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It is of vital importance in breeding that the greatest possible attention should be paid to the form, powers, and constitutional vigour of the mare. The worst forms of hereditary diseases to be avoided are flat, shelly, contracted feet, sidebones, roaring, and last, though not least, malformed diseased hocks. Defects of constitution are less easily combated than those of form; therefore never breed from a mare of delicate constitution, or which is a shy feeder.

Soundness of constitution is indispensably requisite in the dam. The harmony existing in the proportions of any animal will be felt and recognised at a glance by many men who have a naturally keen eye for, and sense of, the beauties of form; whereas many others not similarly gifted can never justly appreciate in what consist the exquisite modelling and symmetry of the choicest specimens of our best breeds of animals, especially the horse.
The points connected with the propagation of the best species of horse of any kind might be carried to almost any length; but the object I have in view is to convey the results of my own observations and my own ideas, and to afford an insight to the young and inexperienced, or to the amateur breeder, onto those points and those principles of breeding due attention to which, I think, cannot fail to ensure a proportionate degree of improvement in his stock.

It is of equal importance to study the qualifications of both male and female, though their respective excellencies may not be the same. It is my belief that it is principally by means of the male that various improved breeds will be rendered more perfect; still I do not wish it to be inferred that the qualities of the female are a matter of indifference. There are exceptions to every rule, nor do I wish to convey the idea that the female has no influence in producing those characteristics for which the male is pre-eminent. It sometimes happens that the female has greater influence than the male, especially if she has been in-and-in bred with a particular point in view. The eye is the best guide to the form of the horse. Like the sculptor or painter, we cannot proceed far by measurement, although, like the artist, we can run our rule over one or two points, and then take in the details with the eye.
What I consider the principal points in the mare to be, having already stated she should be young and constitutionally sound, and having ascertained as far as possible her pedigree, and whether she came from a stock free from disease, I shall commence with the all-important point, the foot. A house built without good foundation, cannot stand; so with the horse without a foundation with diseased feet. What is he? No maxim was ever truer than “no foot, no horse.” Weak convex feet and ossifications of the cartilages and pasterns are evils which big heavy horses are prone to; therefore the object is or should be to discourage and eradicate them, which can be done by care and selection. Every day`s observations afford us additional proof of the importance of sound, healthy feet, and furnish painful evidence of the great depreciation in value and usefulness when they are defective and diseased. Be careful to see that both feet are the same size, not what are termed odd feet. The feet should be rather large than small, the sole concave (avoid flat or convex soles) the hoofs black.

There are few points in a horse that require greater experience and more practical judgement than a knowledge of the proper formation and diseases of the foot. I should recommend the breeder especially to make it a matter of study. The position of the fore-legs is a point of some consequence. They should stand straight, turning neither inwards nor outwards. The elbows pinned in are very unsightly; besides, this defect prevents the proper expansion of the lungs, making a narrow chest. The elbows projecting out too much is a defect, as the feet then turn in, causing faulty action, called “dishing”, and this defect also causes the animal to cut the ankles. The natural position of the toe should be immediately underneath the point of the shoulder. If it stands much behind this point, weak, round, faulty joints are generally the result. If the toe projects beyond the point of the shoulder the knees stand back, being what is called calf-kneed, and extra strain on the back tendons is thus caused, and with it an incapacity for hard work. The fore-legs to the knee should possess well-developed muscles, projecting considerably at the fore-arm, which should be moderately long, to give good walking action. The knees and fetlocks should be large and flat, from the knee to the fetlock flat laterally, and the tendons and muscles at the back of the knee not in the smallest degree contracted, but be well developed and thrown well back from the bone, and capable of being felt with the hand, the pastern joint moderately long and gradually expanding in an oblique direction to the foot. Short upright pasterns are particularly to be avoided; for it is this malformation that to a near certainty produces that great curse, sidebones, and it also retards action. The position and formation of the hind legs and hocks are all important; for as a big chain is no stronger than its weakest link, so with the horse, however good and powerful-looking his frame may be, if he has weak, malformed, diseased hocks (here is the weak link), when put to severe work, he is to a great extent, powerless. The hind legs should be somewhat straight; being bent, and too much under, or long, and too far behind, are faults. The hock should be broad in front and deep behind, and perfectly free from all puffiness in the seat of bog spavin or thoropin; the shank flat, with well-developed tendons, and short to the fetlock. The pastern is as important here as in front, and should be formed the same, and immediately below the hock the measurement should be at least an inch more than below the knee, whatever that may be, according the size and weight of the animal. This is important as a preventive of curbs. The hind toes should stand square with the front ones, neither inwards nor outwards, though the latter, if not excessive, is the lesser fault of the two; if the toes turn inwards the hocks must turn outwards, which is a point indicative of great weakness, as well as being unsightly. The hocks should go fairly close together when in action. The thigh should be round, and full of muscle, both inside and out, developed well down to the hock.
Having thus described what the foundation should be - and they are cardinal points I think, and on these depend in a very great measure the value of the animal-if the breeder starts with these points correct, and sticks strictly to them, he will not have the disappointments that many who are careless on the matter are called upon to endure.

