BREEDS OF HORSES 59 



should not be given work which requires the backing of heavy loads, 

 or where there is a chance of slipping. But breeding mares can and 

 should be worked. 



The food for brood mares should be similar to that of the stal- 

 lion. Good oats, four parts, and bran one part, along with mixed 

 clover and timothy hay which has been well cured makes an excel- 

 lent ration. The rule of one pound of grain and one pound of hay 

 to every one hundred pounds live weight is again a good basis to 

 work upon, along with the variation according to the individual. 

 As the period of pregnancy advances, the ration will in most cases 

 need to be increased, somewhat. During pregnancy particular at- 

 tention should be given to the digestive apparatus of mares. They 

 should be gaining in condition, and bowels loose at the time of par- 

 turition. It is always a good plan to feed rather sparingly for two 

 or three days before parturition, and the ration, at that time, should 

 consist largely of bran. After parturition it should be increased 

 to suit the needs of the mare and foal. 



Mares should be given a box stall at least four weeks before they 

 are due to foal, in order that they become accustomed to it, and may 

 also have a place large enough to be comfortable during the night. 

 The stall should at all times be kept clean and well bedded, but par- 

 ticular care should be taken regarding these details at the time of 

 parturition. (Mo. Cir. Information 27.) 



THE CARE OF NEW-BORN FOALS. 



At present it is estimated that some 25 per cent of the annual 

 foal crop is lost. Most of this mortality might be prevented by treat- 

 ing the mare intelligently and giving proper attention to the navel 

 and bowels of the new born foal. It is the purpose of these pages 

 to furnish practical instruction on these matters for the guidance 

 of those having the charge of brood mares and foals. 



Cause of Navel and Joint Disease. The navel cord (umbilicus) 

 connects the foal's body with the afterbirth (placental membranes) 

 of the mare. It is made up of gelatinous tissue covering a large 

 vein coming from the foal's liver and carrying impure blood to be 

 purified in the lungs of the mare; two arteries carrying pure 

 blood from the arteries of the mare, by way of the placenta, to the 

 arteries of the foal, and a tube (urachus) from the foal's bladder 

 which, while the colt is in the womb, discharges urine into one- 

 of the envelopes (allantois) covering the foal. 



When the navel cord breaks at birth its blood vessels and tube 

 promptly close, if all goes well. If pus-forming germs from filthy 

 or soiled bedding, floor, or ground, get onto the raw navel cord, how- 

 ever, they cause infection, inflammation and collections of pus at 

 the point involved and thence germs are carried into the system and 

 form colonies (secondary abscesses) elsewhere in the body and nota- 

 bly in the joints of the extremities. 



In cases of generalized infection (pyaemia) abscesses may be 

 found in the liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, muscles and subcutaneous 

 connective tissue. If the urachus fails to close, urine dribbles or 

 streams from the navel opening and, in that event, abscesses of the/ 



