difficulty in selecting a good mare to breed from, than a good horse,
because she should possess somewhat opposite qualities. Her carcass
should be long to give room for the growth of the foetus, yet with
this there should be compactness of form and shortness[27] of leg."

The next point is the selection of a stallion. It is easy enough to
say that he should be compactly built, "having as much goodness and
strength as possible condensed in a little space," and rather smaller
relatively than the mare, that he should be of approved descent and
possess the forms, properties and characteristics which are desired to
be perpetuated. It is not very difficult to specify with tolerable
accuracy what forms are best adapted for certain purposes, as an
oblique shoulder, and depth, rather than width, of chest are
indispensable for trotting; that in a draft horse this obliquity of
shoulder is not wanted, one more upright being preferable, and so
forth; but after all, a main point to secure success is _relative
adaptation of the parents to each other_, and here written directions
are necessarily insufficient and cannot supply the place of skill and
judgment to be obtained only by careful study and practical
experience; nor is it always easy, even if fully aware of the
necessary requirements, to find them in the best combination in the
horses nearest at hand. A stallion may be all which can be desired for
one dam and yet be very unsuitable for another. In this aspect we can
perceive how valuable results may accrue from such establishments as
now exist in various sections of the country, where not a single
stallion only is kept, but many, and where no pains nor expense are
spared to secure the presence of superior specimens of the most
approved breeds, and choice strains of blood in various combinations;
so that the necessary requirements in a sire are no sooner fairly
apprehended than they are fully met. On this point therefore, my
suggestion is, that this relative adaptation of the parents to one
another be made the subject of patient and careful study; and a word
of caution is offered lest in the decisions made, too great importance
be attached to speed alone. That speed is an element of value is not
doubted, nor do I intimate that he who breeds horses to sell, may not
aim to adapt his wares to his market as much as the man who breeds
neat cattle and sheep, or the man who manufactures furniture to sell.
But I do say that speed may