.

Sandcrack

This is generally a crack from the coronet down
the hoof

Treatment. — Pare out the crack and cut off the
crack above and below by searing with a hot iron ;
rest, and keep the crack clean with antiseptic lotion.

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 121

Seedy Toe

This is a parting of the crust of the coronet from
the soft horn at the toe of the foot.

Treatment. — Send for a good farrier or vet.

Navicular Disease

Navicular disease of the foot is very serious, and
is ulceration of the interior of the hoof. The
symptoms are great lameness. There is always
likelihood of recurrence when the horse is worked.

Cause. — Blows or bruises on the sole ; concussion ;
heredity.

Treatment. — Hot baths for the feet ; hot swabs ;
perfect rest for some months ; and a cooling diet.

Laminitis

Laminitis, or fever in the feet, may come on
suddenly after a hard day on hard ground. The
symptoms are great pain in the forefeet, and a
continual endeavour to get the weight off the forefeet,
which are thrust forward.

Cause. — Concussion ; galloping on a hard road.

Treatment. — Sling the horse if possible to stable
beams with ropes, to take the weight off the forefeet,
placing a rug under the body ; or use a pair of cart-
shafts. Remove shoes if possible, if necessary by
soaking feet in hot water, and send for a vet.

Scour

This disease is very common in foals, and serious
if it lasts more than a few days. If scour continues,

122 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

attend to the feeding of the mare with care, and give
the foal two tablespoonfuls from time to time of
2 oz. of camphor dissolved in 2 oz. of spirits of wine
diluted in about half a pint of water. With this
simple remedy I have saved the life of a foal almost
reduced to its last gasp.

Broken Knees

Treatment. — Keep the wound clean, and bathe
constantly every hour with arnica lotion. If badly
broken send for the vet.

Sore Withers and Back

Treatment, — Complete rest till quite healed and
sound is the only way. When there is an abscess or
fistulous tendency send for the vet.

Brushing Behind

This is generally due to weakness. Young horses
often grow out of it.

Treatment. — On the first symptoms, before the
skin on the fetlocks is injured, put on a cloth boot,
tied above the joint so that it falls over it, and see
that the hind shoes are slightly within the hoof on
the inside, so that they cannot cut.

Brushing in Fronts or Speedy Cut
Treatment. — If a habit, sell as soon as possible.

Thrush
The symptoms of common thrush are soft or

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 123

rotten condition of the frog, with a fetid discharge
from the cleft, which cleft is absent or nearly so in
the healthy foot.

Cause. — Due to contracted feet, or standing on
rotten litter.

Treatment. — Careful shoeing and paring of rotten
parts ; constant washing and attention to litter ; and
a temporary introduction of Stockholm tow and tar
into the cleft, with or without i part to 10 of
sulphate of copper. The cleft which appears with
thrush will extend if neglected. To avoid thrush,
the litter in the stable should be kept dry and clean.
If it is desirable to save straw, great economy may
be practised by the use of sawdust, which can
generally be obtained at a nominal price. When
this is spread thickly, all droppings removed daily,
and the sawdust raked over every morning, it forms
a clean, wholesome, and cheap substitute for straw,
and does not require renewing for weeks. Sawdust
manure is good for all soils on arable lands, and can
be applied conveniently for top-dressing, or ploughed
in with any crop, so that farmers who require their
straw may use sawdust without hesitation. Tan
and sawdust mixed also makes an excellent bed.

AciLte Thrush

Cause. — " Stopping " the feet with cow dung,
clay, and other beastliness is often the cause of
thrush.

Treatment. — Fomentations ; poultices ; antiseptic
lotions ; mashes ; green food ; constant washing of
the feet.

124 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

Splints

Cause. — Bony deposits that come or are the result
of blows, accidents, or concussion on the foreleg
below the knee, also hereditary in tendency ; and are
the cause of lameness or not, according to their
situation. If situated near a tendon or the knee-
joint a splint may be serious. A small splint often
gives more pain while growing than when formed.

