72 THE HORSE BOOK. 



To turn eight or ten mares into a small yard is 

 to invite trouble of a costly character. 



The watering-trough is a fruitful source of 

 grief. The boss mare always considers that she 

 alone has a divine right to drink and she does 

 her best to prove it by rushing the others away 

 from the water. All this indicates that some 

 common sense care of such animals at such 

 times is essential. Another foolish trick we 

 often see played is to turn a lot of mares and 

 colts out at the same time and head them on the 

 run for a narrow gate. Every one of them 

 wants to go through the opening at the same 

 moment, and accidents often result from their 

 crowding. It seems to be a genuine pleasure 

 to some cross old matron to lash out freely and 

 bite hard when there is no show for her com- 

 panions to get beyond her reach. It is far 

 safer, though it takes a little longer time, to let 

 horses out a few together and see that the cross 

 mares are well outside the gate before the rest 

 come to it. Also see to it that the gate is plenty 

 wide enough. Use woven wire for fencing with 

 one barb-wire on the top, not less than 52 inches 

 from the ground, the woven wire being 48 inches 

 wide. Keep fences in repair and allow no dam- 

 age to go unrepaired a moment longer than it is 

 necessary to fix it, once it is discovered. 



It is astounding that men have seen the same 

 old tricks of the same old mares for years, lost 

 money by them and yet not moved a hand to 



