136 A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



to be) broken to work, let him be driven mod- 

 erately by the side of a quiet mare or gelding, 

 worked regularly up to the 1st of February, 

 and fed enough grain to keep him strong and 

 healthy, but not fat. Oats will be much better 

 food for him than corn; but if it is found that 

 he is becoming too thin, or if the work is com- 

 paratively heavy, corn may be used part of the 

 time with good results. If the stallion is a 

 trotter or a roadster by all means drive him on 

 the road. If you can use him regularly as a 

 business horse so much the better; and, as in 

 the case of the draft stallion, feed him enough 

 to keep him strong and hearty, and work him 

 right along, as though you intended that he 

 should earn his living. This I am satisfied from 

 experience is the best treatment for stallions of 

 any breed, and will result not only in bringing 

 the horses to the beginning of the next season 

 in better condition than any other, but the 

 probabilities are that a horse so treated will 

 get more and better foals than one that is not 

 worked during this period. 



But in very many cases, and especially in 

 large breeding establishments, and with thor- 

 oughbred stallions, the course recommended 

 above is practically out of the question. The 

 next best thing, then, if the horse must per- 

 force remain in comparative idleness during 

 the period mentioned, is to provide him "with a 