Treatment. — Rest and cold water. If there is
heat and inflammation, fomentations and poultices.
If the splint does not yield to this treatment, blister.
In bad cases the splint can be removed by a surgical
operation.

Ring-bone and Side-bone

The following are the symptoms of this disease :
A filling or rising of the hoof ; inability to flex the
pastern joint.

Cause. — Heredity.

Treatment. — Poultice ; rub in iodide of lead
ointment.

Colic

Symptoms. — Head hangs ; breathing laboured ;
rocking and restless motion of legs and body ;
pawing ; swelling of the belly ; sweating ; intermit-
tent or palpitating heart; head from time to time
turns to his flank.

Treatment. — If the result of over-eating green
food, etc., a vet. should be sent for at once. Mean-
while give three balls, at intervals of half an hour
each, composed of sulphuret of ammonia (2 drachms).

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 125

extract of gentian, powdered quassia ; and endeavour
to keep the horse on his legs and walking about.
If the abdomen is enormously distended and death
imminent, as a last resort take a long, fine, narrow
knife or instrument, and after nicking the skin on
the left side below and well in front of the hip, make
a deep narrow puncture and the accumulated gas
will rush out of the colon. If an attack of colic
continues, water and food should not be given.

In a case of ordinary colic, shake up 2 oz.
of sulphuric ether and laudanum in half a pint of
water, and give three doses at ten minutes' interval ;
if no improvement, double the doses.

InflaiiiDiation of the Bowels

SyjHptonis. — Horse off his feed ; shivering fits ;
colic ; quick, wiry pulse.

Cause. — Unsuitable food ; gorging after fasting
and fatigue ; chill ; constipation.

Treatment. — Send for the vet. Meanwhile give
drinks of the colic dose (sulphuric ether and laudanum)
in smaller quantities and at slightly longer intervals.
Hot fomentations, and rugs wrung out of very hot
water, should be applied to the belly.

Sore TJiroat

Treatment. — Rub the throat outside with mustard
and olive oil for ten minutes.

Chronic Cough

Treatment. — Clothe warmly ; give the horse some
cut grass and rock-salt to lick.

126 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

Roaring and Whistling

This is detected in the stable by taking hold of
the horse's head, and making a feint at him as if
about to strike him on the flank. If a roarer he will
snort or grunt — but some horses will grunt at this
process when sound. Unsoundness in the wind is
detected easily by listening to the " inspiration " in
breathing after a good gallop or ten minutes'
lunging.

Cause. — Heredity ; strangles ; influenza ; and
bearing-reins.

Crib-biting and Wind-sucking

Cause. — The habit is fostered by impure or heated
stables, or by anything likely to prejudice the horse's
digestive powers ; but it is also due sometimes to
" want of work " ; one crib-biter may often infect a
whole stable with the habit.

Treatment, — This tiresome fault may be cured if
the habit has not been too long indulged in. Pre-
vention is better than cure, and mangers and racks
should be made of iron or so constructed that a horse
cannot lay hold of any part of the stable fittings
within reach of him, with his teeth.

Influenza

This complaint is highly infectious and con-
tagious.

Symptoms. — The white of the eye becomes yellow
or red or both. The horse blows more or less and
appears weak and lethargic ; runs at the eyes ; sore

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES 127

throat ; looks " tucked up " ; discharges from the
nose ; pulse low.

Treatment. — Never purge. Keep the horse warm,
and give him good tepid gruel (linseed or oatmeal)
whenever he will take it.

Staggers

Cause. — Over-feeding ; over-feeding after fasting,
and over-drinking after over-feeding.

Treatment. — In violent cases send for the vet.
In less violent cases, a quart of any oil, such as olive
oil, should be given.

Lockjaw
Treatment. — Send for the vet.

Affections of the Eyes
Treatment. — Send for the vet.

Lampas

Treatment. — Do not operate for lampas ; give
soft and cooling food ; consult a vet.

Inflammation of the Kidneys

Symptoms. — Back set up ; short breathing ; head
frequently turned towards the loins ; head hanging ;
a straggling gait ; and urine scanty. The test
usually employed is pressure with the hand on the
loins, when the horse will bend under or crouch.

