THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. IOI 



land, and they do splendidly for breeding from at the same 

 time. I might, however, mention one thing : after a mare 

 has been fed on a great deal of corn, and has been worked 

 hard, she will often not breed the first year unless she is 

 turned out to grass, and has an entire rest ; but when she is 

 kept quiet there is little difficulty in this respect. One 

 advantage of horse-breeding is the mares can be worked 

 very well up to the last three weeks or a month before 

 foaling if carefully used, and no heavy loads are put 

 behind them. Care should also be taken not to back them 

 when in a cart, as it sometimes causes them to slip their 

 foals. 



If a breeder has a lot of rough land the mares can go 

 out all the winter to eat up the grass ; no matter whether 

 they are thorough-bred mares or not they will stand it 

 equally as well as the half-bred and cart mares. It is best 

 to turn them out in the day-time, and bring them in a 

 straw yard so that they have got an open shed to go under 

 if they choose. Many breeders let them lie out altogether 

 and never bring them in at all unless the ground is covered 

 with snow. I think that is a little unreasonable, though, at 

 the same time, they often seem to do well if they have a 

 little bit of rough hay. I like to feel the horses are 

 made comfortable, and it is anything but pleasant when a 

 horse has to be out all night in an open field with the 

 wind blowing and the rain pouring down fast. If they are 

 treated in the way I have described not one in twenty 

 will have a cold all through the Winter. 



