244 A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HOESB 



greatest sires of the time and a goodly band of mares 

 in his possession Mr. Dunham had optimistic dreams 

 of breeding and raising annually a splendid group of 

 colts. The troubles which forever beset breeders of 

 draft horses who try to do things in a wholesale 

 way soon made their appearance, however. Mr. 

 Dunham raised 31 colts foaled in 1883, but the fol- 

 lowing spring when he had approximately 150 mares, 

 a large proportion of them of breeding age, he raised 

 but 13 colts. Abortion tells the story. In 1885 he 

 reared 32 colts from 150 eligible mares, and in 1886 

 got but 20. Probably the mares were in too high 

 condition. Anyhow they did not as a rule con- 

 ceive for the first two or three years after importa- 

 tion and the foals produced by those that did 

 breed were inclined to be so lacking in vitality that 

 the mortality was extremely high. He also learned 

 that abortion spread rapidly among mares kept 

 in large bands; that navel ill was an ever-present 

 source of trouble ; and that idle mares after becom- 

 ing acclimated were inclined to become so fat on 

 rich bluegrass pasture that too high a proportion 

 proved to be irregular breeders. Profiting, however, 

 by these early experiences the present Oaklawn man- 

 agement is meeting with better success along this 

 line. However, at the time of which we write 

 Mr. Dunham, Sr., reluctantly came to the decision 

 that Percheron breeding would have to be done by 

 carrying the mares in smaller groups and on a basis 

 where their work on the farm would serve the 

 double purpose of keeping them in better breeding 



