162 CARE ANDMANAGEMENT OF THE STALLION. 



"Very little grain should be fed during the winter, and that 

 little should consist of bran, oats, and other light food. 



Carrots are excellent to be fed during the winter months, 

 with or without grain. Good, clean, oat straw is good fed with 

 carrots and a few oats. He is better off in a warm stable with- 

 out a blanket, except, perhaps, in the very coldest weather. 



The custom of keeping a stallion tied in a stall with a feed 

 box full of grain is not only unprofitable, but inhuman. 



Cornstalks, grass, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and apples are 

 all admissible as a change, fed in small quantities for the pur- 

 pose of pleasing the appetite and loosening the bowels. Keep 

 mineral salt constantly by him ; dry wood ashes are also almost 

 indispensable. 



Keep clear of worms by all means. "Watch the condition 

 of the bowels ; attend to the teeth, and give especial attention 

 to the feet. 



Average per cent, of mares got in foal by stallions is 67 ; 

 average per cent, of living foals dropped is 62. 



THE NUMBER OF MARES A STALLION MAY SERVE. 



It is generally considered as a two-year-old the service 

 should be light, if any. 



A three-year-old may be limited to fifteen or twenty 

 services, and a four-year-old should not go beyond thirty. 



There can be no question that the use of the procreative 

 powers of the unmatured horse tends to retard his physical 

 development. 



CONTROLLING THE STALLION WHEN IN USE. 



While the temper and disposition of stallions are largely 

 matters of inheritance, yet much depends on the breaking and 

 management. It is much easier to spoil a horse than to cure 

 him of bad habits after they have once been allowed to form. 



Headstrong stallions should never be led out except by a 

 bridle that will enable the groom to have perfect control over 

 him. 