Treatment. — Rub in mustard over the loins, and
send for the vet.

128 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

Ringworm

Treatment. — Cleanliness. Wash with soap and
hot water twice a day, and after drying apply an
ointment made of oil of tar, ^ oz. ; glycerine, i oz. ;
spermaceti, i oz.

Warts

Treatment. — Where warts are numerous and small
on young horses they often vanish with as much
rapidity as they come, but where they are large and
unsightly they can either be removed by a vet- with
the knife ; strangled with a ligature of horse-hair or
whip-cord till they drop off; or burnt down with
caustic, nitrate of silver, or sulphuric acid and sulphur
powder mixed together.

Grease and Hmnour in the Legs

Catise. — Generally the result of dirty stables and
neglect of cleanliness.

Treatment. — Apply as a lotion externally with a
sponge, sulphate of copper, 2 oz. ; burnt alum, i oz. ;
hot water, I pint ; dissolve the copper in the hot
water and when cold add the alum. Give a dose of
physic and follow with this powder after the physic
has worked off : nitrate of potash, 4 oz. ; sulphur,
8 oz. ; black antimony, 2 oz. ; the three ingredients
to be mixed and one tablespoonful given daily.

Cracked Heels

Treatment. — If bad, rest. Wash with soap and
warm water, dry, and apply as a lotion several times

X AILMENTS AND DISEASES -129

daily : glycerine, half pint ; chloride of zinc, 2
drachms ; solution of oak bark, i pint ; dissolve the
zinc in water and mix together.

Strangles

This complaint is contagious and serious.

Symptoms. — Cough ; discharge from the nostrils ;
a dull eye ; hot mouth ; listlessness ; after two days,
swelling under or behind the jaw ; fever ; swelling
forms into an abscess ; fever and disinclination to
swallow continue till the abscess bursts or is lanced.

Treatment. — Give a generous diet if he will eat ;
if not, thin gruel and green food ; general care and
good nursing. The throat may be rubbed with
camphor and spirits of turpentine, or fomented with
hot water, the throat after each fomentation being
carefully covered up. Do not purge. Send for
the vet. to lance the abscess when ready.

Glanders

Symptoms. — In early stages glanders may be
difficult to detect, but the first symptoms are ulcera-
tion of the inside of the nostrils, with running from
the nose and staring coat ; then the symptoms
change to a regular stream of nasty matter from the
nose.

Treatment. — Generally useless.

Worms — Tapeworm

The tapeworm should be got rid of at once, but
should never exist in a colt that is bred from healthy
stock and well done to.

K

130* HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS chap.

Symptoms. — Starved appearance ; anus projects ;
eye too bright.

Treatment. — Turpentine (spirits of) beaten up
with yolk of egg, and mixed in tepid water given on
an empty stomach. A foal should have 2 drachms
of turpentine (spirits of) ; six months, i oz. ; one-
year-old, I J oz. ; two-year-old, 2 oz. ; three-year-old,
3 oz. ; four-year-old, 4 oz. Give a generous diet
without hay for a while.

Worms — Lumbricii

Syutptoms. — Easily detected in the dung ; are
long, round, pointed worms, very common, but not
so serious as tapeworms.

Treatment. — Give 2 drachms of tartarised anti-
mony in a ball every morning before feeding till they
are got rid of.

Worms — Stronguli

These worms are difficult to detect. They are
about the size and appearance of hay chaff.

Treatment. — If suspected consult the vet., who
will doubtless give an injection or worm powder.

Wtnd-galls

Treatment. — Rest ; cold bandages ; indiarubber
bandages with flat corks to press on the wind-galls.

Wounds
Treatment. — Keep the wounds clean and do not

AILMENTS AND DISEASES 131

sew them up unless absolutely necessary, as the
process of healing commences or should commence
at the bottom of the wound.

