THE PERCHERON REVIEW 
5 
Yearling Fillies From Percheron Mares That Work Every Day 
The Percheron Horse in America 
A great change in the horse business is coming. Perch- 
eron breeders in America have an opportunity now which 
has never come before to the people of any country. 
The time is here when every farm must be operated by 
heavy draft horses to be the most profitable. This has been 
coming for years, but its seriousness had not become so evident 
until this terrible war forced practically the entire world to 
turn to America for food. Our people must increase crop 
production by using more power, and the cheapest and surest 
way of getting it is through the use of heavy draft horses. 
The warring nations of Europe have been forced to set the 
example for us. The demand over there for increased pro- 
duction is causing farmers to pay $400 to $500 a head for 
ordinary draft horses. We are approaching that condition 
in our own land, and we'll see the first effects of it before 
another crop time has passed. With prices of farm products 
where they are now — and there seems to be no likelihood 
that they will be reduced during the war and for several 
years following — no man can afford to raise any but good 
draft horses. Every bushel of oats and every fork full of 
hay fed, should go toward keeping or producing a horse that 
will make money for his owner. Land and crops are now so 
high priced and man labor so scarce that it no longer pays 
to raise a horse weighing under 1,600 pounds in work con- 
dition. There are so few good draft horses in the country 
now that there is no possibility of an over-production for at 
least twenty years, even if every farm that is now producing 
horses should raise all draft colts. The rapidity with which 
this increase in the size of our farm horse takes place will 
depend largely upon our Percheron breeders. They should 
not fail to raise and develop every good colt possible. 
America must now depend upon her own resources for 
breeding stock. Why should we be discouraged because im- 
portations are cut off from Europe, when for more than sixty 
years we have been bringing over the best blood that France 
ever produced? It is an outrage to the intelligence of the 
American breeder to tell him that he cannot produce a credit- 
able lot of horses without renewed blood from the old coun- 
try. We have just as constructive horse breeders on this 
side of the Atlantic as are to be found any place else in the 
world. Horse breeding in The Perche is shattered. Those 
who were breeders three years ago are now soldiers, if living. 
The old men, women and children are left at home to till 
the soil. My interpreter, Mr. Miteau, who has spent a 
year in the heart of the Percheron breeding district since the 
war began, and who owns a farm there, says, "What colts 
are raised are left in the pastures because the grain necessary 
to develop them is requisitioned for war purposes. Many 
colts are not even being registered. If this war should last 
for several years more, the size of the horses in The Perche 
would be greatly reduced from lack of feed. Many breeding 
records would be lost entirely, so that there would be but a 
vestige left of the Percheron horse we knew before this ter- 
rible conflict began." Just as surely as the sun rises and sets, 
America will be exporting Percherons to foreign countries 
after the war. Italy, the Hawaiian Islands, Japan and South 
America have already taken a few. Canada has imported 
several times as many Percherons in the past twelve months 
as in any previous year. 
The small farmer can, if he will, make plenty of money 
using Percheron mares. He is his own driver and his own 
caretaker, so that if he will exert himself to care for his 
pure-bred mares, they will make two to three times as much 
clear money as grades. Prices are within the reach of the 
average farmer, even for the very best class of mares. I 
know renters who have paid $500 to $1,000 for mares and 
who are selling their weanling colts at from $300 to $500 
apiece. It takes no more feed and care to produce that kind 
of colts than it takes for good grades that bring only $75 
to $100 at the same age. The use of pure-bred mares doubles 
and triples the annual horse income from the farm. Since the 
demand is wide open for every good Percheron colt, I counsel 
everyone who seeks my advice to buy good mares if he is 
willing to care for them rightly. If he intends to abuse them 
like bronchos, he should by all means let them alone. Work- 
ing the mares carefully every day keeps them in perfect phys- 
ical condition and insures regularity as breeders. 
Many American breeders need to revise their methods of 
growing out Percheron colts. I have demonstrated on my 
own farm to my entire satisfaction that just as big and just 
as good Percherons can be grown in this country as in The 
Perche. We need, however, to follow the Frenchman's idea 
of feeding. All my colts run out on good bluegrass pasture 
and have access to large sheds winter and summer, day and 
night, until they are nearly 18 months old. Then the stal- 
lions are placed in box stalls and turned out in large bluegrass 
