The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1863-01-06 00:00:00

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

THE HORSE, AND FACTS AND FANCIES
ABOUT HIM, WITH ADVICE. TO FARMERS.

(No 1.)

First of all we will now have • word with the farmer
—the lover of hunting that honest, genial. warm.
hearted son of the moil (when you don't rub his coat
the wrong way)—who affords es our sport, and is never
so happy as when • "good thing" Is got off his own
endeaeours to preeerve. We shall have to speak of
this bone,this backbone of English sporting, on another
occasion, when hunting becomes the theme, as it will
in our nest letter ; therefore, for the imitators will talk
" business" to him for a bit, and that Weiner is
" horse-breeding." " Always lose money by it" the
down-country farmer says. • I may agree with you in
many things, but about the breeding I know best," he
adds. Very well, still listen to what we have to say.
We will begin with a good round assertion. We with
the farmers of the west or south, or anywhere, would
turn their attention to breeding hunters in • downright
systematic fashion. Done upon sound principles we
are satiated no other stock v pon their farms can pay
them so well. When we recommend farmers to breed
horses, we mean that they theuld set about it as it
ought to be done, or they ought to leave it alone; for
we speak without fear of contradiction when we assert
that, generally speaking, no branch of rural economy
has bees MUTT neglected and Aimed than this, by the
farmers of what is called the Went of England. It is
useless, however, to talk much of errors that hove
plowed, but let as etheavour to avoid them. Under
proper management a good three-parta bred mare may
be • little fortune ton small renting farmer. we do
not mesucue to allude to the vocation of the nabobs (in
opinion) of the profession—the gentlemen agricul-
turists. They are far too well at home, and "too tall"
for us to attempt to resell their standard of coneeptlth
of what they eliont to db oi eiperimentalise upon,
We *Oak to the man who has his rent to pay, and Ins
n cool, calculating, intelligent heed upon hie shoulder,.
To such we say, • good three-pans bred mare non be
a little fortune to him. We thee knew in a neighbour-
hood—we wont, on reflection, say where—a fanner of
the old stuff; he had such • mare as we speak of. She was
a celebrated huntress, having earned a first-rste man to
hounds for eight OTYOOII. The °tenet gave her to the
farmer in q aviation on Condition that he should psi her
only as • brood mare, and that she should go to power-
ful, short-legged blood horses. In seven or eight years
she netted the farmerj over • thousand pounds clear
money. One man gave CJOD for two of her colts when
rising four years old, and they turned out first-edam
hunters. From what other stock "on so economical •
principle," may we ink, could such a return be made!
We may safely insert that the produee of this mare
Mote than railised the fee simple of the thod that
reared them. We have not spate to ha ptolis, there.
fore we will come to the poifit, When I predent men
lets loon his capital, his fiht consideration ia, whether
it *lll return to him again,or with fait interest attached
to it, remain for further service. In this instance he
may be sure of one or the other, if be will follow these
ample directions :—Let him minima' well-bred mare,
not Awn much engirding her height as her points add
action ; particularly requiring that she have • "sound
orduditution ' and good lego. Let him send her also to
• hone of good form, "with freedom of action," and a
sound oonstatution, and be particular so to the Mate of
his legs ath feet. Never breed from a naturally Minn
horse, whose legs have shown more than ordinary weak.
new ; and above all let him fix upon one which has a
short canon, that irs, the belie ottending from the Inn
to the fetlock, eulgarlY salted the shank bone. Then
Monks show that we should prefer in the stallion legs
that bare never given way, yet • horse that has raced
well is not to be rejected because be has broken down
at last; but we should carefully avoid men as have
thrown out curbmspavinaring-bones,ke. Let the fanner
begin to breed from his mare before she is much injured'
by work, as in that case if she does not breed to pima
him with her first and mooed foil, he oandisposeof het
lad put • better animal in her plane. We bate Wirral
obutenuf in theme lettete" Hitt half tisk good of a hotel
goes ill at bit mouth." Lei the bte.er, then, bear
HAI is Mind, and take care that the foal be dropped
early, and the dam " well fed" for the Aritt two months
with bran mashes—carrots and parsnips in particular,
till the spring erasers arrive If the mare ehould prove
a good nurse (watch thth with le lesions eye) the eat
will not tetjtiite etim till he is writhed, which on no
&anent bhuuld be delayed beyond the first or second
week in September. Here the grand mistake has arisen,
to which we are indebted for such • number of mho
shapes brutes as Dorset, Somerset, and Devon abound
in. Farmers in general never think much about wean-
ing their oohs till after Michaelinss, long before whits!'
