SELECTION, CAEE AND MANAGEMENT 539 



all the time do not mind the cold. On some of the 

 coldest nights they will be found fax out in the field, 

 and when the snow is deep they are out early pawing 

 away the snow to get at the grass beneath. The 

 water tank for the mares has a heater, which is kept 

 bumiag all winter, so that they cannot become sud- 

 denly chilled by taking a big drink of icewater. "We 

 see to it that they come up to drink twice a day. 

 Drinking cold water is more likely to cause a mare 

 to lose her foal than exposure to a rain or snow 

 storm, even with extreme cold weather immediately 

 afterward. 



"In the -spring the mares that are soon to foal 

 are kept in pastures near the bam. At night those 

 that are soon to foal are put in a little pasture near 

 the house, and some one goes to look at them about 

 four times during the night or even every hour, in 

 some cases. This attention is absolutely necessary, 

 if one would avoid the frequent loss of foals and 

 sometimes the loss of a valuable mare. Whenever 

 help is needed it is needed at once. If the afterbirth 

 does not all come away naturally, within a day, the 

 uterus is flushed full of warm antiseptic water and 

 the membrane removed carefully by hand. The 

 mare is fed lightly at first after foaling. She is not 

 given much grain for the first two weeks. If she is 

 fed heavily there is too copious a flow of milk, and 

 the foal is likely to develop digestive disorders, and 

 maybe die. Mixed timothy and clover hay is about 

 all that is needed at first. 



"Mares are bred at the ninth day after foaling and 

 are tried regularly thereafter for several periods. 

 Breeding is more successful in the afternoon, as the 

 mares are quieter then after returning to the pas- 

 ture. Dry, shy-breeding mares are worked all day 

 before they are bred. After the first two weeks from 



