The Stallion 319 
properly cared for. They will also appreciate courteous 
treatment and will be especially pleased if the stallion 
man keeps a close check on the time the mares are to be 
tried or bred. Stallion men are notoriously slipshod in 
their business dealings and a change from such methods 
is good business. 
The young stallion at two years of age should not breed 
more than eight or ten mares during the season, and the 
mares should not come oftener than four or five days 
apart. Well-developed three-year-old stallions may cover 
twenty to thirty mares a season without injuring them- 
selves, but should not be bred oftener than three times a 
week. Forty to fifty mares may be bred by a four-year- 
old. One mare a day, or perhaps three in two days is all 
that he can cover. A mature stallion may make two 
covers a day. IH bred oftener, the semen frequently 
contains very few spermatozoa and the stallion is sure 
to be a better breeder if not used so often. The number 
of mares that the mature stallion may breed will, there- 
fore, depend largely on the length of the season. Artifi- 
cial impregnation is increasing the number of mares that 
the stallion may cover. In this method it is common for 
the stallion man to announce that the mares will be bred 
at eight o’clock in the morning, and have the mares 
assembled at that time. Then the mares are tried and 
those in heat assembled so that they may be bred artifi- 
cially. A mare which is in good physical condition and 
normal in every regard is used as the mare for breeding. 
Part of the semen is then taken from her and used in the 
other mares. 
BREEDING EQUIPMENT 
Every man who handles a stallion should have proper 
equipment for safe breeding. This consists of a suitable 
