BREEDING. 153 



but it should be good. Oats and hay are the best articles, and 

 for horses over five years of age a small proportion of split 

 beans is advantageous. A small quantity of grass, clover, or 

 tares, may be mixed with the hay. Above all things, recourse 

 should not be had to physic (unless absolutely necessary), 

 nor to drugs and hurtful substances supposed to stimulate 

 the procreative faculty. Food is the natural and the best 

 stimulant. 



It is better to put the stallion to the mare twice within a 

 very short period — twice in one or two days even — when 

 possible, than oftener at longer intervals. The mare, of course, 

 should be in a fit state, which is recognised by signs familiar 

 to horsemen and horse-keepers, or by "trying" the stallion 

 with her. 



For a mare which has recently had a foal, the best time to 

 show her to the stallion is about the ninth day after foaling. 

 To make certain that she is impregnated, she is again shown in 

 about twenty days after the first contact, or " service" as it is 

 termed. 



Sterility or " barrenness " may be due to various causes, 

 some of which may be remedied by the veterinary surgeon, 

 others are not removable. If it is owing to over-feeding and 

 obesity, the remedy is obvious — less food and more work or 

 exercise. 



Mares may be bred from every year, or less frequently, 

 according to circumstances ; but when convenience Avill permit, 

 annual breeding is generally recognised as most certain and 

 profitable. Though there may be certain indications that a 

 mare has conceived, yet these are not invariably present — even 

 being in " heat " occasionally is not incompatible with preg- 

 nancy ; in certain cases, when her condition must, if possible, 

 be ascertained before the fifth or sixth month, a manual ex- 

 amination of the uterus by an expert may decide the question, 

 but there may be danger in this. After the sixth month, the 



