BEEEDING. — HOW TO SUCCEED. 85 



stall, ill kept, the mare is liable to get " cast," and, in 

 her struggles, so displace the foal from its natural posi- 

 tion, that, when the time of foaling comes, the colt can 

 be delivered only with the greatest effort and pain, if 

 indeed it can be at all. Many brood-mares are annually 

 lost from this cause alone. The worst accident that 

 can happen to a brood-mare when in foal is this getting 

 ''cast" in her stall. It should be most carefully 

 guarded against. Especially tie loitli a short halter. 

 The man who "ties long," as grooms say, warn once; 

 and, if he does not heed your warning, discharge. Have 

 no mercy on him: such carelessness is too gross and 

 fearful in its consequences, often, to be tolerated in the 

 management of valuable horses. I came near losing 

 one of my finest brood-mares, a thorough-bred from the 

 South, from this vicious method of tying in the stall. 

 The groom left the halter so long, that, when she started 

 to get up, she reached one of her fore-legs over the 

 rope ; and there she was ! In her struggles, the rope cut 

 into the fore-arm, tearing the hide and flesh away from 

 the muscles, and causing a most ugly wound. Good 

 treatment and a sound constitution in a state of entire 

 healthfulness brought her out of the peril in safety ; 

 but that groom never " ties long " now 1 



Near the time of foaling, — say two or three weeks 

 previous, — the dam should be put into a " breeding- 

 box " or " foaling-stall." This should be some twelve by 

 twenty feet in size, well strewn with tan-bark, saw-dust 

 (dry), gravel, or sand ; indeed, with any thing that will 