I will now proceed to the head, which should be somewhat long, with a broad forehead - an indication of energy and courage; the ears rather long and thin, pointing rather forwards; the eye bright, and somewhat prominent (a drooping eyelid is a symptom of periodical attack of inflammation); the neck of medium length, rather too short than too long, or too thick than thin, and moderately arched. The shoulder well let down into the chest, and with a moderate slope; it is not necessary to be too oblique, as with a hunter or a racehorse, but just sufficient to insure free action of the fore-legs, encased with plenty of muscle, which will enable him to lean into collar; the withers being low, the back will close in nearly level. The girth should be deep and the chest well developed; for on these two points depends much of the power and constitution. The back should be short and level, not too high nor too low, the loins wide and muscular, the ribs springing from it round, coupled up close to the hips, which should be wide. Carefully avoid short, flat ribs ( a narrow and shallow back-ribbed horse is generally irritable and tender), but rather seek to get deep, round ribs and body; the animal has then what the “yokels” call a good cupboard, which means constitution - a most essential point in a Cart Horse. Wide or ragged hips are a great sign of power; the quarters long and powerful, full of muscle, and deep. The tail may be a trifle drooping, if set on too high; which many think a deal of, it is as the expense of the thigh, which is then split up, and thus loses muscle and power. The dock should be thick, stiff, and strong: it is indicative of power and endurance. To sum up, the mare should be long, low, and lusty; from 15.2 to 16 hands high; short in the leg, and measure from point of shoulder to full extent of thigh longer than she is high, short in her back, and long in her sides, and be as deep from wither to elbow as from elbow to ground. A horse thus made will deceive the eye as to its height, and it is points in its favour if it appears smaller and lower than it really is; this is a sure proof of symmetrical form.

The stallion should be at least a hand higher than the mare, and his points of excellence similar; but his form should be more massive, and, if possible, more compact, his whole appearance masculine, robust, and indicating the possession of great power and vigour in a comparatively small compass, with rather a coarse than effeminate look about him. A cart horse cannot be a really good one without the following cardinal points; good feet, good legs, good walking action, and a robust constitution. I have thus far being pointing out how I think and believe a Cart Horse should be made. I know the difficulty there is in procuring either stallions or mares that have not some defect of form, or tendency to unsoundness, which renders it of the greatest importance that the breeder should be able to detect at once any deviation which I have noticed as betokening superiority. There are few subjects connected with breeding more interesting than the influence of sire and dam. The male will predominate most in the outside appearance, and especially in the hind quarters; when the dam carries the sway in the outside character, it will nearly always be found in the forequarters - such as the head, shoulder, and fore-legs; but the parent of the purest breed, especially the most in-and-in bred one, whether male or female, is likely to be the most impressive, and progeny, if a colt, will follow the sire, if a filly, favour the mare, the parent that is purest bred. This must be borne in mind, then, in endeavouring to improve or modify the defects of one parent by opposite excellencies in the other. This method of obtaining perfection or of correcting faults is a question of time, and the changes must be effected by slow degrees. The great secret is, therefore, to know how to mate your animals, and when you have made the happy nick for your mare, don´t change your stallion. If your mare (for instance) is a good fair mare with, say, one rather strong defect, endeavour to find a stallion as much like her as possible, avoiding, of course, one with the same defect as she has; for, if in ever so slight a degree, it will preponderate more in the offspring. At the same time, you will be no nearer improvement if you select a stallion grand where your mare is defective, and with other strikingly defective faults himself. An overgrown, leggy mare, should be put to a rather short, compact sire, and an outsized sire to a compact female; a big outsized stallion and big outsized mare will most likely produce a nondescript, not worth the bringing up. The bigger the sire, so long as he is compact, well-knit, and sound, the better, no doubt; long, low, ragged wide mares frequently breed the best stallion. My experience tells me these rules are correct, but the freaks of nature are so very curious and varied that it seems almost impossible to lay down hard and fast lines.

