if in double harness, will play with his mate. Good couraged horses are always the best tempered, and, under difficulties, are by far the most quiet, and least disposed to do mischief.

5945. The criteria of a race-horse, derived from form, are, that he have the greatest possible quantity of bone, muscle, and sinew, in the most condensed form. There should be a general length of parts to afford stretch, scope, and elasticity, with great muscles hardened by condition, to act on the length of these parts advantageously. In particular his hind-limbs should be furnished with ample thighs, and broad hocks, which should be low set. His fore arm ought also to be broad, and the knee, like the hock, should be near the ground.

5946. The criteria of a hunter are, that he have somewhat similar proportions with the racer, but with more bulk to enable him to continue his exertions longer, and to carry more weight. In him, a good carcase is essentially necessary to fit him to go through a long chase; and the more, if he be required to hunt more than one or two days in the week. Some light carcased horses will do one day's hunting work a week very well; but knock up at more. The hunter should be well formed in his loins, and well let down in his thighs to propel him forward in his gallop, and give him strength to rise sufficiently to cover his leaps. It is also of great use to a hunter to be a good trotter; many such horses, when fatigued, break out of the gallop and relieve themselves by trotting, particularly over heavy ground.

5947. The criteria of a hackney. If it be necessary that the hackney be well formed behind to give him strength, and to propel him forward, it is even of more consequence that he be well formed before; and in this kind of horse the hind parts are in some measure subordinate to the fore, as safety is preferable to speed. The head in the hackney should be small, and well placed on a neck of due length and substance to make a proper appui for the bridle; and that proper resistance to the hand, so pleasant to the feel, and so necessary for ease and safety. The shoulders should be oblique and well furnished with muscle, but not heavy; and the withers in particular should be high. The elbows should be turned rather out than in, and the legs should stand out straight, and by no means fall under the horse, or it betokens a stumbler. The pasterns should neither be too oblique, which bespeaks weakness; nor too straight, which wears the horse out, and is unpleasant to the rider. The carcase should be round, or the horse will be washy and weak; the loins straight, wide, and ribbed home; the thighs of good substance; and although the being cathammed, or having the hocks turned inwards, is defective in beauty, it often bespeaks a

trotter.

5948. The criteria of a cavalry horse are, that he have considerable extension of bulk or size, to enable him to carry weight, with good carcase to allow him to feed coarsely, and yet thrive at piquet or on service. He should have also liberty of action; but great speed is not requisite. The best cavalry horses are those formed of the united properties of hackneys, and very light draught horses.

5949. The criteria of road horses for quick draught, or coach, chariot, stage and post chaises, &c., are derived from the immediate purposes for which they are intended; as requiring either strength or speed in greater proportions. To make them safe, the forehand should rise, the back should be straight, the step should be short but quick, which fatigues least. As they approach the hunter in form, they are best fitted for quick work; and as they resemble the best kind of light agricultural horses, they are calculated for heavy draught, as coaches, &c. But in all, a portion of blood gives courage, durability, and condenses strength into lessened bulk; by which activity is gained. It is of great consequence to a coach-horse that the neck and head be so formed as to be enabled to rein-in well to the bridle.

5950. The criteria of a dray-horse are, that he be very broad-breasted and muscular, and thick in the shoulders, which should not lie backward. Nor should the fore-hand be up, as recommended in the road-horse; for, by holding up their heads, such horses may be choked by the collar, as they would, if so formed, draw too much by the throat, and their wind being thus stopped, would be in danger of falling down. The neck of a dray-horse is not the better for being long, and the head should be proportionate to it. Like all horses, he should be chosen with short legs, and good strong hoofs. He ought to be thick in his thighs, and large in bone; but above all, he ought to be a steady collared horse, with courage to make him true to a severe pull; and yet, without a hot fiery spirit to make him fretful.

5951. The criteria of a waggon-horse are, in some respects, different from those of the dray-horse. He should be more weighty, and altogether larger. Rapidity of motion is greatly subordinate, in the heavy stage-waggons usually seen on our roads, to strength. It is all collar work; nothing is gained from the momentum of the dragged mass, which, the instant the pull ceases, stands still. The waggon horse should be patient in the extreme; willing to lie to his collar up bill, and yet settle into his own share of work on level ground. As his exertions are constant, it is of the greatest consequence that he be a good feeder.

