Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-09-05
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The practice of working draft brood
than 1t used to be.
But a few are still worked, and on a
farm which is chiefly grass there is no
reason why q team of mares should
not he made to serve the dual purpose
with excellent results with care and
management, especially if they have
the assistance of an odd horse to re-
lieve them of most of the shaft work
when they get heavy and for a time
after foaling. Mares kept in natural
state and steadily at work almost in
variably prove the surest breeders and
to have the best luck" as it is usually
called, at foaling time, and two or three
well bred, weighty youngsters are al
ways salable at weaving time.
One used to see a foal here and there
walking up and down after q plow
which its mother was helping to pull,
is not a good plan, however. as the
youngSter may come to grief over the
plow or the traces when at play, and is
seldom adopted now. 1t is far prefera-
bic to shut them up in a roomy, airy,
well Uttered box, with a spared top
door for choice, round the walls of
which there are no nails or anything
likely to cause blemishes, and bring
the dams to them at least once between
morning and evening, twice if at all
convenient Before the foal is allowed
access after a long fast, the mares
milk should be drawn out little, and
she should not be in very heated
state. or the health of the youngster or
its life may be endangered
1t is advisable-in fact, very impor-
tant-that mares which are intended to
be worked should be fed in the box
with the foals for a short time before,
so as to get the latter well accustomed
to eat crushed oats, bran, etc, so that
the separation will be less keenly felt
by them, and eating will occupy the
time and minimize the risk of taking
too much milk on an empty stomach.
A small quantity of clean water should
be placed where it can be got at, but
not spilled.
Start Horses Slowly.
When the horse has been fed and Is
taken out to work, it should be started
In TO labor rather easily to get the most
work at the least inconvenience to the
horse. The reason for this is not hard
to find. 1t is simply that during the
feeding time the organs are getting
themselves into condition for digestion
and are possibly even digesting the
feed A large quantity of blood is call
ed away from the other members and
is poured into the vessels about the
stomach. This blood must all be with
drawn when the horse begins to work
and be supplied to the muscular Or
gans where it is most needed. This
change cannot be done all at once. 1t
requires a little time for the blood to
reach the physical demands. If the
blood has time to make the change by
moderate starting ali will be well. If
not, then there is a temporary exhaus-
ton from which it may require hours
to recover entirely.
Demand For Heavy Horses.
There seems to be u much clearer
idea generally prevailing nowadays as
to what heavy harness horse really
is, and the supply ought in time to
more nearly equal the demand. 1t is
hardly worth repeating, says Breeders
Gazette, that the number of heavy har-
ness horses of show yard quality has
never in any country come anywhere
near to filling the demand.
Horses Fed on Alfalfa.
1t is somewhat amusing to one
brought up to the feeding of alfalfa
hay to horses to read the objections
urged against it by those to whom it
is new, writes California correspond
ent of Breeders Gazette. Our horses
never receive much grain and certainly
do as much hard work as is done in
the east and middle west and are fat
all the year around.