MANAGEMENT OF THE BROOD MARE 
49 
oats but it is not always possible to prepare them this way. I feed 
equal parts of ground oats and bran or if the oats are boiled I use equal 
parts before boiling ... I believe that ground oats are two or 
three times as valuable for feeding as whole oats, for there is much less 
waste and all the grain is digested, which is not the case when the whole 
oats are fed. A pint of oil meal a day should be included in the mare’s- 
ration to keep her blood cool. This ration is only necessary before she can 
be turned out to pasture. Grass is the best food to put a mare in 
condition and three weeks on grass should put her in excellent shape 
to breed.” 
Sellers’s 87 dictum on the feeding of the brood mare is as follows: “Be¬ 
fore service, she should be well fed and regularly exercised for several 
months. She should be healthy and vigorous. A few weeks before ser¬ 
vice, take the raw oats away from her. If on dry feed, give her scalded 
bran, a few boiled oats, or carrots. If on grass, this alone will cool her 
blood, and she will conceive much easier or sooner. After service, 
comes a critical period in the life of the young foal. If the mare is al¬ 
lowed a full drink of cold, especially ice cold water, at this time, you will 
not, at all likely, have a foal from that service. Always take the chill 
off the drinking water for several days after service ... As soon as 
she proves in foal, the regular allowance of grain can be resumed, and 
the mare is all the better of being worked or exercised moderately 
right along, until within a short time of her foaling.” 
For the nursing mare Sanders 46 states that wheat bran is a very valu¬ 
able feed when given in conjunction with more nutritious feeds. This 
may be turned into slop and fed with ground oats or rye together with 
cut hay or sheaf oats. Or, whatever grain feed is to be used Sanders 
emphasized the importance of grinding it and feeding it wet, with cut 
straw or hay. A good supply of fresh grass is claimed to furnish health¬ 
fulness and nutrition to the body. 
Sanders 46 makes the remarks that “it is the general opinion of those 
who have given close attention that mares, when first turned to grass, 
after having been kept stabled and on dry feed for a considerable period, 
are not so likely to get in foal as those that have been on grass for 
some time previous to service by the stallion; or as those that are not on 
grass at all. The theory is that turning mares to grass produces, for a 
time, a sort of general muscular relaxation, or softening, that is not 
favorable to conception. That mares which had been kept stabled pre¬ 
vious to being sent to the stallion should be kept on dry food for at 
least four weeks after the service. If the mare has been kept on grass 
let her so remain for at least a month; if she has been kept stabled and 
in idleness let her remain so a few weeks; if she has been worked con¬ 
tinue to work her moderately . . . These directions apply only to 
such mares as have not proved hitherto barren. In case a mare has been 
served repeatedly, and has failed to conceive, a radical change in food 
and management may bring about the desired result.” 
According to Roberts 59 the ration for mares doing heavy work should 
be rather wide, say one to seven, or one to eight. But as the time of 
parturition comes near, when the work is accordingly lessened, the ra¬ 
tion should be made narrower, or one to six. In feeding nursing dams the 
ration should be narrow, about one to five. It is indicated, however, that 
the ratio should be made wider if the temperature in the stables is low. 
The ratio recommended in this case may be one to seven or one to 
eight. During any time, whether the mare is nursing or not, the mare 
should be supplied with some succulent feeds, preferably carrots. Other 
feeds such as matured apples, potatoes, and sound corn silage may be 
used in limited amounts. For roughage, bright clover and timothy hay, 
mixed, is recommended. Roberts 59 prescribes a ration for a nursing 
mare weighing 1100 pounds while the foal is still subsisting entirely on 
