318 Western Live-stock Management 



best possible physical bloom. More stallions are injured 

 in the winter through lack of exercise and heavy feeding 

 than by any other method. Too many are put in a box 

 stall when the season is over and never taken out until 

 the next spring except occasionally to clean the stall. 

 The appearance of some stalls would indicate that he 

 was seldom taken out even for this purpose. The result 

 of such practice, together with too much feed, is that the 

 horse becomes fat, sluggish, and out of condition. Noth- 

 ing can be expected the following spring except an un- 

 healthy horse and an uncertain breeder. The stallion 

 should be broken to work young, but should not do much 

 until he is mature. The breaking of a stallion should be 

 conducted the same as for the gelding except that the 

 stallion is stronger and more spirited, although less likely 

 to be frightened than the gelding. 



HANDMNG THE SERVICE STALLION 



A reliable man is a good investment in handling the 

 service stallion. There are several reasons for this, the 

 most important of which is that a good horse represents 

 a large investment, and therefore must be handled care- 

 fully, and second, the patrons who use the horse are 

 largely influenced to do so by the personality of the stal- 

 lion keeper. One reason why the grade and mongrel 

 stallions have made such inroads on the business of the 

 pure-bred horse is because of the methods of salesmanship 

 which some of the owners have used. The inroad is 

 not entirely dependent on the difference of service fee, 

 but that is usually a strong point. The service stallion 

 is a business proposition and as such should be handled 

 as a business. The patrons will appreciate the horse 

 better if he is in good physical shape, well groomed, and 



