52 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
or paddock a few hours each day in the winter whenever the weather 
permits, and during summer they may be turned out at night after get¬ 
ting their grain ration in the stable. 
According to Henry and Morrison 511 the mares laid off from work should 
be kept in roomy, well-lighted, well-ventilated boxstalls with wide door¬ 
way and plenty of bedding. 
10. Exercise 
Williams 48 points out that pregnant females that are given freedom 
and securing natural exercise get by without difficulty or danger. Second 
to this, he considers it a good practice to work the pregnant mare reg¬ 
ularly, but the work must be gentle. Carter 87 believes, too, in imposing 
.labor on the mare which must be light for about the last month of 
pregnancy, and holds that the mare must have complete rest seven days 
before parturition. Sanders 40 says that mares could be worked up safely 
to the time of foaling, if proper care is maintained, but as parturition 
comes near the pace should be slower and the weight lighter. Wallace 43 
likewise advises the working of mares, as for example, plowing, but she 
should not be placed between the shafts, which might prove dangerous 
as the belly increases in size during pregnancy. Henry and Morrison 63 
say that mares being worked are more certain in producing good foals 
than the idle individuals. It is suggested that pregnant mares be worked 
up to 3 days to a week before foaling, but the work should be lighter as 
pregnancy advances. While working the five-year-old (or over) mares 
is advised, yet in the case of the two-year-olds they should rather be 
allowed to graze during the summer months (Biddell, Douglas, Dykes, 
Fleming, Macneilage, Murray, Trotter). 82 Axe 38 believes in working 
the mares up to three or four weeks before foaling. Gay 4 speaks of 
giving work to the mare, which should, however, be so regulated that the 
mare is not tired, overheated, or otherwise injured. Precautionary 
measures are advanced as foaling time comes near so that the mare is 
not fretted by another horse or rough hand, nor should she be pulled 
in a jerky or heavy manner. Also avoid extreme speed, rough saddle 
handling and jumping. While work is advantageous to the mare yet, 
as has been pointed out, to work her up to within a month of foaling 
and the confining in a stall without exercise is considered almost as 
bad as to work her hard at the end of two months’ rest after conception. 
Johnstone 5 is of the opinion that the mare be worked up to within ten 
days of her foaling time but the work must be steady and the mare should 
not be made to back a load. 
11. Signs of Pregnancy 
Under this caption it is important to include a detailed and lengthy 
treatise presented by an obstetrist Williams. 48 He entitles the subject “The 
Diagnosis of Pregnancy,” under which the following paragraphs are 
quoted: 
“The diagnosis of pregnancy during its early stages is difficult, and 
during the very earliest period is impossible. The symptoms of preg¬ 
nancy are divided into three principal groups, the subjective, or physio¬ 
logic signs; the objective signs; and the positive or direct signs, which 
are observed by examination of the parts in a way to determine definite¬ 
ly the presence of the fetus of the fetal sac, or of some other structure 
indicative of the presence of a fetus. 
“When an animal has been regularly in estrum and after copulation 
estrum does not occur, it is generally and properly accepted by the breed¬ 
er as conclusive evidence of conception. The cessation of estrum as a 
sign of pregnancy is most reliable in those animals in which estrum 
has been regular and normal. 