5952. The criteria of a horse peculiarly adapted to the labors of agriculture, are thus given by Culley. His head should be as small as the proportion of the animal will admit; his nostrils expanded, and muzzle fine; his eyes cheerful and prominent; his ears small, upright, and placed near together; his neck, rising out from between his shoulders with an easy tapering curve, must join gracefully to the head; his shoulders, being well

thrown back, must also go into his neck (at what is called the points) unperceived, which perhaps facilitates the going much more than the narrow shoulder; the arm, or forethigh, should be muscular, and tapering from the shoulder, to meet a fine, straight, sinewy, and bony leg; the hoof circular, and wide at the heel; his chest deep, and full at the girth; his loins or fillets broad and straight, and body round; his hips or hooks by no means wide, but quarters long, and the tail set on so as to be nearly in the same right line as his back; his thighs strong and muscular; his legs clean and fine-boned; the leg-bones not round, but what is called lathy or flat.

5953. The chief points in a farming cart-horse, in the opinion of the author of the New Farmer's Calendar, are, "neck not long, nor too thick; short legs, rather flat than round and gummy; fore-feet even, not too distant; wide chest; strong, but not high, shoulders; considerable length of waist, supported by a wide loin; quarters full, and rather raised; strong muscular thigh; size, fifteen hands one inch, to sixteen hands high. Being somewhat forelow, gives them an advantage in draught; and a moderate length of waist insures speed in the walk.

5954. The horse used in husbandry, according to the writer of the Experienced Farmer, ought to be larger, but in other respects like the road horse; and, instead of walking two or three miles an hour, be able to walk four or five. In that case he would be able both to plough more land in a given time, and work in the cart or waggon with more dispatch, when wanted. In harvest time, a nimble and strong horse is valuable. In drawing manure into the field, or corn to the market, the farmer will also find his account in strength and activity; for, as the draught in all these cases is light one way, such horses would do their business with speed. The small farmer need not with this kind of horse keep an idle one; he might carry his master to market, and plough the remainder of the week.

5955. In a horse for the plough, according to Brown, both strength and agility are required; a dash of blood, therefore, is not disadvantageous. It is not size that confers strength, the largest horses being often soonest worn out. A quick even step, an easy movement, and a good temper, are qualities of the greatest importance to a working horse; and the possession of them is of more avail than big bones, long legs, and a Jumpy carcase. To feed well is also a property of great value; and this property, as all judges know, depends much upon the shape of the barrel, deepness of chest, strength of back, and size of the hips or hooks with which the animal is furnished. If straight in the back, and not over short, high in the ribs, and with hooks close and round, the animal is generally hardy, capable of undergoing a great deal of fatigue, without lessening his appetite, or impairing his working powers; whereas horses that are sharp pointed, flat ribbed, hollow backed, and wide set in the hooks, are usually bad feeders, and soon done up when put to hard work.

5956. The criteria of a horse's age are derived from the appearance of the teeth. According to La Fosse the younger, there are these appearances. The horse is foaled with six molar or grinding teeth in each jaw (fig. 629 a); the tenth or twelfth day after, the 629

e

d

f

two front nippers (a) appear above and below, and in fourteen or fifteen days from this, the two intermediate (bb) are pushed out; the corner ones (cc) are not cut till three months after. At ten months the incisive or nippers are on a level with each other, the front less than the middle, and these again less than the corners; they at this time have a very sensible cavity (d). At twelve months this cavity becomes smaller, and the animal appears with four molar teeth on each side, above and below, three of the temporaneous or colts', and one permanent or horse tooth: at eighteen the cavity in the nippers is filled up, and there are five grinders, two of the horse, and three temporaneous: at two years, (fig. 630.) the first of the colt's molar teeth in each jaw, above and below, are 630

a

displaced at two years and a half, or three years, the front nippers fall and give

:

place to the permanent ones: at three and a half the middle nippers are likewise removed, at which period the second milk-molar falls: at four years, the horse is found with six molar teeth, five of his new set, and one of his last: at four years and a half the corner nippers of the colt fall and give place to the permanent set (fig. 629 e), and the last temporaneous grinder disappears: at five years old the tushes in the horse usually appear: at five and a half they are completely out, and the internal wall of the upper nippers, which before was incompletely formed, is now on a level with the rest; at this period the incisive or nippers have all of them a cavity formed in the substance between the inner and outer walls, (fig. 629 f) and it is the disappearance of this that marks the age at six years those in the front nippers below are filled up, (fig. 630 e) the tushes are likewise slightly blunted at seven years the mark or cavity in the middle nippers is filled up, and the tushes a little more worn (fig. 630 f): at eight years old the corner nippers are likewise plain, and the tushes are round and shortened. (fig. 630 g) In mares, the incisive or nippers alone present a criterion (fig. 630 a); at this period the horse is said to be aged, and to have lost his mark; but among good judges the teeth still exhibit sufficient indications. At nine the groove in the tushes is worn away nearly, and the nippers become rather rounded: at ten these appearances are still stronger: at twelve the tushes only exhibit a rounded stump, the nippers push forward, become yellow, and as the age advances, appear triangular and usually uneven.

