96 THE HORSE BOOK. 



shelter into which they may escape from the at- 

 tacks of the awful flies. These flies cost the 

 farmers of the United States millions of dollars 

 annually in lost horseflesh; any man is los- 

 ing money when his horses are losing flesh. Do 

 not close young horses in a field with cattle, 

 sheep and swine, if it can be avoided. They do 

 best by themselves or with cattle always poor- 

 ly with sheep and pigs. House them warmly in 

 winter and always keep them growing and fat. 

 This theory that forcing a colt to root up his 

 living at some old straw stack on the lee side of 

 a barb-wire fence makes him tough is all tom- 

 myrot. Such practice merely prevents the colt 

 from making such growth as he should make, 

 and what is more, it is inhuman, and the man 

 who is guilty of it is deserving of the attention 

 of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

 Animals. If he can not see that he is depleting 

 his pocketbook he should at least be estopped 

 from cruelly mistreating his dumb animals. 



Stallions will, of course, have to be taken up 

 and kept by themselves the summer after they 

 are a year old. Many a foal has been got by a 

 yearling. Regarding the best time to castrate 

 colts men always have differed and always will. 

 As a rule it is best to order their castration 

 when they are about a year old. If one is unde- 

 veloped about the head and neck he may be al- 

 lowed to run entire for six months or a year 

 longer. The castration of horses at any age is a 



