The Stallion 317 



The grooming of a stallion presents problems that are 

 not common with other classes of horses. In addition to 

 tending to his coat, as mentioned under "Work Horses," 

 it is necessary to take good care of the sexual organs, as 

 they will become filthy and require washing and cleaning. 

 Two general methods are advocated for this, and either 

 is quite satisfactory. One is to take a bucket of warm 

 water and ivory or castile soap, and thoroughly cleanse 

 t'he sheath and adjacent regions. The other method is to 

 use wet bran and pack in the sheath and let it gradually 

 work out. It will carry out a large part of the dirt and 

 filth with it. Some persons advise using a mild antiseptic 

 on the penis after the serving of each mare. This tends 

 to cleanse the organ, but one cannot expect this to prevent 

 the horse from becoming diseased if the mare is diseased, 

 on account of the large number of wrinkles which will not 

 be thoroughly cleansed. The only way to keep the horse 

 free from disease is to watch the mares and keep the stal- 

 lion off the mares that are questionable. 



FEEDING AND CARE OUT OF SEASON 



The best system of management for the stallion out of 

 season is that given to the gelding. That is, three fairly 

 heavy feeds a day, and a good day's work six times a week, 

 and rest and light feed on Sunday. The feed need not be 

 as heavy as during the breeding season, and three-fourths 

 of a pound of oats for 100 pounds of live weight is sufficient 

 grain unless the stallion is doing extremely heavy work. 

 The stallion should not be in a condition so that he would 

 need to be reduced in flesh, as many stallion men practice. 

 If he is exercised regularly with some form of work, and 

 fed in the way the gelding should be fed, he will be in the 