5957. M. St. Bel, the late professor of the English Veterinary College, used to assert, that after eight years the cavities in the anterior or upper incisive teeth, are filled up with equal regularity; thus from eight to ten the front ones were filled up, from ten to twelve the two middle, and from twelve to fourteen those of the corner; but though some pains have been taken to ascertain this, it does not appear that the disappearance of the cavities in these teeth is attended with sufficient regularity to warrant complicit confidence.

5958. To make a colt appear older than he really is, both breeders and dealers very commonly draw the nippers, particularly the corner ones; by which ineans the permanent set which are underneath immediately appear, and the animal is thus fitted for sale before he otherwise would be.

5959. To make a horse look younger than he really is, dealers perform an operation on the teeth called bishopping (from the name of a noted operator); which consists in making an artificial cavity in the nippers, after the natural one has been worn out by age, by means of a hard sharp tool; which cavity is then burned black by a heated instrument. But no art can restore the tushes to their form and height, as well as their internal grooves. It is, therefore, common to see the best judges thrust their finger into a horse's mouth, contenting themselves with merely feeling the tush. To less experienced judges other appearances present themselves as aids. Horses, when aged, usually become hollow above the eyes, the hoofs appear rugged, the under lip falls, and if grey, they become white. In this country, where horses are so early worked before the frame is consolidated, and where afterwards they continue to be exerted unceasingly on hard roads, it is not uncommon to find a horse at six years old, feeble, debilitated, and exhibiting all the marks of old age, except in his mouth; on the contrary, when the animal falls into other hands, at ten or twelve he has all the vigor of youth, and his teeth are the only parts that present an indication of age: it is, there fore, more useful to examine the general appearance of the animal, than to be guided altogether by the marks in the teeth; a too strict adherence to which, Blaine observes, leads into great error on the subject of the age of horses. The commonly received marks, he says, grant not a criterion of a third of the natural life of the animal, nor of one half of the time in which he is perfectly useful. Many good judges will not purchase a horse for hunting earlier than eight years old, and regard him only in his prime at twelve. A gentleman at Dulwich has a monument to the memory of each of three several horses, which died in his possession at the age of thirty-five, thirty-seven, and thirty-nine years; the latter of which was suddenly taken off by a fit of colic, having been in harness but a few hours before. Culley mentions a horse of forty-five; and an instance lately occurred of one which lived to fifty. Blaine, in continuation, draws the following comparison between the relative situations of the state of the constitution, between the horse and man, under the ordinary circumstances of care towards each. The first five years of the horse, may be considered as equivalent to the first twenty of a man; a horse of ten as a man of forty; of fifteen as a man of fifty; of twenty as a man of sixty; of twenty-five as a man of seventy; of thirty as a man of eighty; and of thirty-five as a man of ninety. (Vet. Outlines, p. 35.)

SECT. X. Of Breeding Horses.

5960. The general principles of breeding we have already laid down at length, (1994.), and have here to notice what are considered the best practices in the choice of stallions and mares, and in the treatment of the latter during pregnancy. Unfortunately, however, much less attention has been paid to breeding horses, than to breeding cattle or sheep; though, as Brown has observed, a pound of horse flesh is worth two of that of any other stock; and it costs just as much to breed a bad horse as a good one. Every one, an eminent writer observes, exercises some degree of judgment in regard to the stallion; but there are few breeders, comparatively, who hesitate to employ very illformed and worthless mares, and often solely because they are unfit for any thing else than bringing a foal. All the best writers on agriculture reprobate this absurd and unprofitable practice. "In the midland counties of England, the breeding of cart horses is attended to with the same assiduity as that which has of late years been bestowed on cattle and sheep; while the breeding of saddle horses, hunters, and coach horses is almost entirely neglected; or left almost wholly to chance, even in Yorkshire, - I mean as to females. A breeder here would not give five guineas for the best brood mare in the kingdom, unless she could draw or carry him occasionally to market; nor a guinea extraordinary for one which could do both. He would sooner breed from a rip, which he happens to have upon his premises, though not worth a month's keep. But how absurd! The price of the leap, the keep of the mare, and the care and keep of her progeny, from the time they drop to the time of sale, are the same, whether they be

sold from ten to fifteen, or from forty to fifty pounds each." (Marshal's Economy of Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 166.)

