MANAGEMENT OF BKOOD MAKES. 77 



it tight. This will keep the mares out of the 

 stalls when they are not feeding or when they 

 are not wanted there. The hay may be fed in 

 racks. 



Corn is a very general food for brood mares, 

 but it is the poorest on the entire list, though 

 not so bad when fed in conjunction with clover 

 hay. Oats and bran form the best ration all 

 winter long — about one-fourth or even one- third 

 bran by weight. It is best to feed it dry. Sugar 

 beets, carrots or rutabagas are excellent for 

 mares in winter — indeed for all horses — and 

 once they are accustomed to them mares may 

 have them in large quantities, though perhaps 

 some seven or eight pounds per head per day 

 will be about right as a steady diet. They may 

 be fed either cooked or raw, but preferably raw. 

 Time was when I considered the feeding of slop- 

 py stuff a necessity in properly wintering brood 

 mares, but experience has shown me that dry 

 feeding is best. Therefore I prefer uncooked 

 food. Silage I regard as a horse killer, though 

 some men say they have fed it with success. 

 Any one is, of course, free to experiment all he 

 wants to in feeding silage to horses if he desires 

 to do so, but if fed at all it should be in such 

 small quantities that it does not amount to much 

 one way or other. Mark this, though: if the 

 silage is moldy it will kill as surely as a rifle. 

 Regularity in feeding is of much benefit. Feed 



