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CONDITION OF BROOD MARES. 



Mares should neither be too fat nor too lean, but 

 in fresh, healthy, and thriving condition. There is 

 far greater aptitude to conception, and proportionally 

 less danger at foaling, than when they are either built 

 with flesh or poor and thin. 



Immediately after fecundation, mares should be 

 returned to the exact circumstances of their previous 

 environment. If they have been working, grazing 

 in the field, or standing in the stable, they should 

 always be returned to the same position, so that 

 nothing different in the surroundings may appear to 

 excite them. In all cases, they should be given the 

 same food. Some mares are very excitable during 

 their conceptive periods, while others are dull and 

 languid. 



MANAGEMENT OF STALLIONS. 



Stallions should be well fed on oats, beans, and 

 hay, with a bran mash every alternate night. Like 

 mares, however, they should not be loaded with 

 superfluous flesh, but kept in fresh, fairly hard con- 

 dition. When stallions are covered with fat, they 

 are a burden to themselves, and their weight is 

 often instrumental in producing splints, spavins, 

 and other bone enlargements. In addition to this, 

 they cannot serve mares satisfactorily, and in the 

 event of illness there is much greater danger, so 

 that a reasonably hard condition should be aimed 