5961. In those districts where the breeding of horses is carried on upon a large scale and a regular plan, the rearing of stallions forms in some degree a separate branch; and is confined, as in the case of bulls and rams, to a few eminent breeders. These stallions, which are shown at the different towns in the vicinity, sometimes sent to be exhibited at a considerable distance, are let out for the whole season, or sold to stallion men, or kept by the breeder himself, for covering such mares as may be offered, at a certain price per head; and this varies according to the estimation in which the horse is held, and sometimes according as the mare has more or less of what is called blood. For farm mares,

the charge for covering by a stallion of the same kind is commonly about a guinea, with half-a-crown to the groom; and it is a common practice in the north, to agree for a lower rate if the mare does not prove with foal; sometimes nothing more is paid in that case than the allowance to the groom.

5962. In choosing the parents, or stallion and mare, regard must be had to the kind of stock desired to be bred. Whatever may the particular purpose of the breed, a stallion ought first to possess all the general properties of a good horse, and next the characteristic criteria of the desired stock. The produce, whether a male or female, much more frequently acquires and retains the form, make, marks, and disposition of the sire than the dam. On this account, stallions with the least appearance of disease, blemish, or bodily defect of any kind, where there is the slightest probability of its being transmitted to the offspring, should be rejected as improper. And it is even considered by some, necessary to descend to the minutiae of symmetry in the head, neck, shoulder, forehead, ribs, back, loins, joints, and pasterns, attending even to a strict uniformity in the form, make, and texture of the hoofs: and, were it possible, even to ascertain the temper and disposition of both sire and dam, in order to avoid the procreation of vices or imperfections. But provided either parents be free from hereditary infirmities, disorders which arise from accident are of no consequence.

5963. The general properties required in a breeding mare, are a good shape, a gentle disposition, a large carcase conformably to her height, and belly well let down; she must be perfectly free from all sorts of blemishes and defects. The size, frame, bone, strength, and blood, will of course be regulated by the purposes of the breeder.

5964. The mare which is intended to supply draught-colts should, according to the author of the Synopsis of Husbandry, be large limbed, close jointed, short decked, wide chested, home ribbed, with a capacious body; her eyes good, and her nostrils large and open; in diposition she ought to be gentle and tractable; of a constitution healthy and vigorous, free from any blemishes either hereditary or acquired. The horse should be bold and spirited, well made, and of a kindly disposition; his constitution should be strong, his temper good, and, in short, neither in mind or body ought he to be contaminated with vices or disease of any kind; since on the good qualities and strength of constitution in the sire and the dam depends, in a great measure, the future welfare of the colt.

5965. The age at which a stallion and mare should be allowed to copulate is not determined by uniform practice; and is made to depend, in some measure, on the degree of maturity, which, in animals of the same species, is more or less early, according to breed and feeding. Yet it would seem, in general, to be an improper practice to allow animals of any kind to propagate, while they are themselves in a raw unformed state, and require all the nutriment which their food affords, for raising them to the ordinary size of the variety to which they belong. It may, therefore, be seldom advisable to employ the stallion till he is about four years old, or the mare till she is a year older, and if the stallion be five also it is better, and still more so if he be six or seven. But the greater number of mares left for breeding are not very young; being in many cases, not allowed to bring foals till they are in the decline of life, or otherwise unable to bear their full share in rural labor.

5966. Three months before a stallion is to cover a mare, he should be fed with sound oats, peas, or beans, or with coarse bread, and a little hay, but a good quantity of wheat straw; he should be watered regularly, and have long continued walking exercise every day, but he should not be over heated. If he be not prepared and put in condition, the colts will be likely to be weakly, and the horse himself will become injured, begetting humors, or becoming broken winded. If he be put to too many mares, he will not last long; his main and tail will begin to fall off through weakness, and it will be difficult to get up his flesh again by the next year. The number of mares should be proportioned to his strength, and twelve, fifteen, or at the most twenty are as many as a horse will well serve for in a season.

