Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-08-10
IIVEi|
unsound Brood Mares.

NhAObSh VIC bhN III q
well-known horse breeding county, the
writer recently was surprised to see
many unsound mares going at pasture
with foals at foot. In one instance the
mare was afflicted with stringhalt and
had also a markedly unsound hook
Joint. Another mare with nursing foal
was so badly ~foundered that she could
scarcely walk. Her feet were badly
deformed and examination showed
chat the soles we're dropped" We
have also seen of late brood mares al
hicted with side bones, ringbones,
spavins and curbs, and yet they have
been bred when thus unsound. II
seems strange indeed after all that has
been said on this subject that farmers
should still persist in using unsound
mares for breeding purposes. The
stallion usually receives the blame for
a conformation and unsoundness in
his colts, but the more the subject is
studied the more apparent will it be-
come that the brood mare is even
more commonly at fault. When 1t is
remembered that one stallion serves
from fifty to one hundred mares 1t
should be apparent that there is great
Likelihood of many of these mares be-
Ing unsound, whereas much greater
care is taken as regards the sound
ness OF the sire. There are too many
unsound stations, to be sure, but
they are less common than %unsound
mares, and while farmers go on breed
ing to unsound stock it will be SIM
ply impossible to improve our horse
STOCK at the rate possible under in
telligent supervision and practice.
1t is quite impossible to explain the
TACT that unsound stock is still so
commonly employed in the breeding
operations of the farmer. Common
sense would seem sufficient to prevent
farmers from following such ruinous
policy. Lack of success in selling In
sound horses should surely have told
each breeder that it does not pay to
breed unsound animals. Farmers in
stitutes, stock and farm papers, teach
ers In agricultural colleges, judges at
falrs-all have waged warfare against
unsound breeding stock and all have
failed equally in duly impressing the
average farmer with the seriousness of
the matter. What more can be said
TO his interest and focus his
attention so strongly that he will give
heed to what he has heard preached
and what he has read hundreds of
times? Will it impress him to learn
that thousands Of horses each year
prove practically a drug upon the mar.
ket for the reason that they are un.
sound; that such horses sell at prices
that do not pay for the expense of
raising and shipping them; that they
would if sound have sold for prices
giving a fine profit; that such trashy
beasts and the host of misfts and
mongrels bred in an equally careless
way go south as chunks" at not over
$64 a head. Most of these horses are
four or five years old, many of them
older. Evidently 1t is impossible for
any owner of good farm land of aver
age value to market a horse at these
ages at the figure mentioned. Yet the
farmer proceeds year after year to
raise unsound, worthless horses, and
seems to be perfectly unconcerned as
to the inevitable results. On the con-
trary, he might just as easily breed
and raise horses that will return good
profits in the market and it is high
time that he should make an effort in
this direction.
Many men have long been breeding
the right sort and reaping the conse-
quent profit. They are few compare
lively speaking and the breeder OF
scrubs and unsound animals still de-
presses the entire trade and by his
patronage of cheap sires makes it well
nigh impossible to free the country of
grade, cross-bred and mongrel, un-
sound stations. A strange feature of
this business is that the very farmer
who pays no intelligent attention to
hor~se-breeding gives great care to the
matter of ~hog-breeding and seed selec-
ton. He could not be persuaded into
changing the blood of his hogs by an
alien cross of blood nor would he read
lily change his seed corn experimental
ly, but he will mate his mare, sound
or %unsound, to the nearest stallion
that stands at a cheap fee no matter
what he may be as regards pedigree,
breed or s%oundness. These are plain
statements. but they are true. Many
of our readers do not belong in the
! category outlined, but we hope this
article will hit the "other fellow" good
e7S' Review.