Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-11-28
DR.. Ramsay on the Horse Breeding
Outlook For This Country-Eome
Sound Advice.

numerative prices. For the heavy
draught horse, say 1900 pounds and
upwards, we have a very good demand
at the present time, market quotations
for this class in st. Louis being 800 to
$3.50. But they must be of size stated,
and good quality. Few such horses
are being bred In this country now,
and every indication is that the de-
mand will shortly exceed the supply.
Then the market for pleasure
horses, including the carriage horse,
the large, stylish roadster, the saddle
and hunter, is such as to warrant the
production of any of them.
The breeder needs, first of all, to
make up his mind which of the above
| classes he wishes to raise, and next to
select the dam with care, always bear
ing in mind that the first law of breed
ing Is the law of heredity. "Iike be-
gets like" All traits of parents, wheth-
or they be desirable or undesirable,
are liable to be transmitted to the Off
spring. Therefore we must be careful
that the mar selected for breeding be
sound, of good conformation, and the
desired size, and possessed of the de-
sired action and a kind disposition.
We must not undervalue the dam.
Thirdly the selection of the sire, "a
matter that calls for the utmost caution
and good judgment. In each parent
we must seek both pedigree and in
dividuality. If either has to be sacri-
feed, I would say sacrifice the pedi-
gree. AS to the relative influence of
parents, my opinion is it is about
equal in pedigree and individuality.
| Where this is the case, the parent hav-
ing the better breeding will exert the
greater influence on the offspring land
as diseases, or rather the p%redisposi-
tions to disease, are undoubtedly he
reditary to as marked a degree as
conformation, etc., we cannot be too
cautious.
BREEDING HEAVY HORSES.
The breeder who has decided to turn
his attention to heavy horses, must
next decide what breed will best suit
his tastes or circumstances, and then,
as above mentioned, select the best
dams of that breed he a procure
with the means at his disposal, and
breed these mares to the very best
sires of the breed, which service can
now be had for a reasonable fee
almost anywhere. He must not be-
come discouraged if his first attempt
should fail, as 1t always has been, and
doubtless always will be, the expert
ence of breeders to meet with disap-
pointments. But where proper jddg-
ment has been exercised in the selec-
ton of parents, disappointments are
the exception. For this class of ami
mails, if of sufficient size and quality,
there is an unlimited demand, rs the
heavy hauling in the cities can be done
by them only, and dealers n always
ready to buy at price to leave the
breeder a fair profit. 1t is essential,
however, to get the size, because
smallish animals of this type r in
very limited demand, at hopelessly
low prices only.
BREEDING CARRIAGE HORSES.
The carriage horse being the leading
pleasure horse, and much sought after
by the well-to-do in both our home
and foreign markets, if We can turn
ont c,1nI mr. ncy.,oI 80 ~ 1ianf oivo
and quality, the purchaser will always
give us a good, and in many cases, a
fancy, price for him. In this horse,
style, quality and action r the requi-
sites, and my observation and expert
ence have been that the larger we can
produce him without sacrificing any
of the above mentioned qualities, the
more money he is worth. Here also
we must exercise care in the selection
of the dam. She must be sound and
stylish, with good action, and if not
less than sixteen hands high all the
better. Then we must select not only
a good sire, but one that will suit our
mare.
For sires of carriage horses, we have
the trotting horse, coach or carriage
horse, the hackney and the thorough
bred, the selection to be made accord
ing to the dam. AS high and graceful
knee and hook action are, we may
say, a necessity in the high-priced car
rage horse, we must cross with a
view to producing these qualities. If
we have a mare of sufficient size, with
considerable hot blood, but lacking
action, we must select a sire that ex-
cells in this last respect, such as the
hackney or the large, high actioned,
stylish trotting horse. In this case the
sire will transmit the action, and the
dam the size and quality. If the mare
herself is about what we want to pro-
duce, we can breed her to a horse of
her own class, viz: the coach or car
rage stallion; but If the dam should
have the necessary size and action,
but be deficient in quality, mating
with a thoroughbred will be the proper
thing. The carriage horse is COM
monty produced by crossing. When
we know the qualities that suit the
market we select the dam, and not
ing carefully which, if any, of these
qualities are lacking in her, we then
breed her to a horse that excels in
these characteristics always aiming
for good size and superior quality.
BREEDING SADDLE HORSES.
The horse also is invariably in de-
mand. A big saddler, with good
quality and manners, and up to the
weight, win always find a purchaser
at a fancy price. To produce this
horse our reliance for sire must be the
thoroughbred, which has greater pre-.
potency than any other breed, 30 that
he win generally get out Of even q
common mare q colt of fair quality
On account of his pr~epotency, VIZ
must be very careful that the
thoroughbred sire is sound, good
tempered and OF good size; and al