MANAGEMENT OF THE MARE 
171 
the winter season idle mares are fed three quarts of crushed oats in the 
morning and six pounds of ear corn at night per head daily. Sorghum is 
supplied at will and at night ten pounds of clover hay are provided for 
each head. Neither silage nor too much corn is fed to pregnant mares. 
At the Truman’s Pioneer Stud Farm the feeds of the working mares 
consist of crushed oats and corn, fed at the rate of fourteen pounds per 
head each day, and for roughage cut alfalfa hay, sorphum, cane fodder 
and timothy hay. These mares are fed three times a day. Mares that are 
idle on the pasture each gets crushed oats and corn, about eight pounds a 
day, divided into the morning and evening feedings. Alfalfa hay and 
sorghum fodder are made available in racks. Mares the are suckling 
foals are also fed twice a day. 'Each head gets fourteen pounds of crushed 
oats mixed with cut alfalfa hay daily. When being wintered idle mares 
subsist on crushed oats and a little corn fed twice daily, and on alfalfa 
hay and sorghum fodder. Corn is not liked for feeding pregnant mares. 
The grain mixture for working mares at the University of Minnesota 
consists of thirty parts of corn, forty parts of oats, twenty parts of bran 
and ten parts of linseed oil meal. For roughage timothy and clover hay 
are fed. The feeding is made three times a day. Mares that are idle on 
the pasture get only oats for grain once daily as a morning feed. A mix¬ 
ture of eighty parts of oats and twenty parts of bran forms the grain feed 
of mares idling through the winter. This mixture is fed in the morning 
and afternoon at the rate of five pounds per head each feeding. Roughage 
consisting of timothy, clover or sometimes prairie hay is furnished, six 
pounds in the morning and from twelve to fifteen pounds in the after¬ 
noon per head. Such roughages as are of poor quality and corn are not 
looked with favor as feeds for pregnant mares. 
The general practice of feeding brood mares at the Central Kentucky 
Stud Farms, according to Hooper, consists of feeding the working mares 
three times a day, while idle mares on pasture are grained but once, at 
midday, provided that the pasture is good. Idle mares being wintered 
receive corn stover, some clover hay and grass pasture, and besides, in 
some cases, they are also fed grain. No other feeds than too much corn 
are discriminated against in feeding pregnant mares. 
Going into the practices described by a few of the leading Percheron 
breeders in Sander and Dinsmore’s “A History of the Percheron Horse,” 
on the feeding and management of brood mares, we find the following 
quotations: 
In Fletcher’s words, the “brood mares not in the harness should be 
kept in pasture as much as possible at all seasons of the year. The ex¬ 
pectant mother should be given a well-ventilated, roomy boxstall and 
permitted to run out as much as possible. Feed clean, fresh hay, ground 
oats and bran, and such green feed as the season affords. Mares should 
be kept in healthy condition, neither too fat nor too thin. As foaling time 
approaches a night watch should be kept. During the period of suckling 
the mare must be fed well on milk-producing feeds, such as dampened 
ground oats or bran. Keep in the pasture as much as possible.” 
Prichard’s views follow: “We prefer to keep our mares in harness al¬ 
most up to foaling time, working them carefully, slowly, and in modera¬ 
tion. The feed before foaling is on the laxative order—oats and bran, not 
too much hay. We have fed our mares some silage for some time before 
foaling and like it very much; about 12 pounds twice a day make a rea¬ 
sonable feed. The silage must be absolutely free from mold.” 
The Robisons dwell comprehensively on the feeding and management 
of brood mares as follows: “Producing matrons must not be allowed to 
take on a load of fat. Thrifty, vigorous, muscular, big-boned mares are 
easy feeders, and a kind-hearted attendant may get them so fat that they 
will not breed regularly. It is best to have them come through the win- 
