178 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
the sun, is the safest place we have found in which to have a mare drop 
her offspring. We let the mare run out day and night, unless a bad storm 
comes up, in which case we put her in a boxstall if she is near foaling. In 
such case we take particular pains to see that the stall is thoroughly 
cleaned and disinfected with one of the coaltar dips. We then put in 
some clean straw and sprinkle more disinfectant over this. Our plan of 
having the mares foal on pasture when it is possible, and to put them in 
thoroughly cleaned, well-disinfected stalls in the few instances when it is 
necessary to have them foal inside, has enabled us to reduce the loss 
through navel-ill to a minimum. 
“We keep careful records of the breeding date of our mares. We know 
when they are about to foal, and from long experience we have learned to 
tell quite accurately about when they are to drop foals. We make it a 
rule to be with the mare when she foals, whether in the pasture or in the 
barn, either night or day, for if a mare does not foal safely within thirty 
minutes from the time she starts, intelligent help must be given.” 
