48 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
feeding. The percentage of foals begotten through this method of feed¬ 
ing is even higher than other means in which some sort of grain or 
grain combinations are used. Mares fed with o.ats and bran for con¬ 
centrate lead the grain-fed lots with the oat-fed individuals coming next. 
While corn may be used when balanced with bran, clover, alfalfa, or othei 
feed, yet, in comparison with lots in which oats take the place of corn, 
the corn-fed animals show the lowest in percentage of foals produced. 
Johnstone 6 believes in providing the brood mares with grain during 
the winter. Oats and bran is considered the best combination, about 
one-fourth or one : third bran by weight. This should rather be fed dry. 
Corn may also be used provided that it is used with clover hay. For 
hay, clover or alfalfa hay mixed with an equal quantity of timothy or 
prairie hay is recommended. But spoiled or dusty hay should be avoided. 
Oat hay is also considered palatable and beneficial, while cured corn 
fodder, if to be used, should have been procured from stalks cut when 
quite green so as to make them more easily digestible and more nutriti¬ 
ous. During the cold season from the beginning of winter till the middle 
of January, sorghum is said to give good results. At other times, 
sorghum as well as millet and Hungarian hay are all condemned as horse 
feed. 
Other feeds such as carrots, sugar beets or rutabagas, according to 
Johnstone, 6 are excellent for brood mares in winter. As soon as the 
mares get accustomed to these they may be given as much as about 
seven or eight pounds per head daily. Silage is disliked as a feed and 
if it is ever to be used the amount should be small and the quality good 
for moldy silage, says Johnstone, will surely kill the horse. 
Johnstone 6 advises feeding the mare two or three times a day. This 
does not only apply to grain feeding but also with respect to hay. It is 
desired that enough hay be fed each time so that all is cleaned at each 
feeding. The same combination of feeds as above mentioned should ap¬ 
ply equally well in feeding working mares. 
On this subject Henry and Morrison 63 writes: “Mares used for breed¬ 
ing purposes do well without grain when on nutritious pasture. With 
insufficient pasture and in winter some grain should be given. The feed 
should not be concentrated in character, but should have considerable 
bulk or volume. The bowels should be kept active through a proper 
combination of such feeds as bran, linseed meal, roots, etc.” 
Stericker 82 believes that pasture, if in sufficient quantity, should be 
nutritious enough and plenty for brood mares, although it is advisable 
to give them some grain by the time they are about to be bred, at which 
period they must be gaining in flesh. 
Gelder 8 advises the feeding of the brood mare in the same manner as 
that of the gelding during the first six months of pregnancy. Later she 
may be fed nitrogenous and mineral feeds. A combination of crushed 
oats and corn together with wheat bran for a concentrate is recommended, 
and for roughage clover or mixed hay but not too much alfalfa, is to be 
given. To keep the bowels loose a handful of oil meal once a day is 
advocated. Precautions are to be remembered in the way of giving ice 
cold water late in pregnancy, as well as the effect of costive feeds or 
strong purgatives. 
Carter 87 dwells more at length on the care of brood mares in foal, say¬ 
ing that there is not any more important time in the raising of horses 
than this phase of the work. Carter writes: “A mare should be pre¬ 
pared for breeding for it is not wise, I find, and sometimes impossible 
to breed her when she is out of condition and her blood is heated. It 
may be necessary to start preparing the mare for the stud two months 
before the time she is to be bred. To obtain the desired condition, I 
feed a cool laxative ration of bran and ground oats and some roots, pre¬ 
ferably raw carrots. Boiled oats have proven even better than ground 
