FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 359 



started, the object should be to keep them going nicely, using care not to 

 undo anything that has been done. 



In preparing horses for sale, however, breaking, while important, is 

 only half the battle. The merchant seeks to arrange his goods in such a 

 way as to be attractive to his customers; the successful horticulturist 

 considers it very important to pack his fruit in neat, attractive packages; 

 while the butter-maker is also taught to lay special emphasis on packing 

 his products in like manner. No live stock breeder expects to win prizes 

 in the show ring unless his stock is in show condition. And with even 

 more truth we may say that no farmer can expect to receive an adequate 

 return for the colts he has raised and broken unless he fits them in such 

 condition as to meet the requirements of the market. The market de- 

 mands horses of mature age, and it matters not whether they are trot- 

 ting, coach, or draft horses; they must be in high flesh to bring what 

 they really should. Farmers as a general rule fail to recognize this last 

 fact and thousands of dollars are lost to the farmers of every county in 

 this State from this cause alone. Every reader can recall instances, 

 either on your own farms or your neighbors', where losses have occurred 

 from this very cause. A horse is not recognized on the market as mature 

 until five years old, and for a farmer to sell his draft horses before they 

 are this age is sheer folly, for they can be broken when two or three 

 years old, and can easily pay for their keep from then until they are 

 mature. 



In discussing the fitting of horses for sale we will suppose that we 

 are taking our horses in the fall four and a half years old, and expect to 

 sell them in the si>ring. The first thing to be done is to prepare comfort- 

 able stalls, which should be kept well bedded. Should there be a number 

 of horses, arrange them, in their stalls so as to best attract the eye of 

 visitors or buyers who may happen to visit the farm. It is not necessary 

 to keep them idle, they are just as well doing a moderate day's work; 

 but under no consideration overwork or overdrive. It is a common prac- 

 tice to take horses out that have not been driven for some time and let 

 them go as fast as they want to. A horse will do better to work or drive 

 at a reasonable pace every day in the week than to get a half day's 

 overwork or overdrive. If they are not needed for work, they should be 

 driven about two hours for exercise every day, but under no considera- 

 tion turn them out into the stalk field and let them stay all day in all 

 kinds of wet, cold and stormy weather. There is no objection to them 

 running in the stalk fields, but it should not be for more than two hours 

 each day. 



Always water before feeding, and never after until a period of two 

 hours has elapsed. Alv/ays keep salt within their reach. Hay should 

 be fed in small quantities. Many horses are ruined by feeding too much 

 hay, as it makes them pot-bellied, and, if not of the best quality, is bad 

 for their wind. About three-fourths of a pound per day for every 100 

 pounds of weight of horse is enough. For instance, a 1,600-pound horse 

 should get twelve pounds per day. For light horses even less will do. 

 The grain ration should consist of corn, oats and bran, mixed in the pro- 