Dentition in Horses

Much the best work for practical purposes
that I know of on this subject is that by Mr.
Sidney Galvayne, published by Murray and Son,
6Z Buchanan Street, Glasgow. When Professor
Galvayne was in this country he taught me more on
this and other subjects in a couple of hours than I
had learnt in ten years. To him and his works I
would refer my readers for a simple and practically
infallible method of telling the age of horses up to
30 — as to describe his methods would in equity if
not in fact be to infringe his " patent " and rights.
The ordinary methods of reading the marks are so
well known by every horse-owner that it would be
idle for me to set them forth here, and if any reader
is ignorant of this art he will learn more in one
practical object-lesson from one who knows than
from any amount of reading or looking at book
plates.

FAIRS, ADDRESSES OF BREEDERS

Every good agricultural almanac publishes a list of
the Fairs held in the United Kingdom, the addresses
of Breeders of Horses^ and a list of the various Horse
Shows.

CONCLUSION

And now let me, in conclusion, summarise very
briefly the facts that I have endeavoured to set
forth.

Times are bad and the agricultural interest is
suffering acutely from the low prices of stock and
produce, and from bad seasons. Farmers must
leave no stone unturned to find a profitable expen-
diture for their time and capital, and must work out
their salvation by wise enterprise. Horse-breeding,
properly conducted, is now a profitable pursuit in
many parts of the country, and therefore might be
made remunerative in other parts having equal or
superior advantages of climate, pasture, and proximity
to markets. Horse-breeding should be made a part
of the business of farming, but should be kept in its
proper place as an accessory. The demand for good
horses of every class is very great, and leaves an
ample margin of profit. Our climate, soil, pastures,
and breeds all give us a great advantage as horse-
breeders, and therefore foreign competition need not
be feared so long as horse-breeding is pursued by
Englishmen with zeal equal to that of the foreigner.
Thought and patience are requisite in this as in any
other business, but few occupations afiford so much

CHAP. X CONCLUSION

133

interest and pleasure. There is a wide choice of
breeds to select from, and as a rule success attends
the man who breeds the sort his heart most delights
in. Breed only from good sound mares that, if
possible, fill a useful place on the farm and earn
their own living. To whatever class they belong,
let them have substance, courage, and quality. Hold
fast to the mare that is a good breeder. Use the
best sire that can be found. Be liberal and generous
in the treatment of the foal, and do not keep the
growing youngster on short rations. Afford proper
and well-ventilated shelter for your young stock in
winter. And when you have done all this, and fail
after a fair trial — a day that is never likely to arrive
— then, and then only, can you say that horse-breed-
ing is an unprofitable pursuit for the farmer.

APPENDIX

During the eight months ended 31st August 1894, there were
9355 horses exported from this country, against 7503 in 1893.
Of these 289 were stallions, against 467 ; 2053 mares, against
2098; and 7013 geldings, against 4938. Of the geldings,
3036 went to Belgium, 2533 to Holland, and 12 12 to France.
The value of the horses exported was ^290,852, against
;^35 1,088 in 1893, and ^374,059 in 1892. The value of the
staUions exported was only ;i^27,234, against ^68,951 in 1893 ;
mares / 104,029, against ^133,734 ; and geldings ;^ 159,589,
against /i48,403. In the same period 15,614 horses were
imported, against 10,177 in 1893, and 21,026 in 1892. Of
these 674 were stallions, against 402 ; 3077 mares, against
2240; and 11,863 geldings, against 7535. Of the geldings
3305 came from Germany, 2759 (against 895) from the United
States, and 2162 (against 863) from Canada. These last
figures show where the increase in the imports has occurred,
and they account for the superabundance of horses of a type
suitable for the lighter town work which so seriously affects
the demand for second-rate horses reared in this country. The
value of the imports was ^360,913, against ;^2 89,600 in 1893,
and ^425,336 in 1892. As regards the trade in horses between
this country and North America, the tables are now completely
turned. During the eight months the United States and
Canada have paid us ^^34,150 for horses, while we have given
them ;^2i9,o8i.

Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.

\^

^^yibster f^wifiy Uljraiy of Vetermaiy Mec^^

Cymmlngs School ef Veterinary Rtedtein^^ai

Tufts University

200 Westbofo Road

North Grafton. MA 01 5:^^