192 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
expect that one can put on as much flesh that way, but he can unques¬ 
tionably grow a more rugged and sturdy colt. 
“Every man who raises colts in this way knows that he has more or 
less trouble with sore heels. The fact that such colts take an abundance 
of exercise, which gives them a strong appetite to consume more feed than 
they otherwise would, clearly overshadows such an annoyance as sore 
heels. We even run our 2-year-olds, weighing 1,700 to 1,800 pounds to¬ 
gether, but they do not look their best in the showing. I know, however, 
that they are worth more to the man who buys them than if they were 
kept up in boxstalls all the time. By raising my colts in this way I have 
very little difficulty with filled hocks. It is more economical to develop 
them by such a method, because it requires less labor. 
“Farmers are comparatively busy most of the year and have not the 
time, and in many cases la-ck the help to give their stallion colts the exer¬ 
cise they need if they are kept shut in a barn. Every farmer can provide 
his colts a good grass paddock, however, and let them do their own exer¬ 
cising while he does something else. Here is where the French breeders 
have the advantage of us. They have unusually fine pastures, and, further¬ 
more, every effort is made to improve them, because the French breeders 
fully realize the importance of developing draft colts out of doors. My 
long experience has taught me the importance of liberal feeding, but there 
must be an abundance of outdoor exercise, preferably in good pasture.” 
For a detailed and comprehensive treatise on the management of foals 
and yearlings, the following paragraphs are given in the words of the 
Hodgsons: “After the foals are dropped, they run with their mothers in 
pasture night and day until hot weather and flies begin to cause trouble. 
They are started on grain feed when they are about 4 weeks of age. As 
soon as the mares begin to bunch up in the pasture and fight flies, rwe 
adopt the plan of housing the mares and foals in a cool, partially dark¬ 
ened barn, during the daytime. They are put in about 7 o’clock in the 
morning and left in until 4 or 5 o’clock in the evening. Each mare is tied 
in a roomy double stall, which has two feed boxes and a manger for hay. 
The mares are fed grain twice a day, and as soon as the foals have learned 
to eat they are given some grain in a separate feed box beside their dams. 
The youngsters are not tied up, but run loose in the barn, which has a 
wide central alleyway where they are at liberty. 
“For roughage we place mixed clover and timothy hay in the mangers 
for the mares and foals. We also place some bright alfalfa hay in a sep¬ 
arate place where the foals have access to it. Both mares and foals have 
or are allowed all the hay they will eat, but when they are on good pasture 
they do not utilize very large amounts. Our grain ration is the same for 
the mares and foals, and consists of bran and oats mixed in the propor¬ 
tion of two bushels of oats to one of bran. This is mixed and fed dry. The 
mares are allowed a moderate ration of this—about a half pound per one 
hundred pounds live weight. A mare weighing 1,600 pounds will receive 
about eight pounds of the grain ration per day. This is divided into two 
feeds, morning and evening. The foals are allowed all of this grain mixed 
that they will eat up at two feeds per day, although we take the precaution 
to see that they are not given enough to cause them to leave any grain on 
their feed boxes from one feed to the next. 
“Both the mares and foals are turned out about 4:30 or 5 o’clock in the 
evening, and run on bluegrass pasture all night, being taken in again in 
the morning. This general policy is continued throughout the entire sum¬ 
mer. The barn doors are closed in the daytime, and the barn is partially 
darkened, so that the flies cause little trouble. 
“We do not work mares that are nursing foals, as we usually have 
enough dry mares or young horses to do our farm work. We believe that 
we get better results with the foals by not requiring the mares that are 
nursing them to do anything while they are raising their offspring. Our 