People are, however, frequently led away by remarkable exceptions than by the rule. The successful breeder must have an eye to form, be a great observer of nature, with intelligence and perseverance to trace pedigrees so as to watch how the different strains will dovetail together. One of the characteristics of the Shire Horse is to have hair on the legs. The hair should be long and thin, finer in quality on the mare than the stallion; it should grow from the fetlock above the knee, and the same behind to the hock. By many this is thought to be a useless appendage, and that this abundance of hair is the cause of grease; but it is not so, by any means. If the leg is formed right - that is, flat and hard like a thoroughbred´s and covered with an abundance of hair of the right quality, there will be no more fear of grease than in other smooth light-legged horses, which have often round gummy legs, perhaps large of bone but short of muscle. It is the combination of bone and muscle that makes strength. Hair is an indication of bone and size; the great difficulty is to keep the horse up to the large heavy Breed standard, and as this is the one sought after, as a rule, I suppose that a good big one is worth more than a good little one. Horses, like all other animals, will depreciate in size if the breeding be not carefully watched, and these rather extravagant points well looked after.
Hair is also soon lost in the breed; if the breeder neglects it, and uses stallions short of it year after year, to his great cost and regret he will find that he will be soon as short of bone as of hair; but still I do not wish it to be inferred that a horse without this “grand feather” can have no bone. The natural tendency of all animals is to degenerate; therefore I say the stallion in all these outside characteristics should be rather profuse than have a tendency to be fine.
Naturally the sire without hair will get his stock without hair, and as he does so, so will the bone diminish. The fact of the stallion begetting from, say, 40 to 70 colts in a year, whilst a mare produces only one, proves the necessity of keeping him up to a high Breed standard of excellence. My remark would be very incomplete unless I referred to action.
The Cart Horse`s pace is in the walk, either on the farm or on the road. It is therefore essential that he should be a free, fast walker. Sufficient attention is not, nor has been, paid to this point. Action means power, time, and money. It is, then, an important point to consider.

The trotting action should also be looked after, as it enhances the value of the horse in the dealer´s eye, if not the farmer´s; for they never think of buying or selling without especially testing the animal in this respect. Heavy vans, wagons, and even drays and trollies, are supposed to be now-a-days moved about at least six miles an hour in towns, so that the trotting action in a heavy horse is important as in a Norfolk trotter; and it is somewhat an indication of courage. The breeder´s ideas may be ever so correct as to form, and he may be clever in mating to produce it, but to produce action and speed, combined with other qualities requisite, to anything like a certainty, is a much more difficult task; for horses go in all forms, shapes, and sizes, without rule or discrimination, for which I think no one can account.
Of colour I have but little to say; a good horse, it is said, cannot be a bad colour.
It is entirely a matter of fancy; blacks, bays, and browns are the prevailing colour of the Shire Horse, and the best selling, though there are many chestnuts, roans, and greys. I remember, however, a curious coincidence that in the class for two-year-old stallions (not eligible to compete as Suffolks or Clydesdales), at the Royal Agricultral Society´s Show, at Liverpool, 1877, the three prize ones, the reserve number, and H.C.´s were all chestnuts, and more singular still, neither of the prize animals were by a chestnut sire. Roan is a favourite colour with some of the large London draymen; they think it is an indication of a hard constitution.
I have remarked that a horse of any colour with a few silver hairs is generally hardy.
The most valuable colour is probably the dark brown, with a tan muzzle and black legs; but whatever colour is the fancy, it should always be a hard, not a faint one, avoiding by all means light faint coloured hairs on the legs and flanks. A very large proportion of our horses have white legs; much white is objectionable, in fact, many foreign breeders will not buy horses at any price with white legs; it is every day becoming more important, therefore I would caution breeders to avoid it as much as possible.

The following extract is taken from:
How to Breed, Rear, Feed, and Manage them.
This was printed in "The English Cart-Horse Society Stud Book" vol.2, 1881. Written by the secretary G.M. Sexton.
Gareth