THE AMERICAN HORSE MARKET 197 



alone probably rank third. On western farms 

 stallions are kept on grass and alfalfa without any 

 grain at any season of the year. These stallions 

 are the best colt getters in the world. They run in 

 pastures about four months of the year, then are 

 taken up and fed alfalfa the remainder of the time. 

 In the corn states, where this coarse grain forms 

 a considerable portion of the ration, the percentage 

 of mares in foal is smaller than in any other locality. 

 For example, in Colorado and Idaho the percentage 

 of mares in foal is highest, while in Indiana, Illinois, 

 Iowa and Kansas the percentage is smallest. In 

 the light of these facts, the nearer we can get to a 

 grass ration the larger will be the number of colts 

 produced. The nearer we can get to a strictly corn 

 ration, the smaller will be the number of colts. 

 Ordinarily, stallions are fed too much rather than 

 too little. The feed for a stallion should be of the 

 very best quality. Badly cured or musty hay 

 should always be avoided. Clover and alfalfa, if 

 properly cured, have no equal. Clover and timothy, 

 mixed, is the next best hay. Good hay is every- 

 thing in feeding a stallion. No one grain should 

 ever be fed alone. If this must be done, oats cer- 

 tainly is the best grain feed. The next best is 

 barley, but it should always be crushed. A little 

 bran in addition to the grain feed will help. 



Stallions should have plenty of exercise. They 

 must not be overworked, but if all stallions were 

 required to work a little every day in the year, the 

 results would be much more satisfactory. The fact 

 of the matter is few of them are ever required to 

 work at all. This is not only bad from the breed- 

 ing point of view, but it is the source of much 

 trouble from sore legs. If the animal cannot be 