5967. The usual season when a mare takes the horse is from the beginning of April to the beginning of July. The month of June is considered the best season in this country; although from the middle to the end of May is more approved of on the Continent, particularly in Normandy, where the farmers devote much of their attention to this branch of husbandry; and in which, especially in regard to useful farm horses, they have succeeded, perhaps, beyond those in any other part of Europe. This difference, as to the time when a mare should be allowed to take the horse, in the different

countries, is easily reconcileable: a mare goes eleven months and a few days with foal; and the great object with all farmers, where practicable, is to have her covered at such a period as to ensure abundance of grass, and the return of warm and comfortable weather at the period of foaling. An early colt is always to be preferred to one that falls late in the season. It is generally understood, and is an opinion that is believed to be well founded, that a mare may be covered on the ninth day after she has foaled, with a greater degree of success than at any other period. This practice is, of course, often followed; but in such cases the mare ought, Donaldson thinks, to be fed in an extraordinary manner, otherwise it is impossible she can do justice to her present and her future foal. But modern farmers would probably, he says, come nearer their purpose, were they to follow the example of the Romans, and content themselves with one foal in the two years.

5968. At the season of parturition, there should be a suitable supply of food for the mother and young. The time of covering mares ought, therefore, to be partly regulated by a due regard to this circumstance, and may be earlier in the south than in the north, where grass, the most desirable food both for the dam and foal, does not come so early by a month or six weeks. In Scotland, it is not advantageous to have mares to drop their foals sooner than the middle of April; and as the period of gestation is about eleven months, they are usually covered in May, or early in June. But if mares are intended to bring a foal every year, they should be covered from the ninth to the eleventh day after foaling, whatever may be the time; and the horse should be brought to them again nine or eighteen days afterwards.

5969. In breeding horses on a large scale, it is easy to contrive so that all the foals may be brought forth at a time when there is plenty of grass. About the end of May the mares are to be put into an enclosure capable of feeding them as long as the stallion is to be with them, or that they are in season. In this enclosure all the mares are to be put together, as well those which are barren as others. The stallion's hind shoes are to be taken off, but the fore shoes should be left, or tips put on to preserve his feet; then lead him forth, and let him cover a mare twice in hand, to render him more tame and gentle. After this take off the bridle and turn him loose among the rest, where he will become familiar with them, and not one of them will be horsed but when they are in season. There should be a little lodge built up in some part of the enclosure, and peas, beans, oats, bread, and other good food, put into the manger in it, that the horse may retire into it in the scorching heats, and eat what he likes best. He must be thus entertained during the whole time he is with the mares, which is to be about six or seven weeks. Mares that are very fat and gross do not hold well; but those which are moderately fat conceive with the greatest success and ease.

5970. To bring a mare in season, it is a common thing to give her a quart of hemp-seed, or twice that quantity, night and morning, for eight days before she is brought to the horse. If she refuse it alone, it may be mixed with beans or oats, and will go down; and if the stallion eat of it also, it will force him also; but it must be remembered that these provocatives are unnatural, and often defeat their own purposes. They are therefore seldom now resorted to among intelligent breeders. Still more improper is it to attempt an early horsing, by injecting stimulating fluids up the vagina as is sometimes done; for when it succeeds, the future progeny seldom answers the expectation.

5971. The treatment of a pregnant mare is in general little different from that of any other horse. Mares of draught are worked in summer as usual, and more moderately in the ensuing winter, till near the time of foaling; when, if the season be somewhat advanced, even though the pasture be not fully sufficient for their maintenance, they should be turned out to some grass field near the homestead, and receive what additional supply of food may be necessary under sheds adjoining. It is both inconvenient and dangerous to confine a mare about to foal in a common stable, and still more so to leave her loose in a close stable among other horses; and confinement is not much less objectionable after dropping her foal.

5972. Breeding mares are usually worked through the greatest part of the year, laying them aside only for a week or two before foaling, and during the summer season, when giving suck to the young foal. In this way, Brown observes, the strength and vigor of the mother is not only weakened, but the size and power of the foal stand a great chance of being diminished, by the exertions of the mother when kept at work. Under these impressions we are led to consider the working of breeding mares as an unprofitable practice. Were they suffered to remain at ease, to roam upon coarse pastures, where sheds were erected in which they might find shelter during inclement weather, we are almost certain that their progeny would enter upon action with increased abilities. The expense of a breeding mare kept in this way would not be great, whilst the advantages would be innumerable. In Yorkshire, and in those midland counties where the breeding and rearing of horses is better understood than in any other part of the island, they are often worked till the very time of foaling. Great care, however, is necessary in working and managing a mare heavy with foal: an over-heat, too severe exercise, a fright, or a sudden and violent jerk, are very apt to cause an untimely birth, whereby the foal is lost, and the life of the mare very much endangered.