period there Is Mlle or no v)rtne ifi greet; btit On the
eeptrary It it scittr and unwholesome. We know the
difference in quality betwrnen better and cheese mode
the name laud in June and Setitembet. lives oot
the that'll Minitel expintieisse it also. FMK% Wanting
WO to the folldering Mir the roil should be kepi ith •
lull allowance of lent hay, with at least two good feeds
of oats per day, and lie " thould be kept warm. He
should have a head collar on, with • strap pentane,
which will admit of his being handled often, and even
two mouths his toes should be rasped, and his heath
slightly opened with the drawing knife—the letter la
the hands of a man who kodivi what f e about: In
March ot. April ha shobld have two mild daises of playsia
Which will assist lettere to throat, and when the
weather is warm, he should be tamed out into • good
upland pasture for the summer, with plenty of shad*
sad waterbut taken up every six weeks to lave hie let
examined and his toes moped. The atteoltd Wed
September be Acetid he hlittied ogabo forth. *inlet
bem "bibs bell" theuld be the measure for his corn."
Ply in the followinitspring, when tented two yens
old he should be two if, but not backed. aria phydened
• betoi‘. In the that oh Moofid w•ok Jtine 114
*bona be enstrited, and Chin well retovered he ohduld
be with tithed out for the summer. When taken up
again for the winter he should have two mild dates of
physic, and be very well kept, giving him carrots and
parsnips, and •large bran mash once a week. Very
early in the spring he should have a little more mild
physic, and in a fortnight afterwards he ehould be
backed and Wight hth rakes by e *sop Who tittle&
studs his businesst • Men light of weight but firm of
will, who is bent on having his way. Idleness trim
this time forth will be an enemy to the colt, tic
as soon be is wey-wime and knows his paoei he
do • little work. Etheidek, hdiclosely ghat, will
strengthett SI. regi, enlarge his muscles, improve his
terra, and make him grow. From this time forth he
should be treated in all respects as " • horse" in all bat
in his work, which should be moderate all he is lee
years old. But previously to this time a onstonset will
always be ready for hith, and if h 6 Civet} is disphood
to part with hilt, rey at Yeare old, his &redo
pries TA be horn tO 100 guineas. When ws say
• bolt to be good for price, should be treated as bona
after the third year, we mean, of coarse, that he ibeeld
be treated alter the Velem we Inv,' mentioned fdt
heaters, Mad hot allowed the setflenees run of Mak
Hard meat Will make him powerful and handsome,groso
141 male him, comparatively speaking, heavy, pet-
bellied, and shapeless. If farmers will follow the
system we have mentioned they need not fear a ode
they may confidently rely upon It that heats at rim
will want • price in their nock, and they knojbeA
many " 'enters" make the Nitre binderies'.
never ins nth a &nand, we may almost say ontery
for hinders, as there is at the
.present day. Why sb
men who Ire disposed to gave a lung price for good 1
promising young horses, be driven away to the fishier
able dealers in London, Manchester, and Dublin, forilm
article they need, slid have to gite it least from Eillo
to £3OO for • bittern, When Ith same animal (through the
judtetout liberality and management we advance) stay
be made at their own doors, or in their own neighbour-
hood ? That is • safe investment for which there in •
great demand. If nien will breed shambling, odd-
jointed, unhappy eonstitutioned brutes, and expect " •
market," they must look also for vexation and disap-
pointment. The way to do good and prolitable "busi-
ness," is to obtain good, sound, marketable stock, and
le improve it by moans of the appliances of sense and
judgment which are given to man to turn to the beat
account. We meant to have gone into stable manage-
ment, the virtues of clipping, and stable building, in
this note, but as we have quite exceeded oar limits in
regard to space allotted us, we must defer these points
of interest for an indefinite time, as neat week we must
eommence "Bunting."

EIRATOW.—ID our last, indeed of " not soother
mite should be given him until next stable time—ten
hours or so," it ihould have been "inn boars or so."

The trade mad navigation returns, issued lost week.
show a decrease in our exports. In the mouth ended
the 30th October. the value was £9,846,835, against
£11,684,910, in the previous your; whilst in the ten
months of this year the value was £103,519,282, against
£103,486,242 lint year.
An honorary anonry In Gloucester Cathedral has
been conferred upon the Rev, William John Buckman
Eetanirt, M.A., of Baia Collar, Oxford, Rece.er of
Loss Neonates. near Tabery, Wiltshire.
A shocking death through intoxication oecurred on
Christman-day, in Bishopegateetreet, Londoe. Daniel
Hart, aged Id, aesording to his usual custom of drink
begin Christmas, bad • merry making and drank a large
quantity of seat rem. He bad but onsist and there.
fees was the lees able to preserve his
The easasquenerwes, he fell into the coal (*liar and
broke his seek.
Caron IL W. Pritchard. of the 17th Lassen, has
been empowered to roll eat ill Offlieq•lo.l Of liif
nowt isenfna• in India.