The Lamar register., 1905-08-09
IIVE1
STOCK
Unsound Brood Mares,

Driving through the country. in a
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
that the soles were dropped" We
have also seen of late brood mares af-
ficted with side bones, ringbones.
spavins and curbs, and yet they have
been bred when thus unsound. 1t
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
bad conformation and unsoundness in
his colts, but the more the subject Is
studied the more apparent will 1t 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
teiligent supervision and practice.
1t is quite impossible to explain the
fact 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 un-
| 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
fafrs-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 arouse 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 1t impress him to learn
that thousands of horses each year
prove practically 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 IL sound have sold for prices
| giving fine profit; that such trashy
| beasts and the host Of misfits and
| mOngrels bred in an equally careless
way go south as chunks" at not over
| $64 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 1t 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
horse-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 cheap fee no matter
what he may be as regards pedigree,
breed or soundness. 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
and hard.-A. S. Alexander in Farm.
ers' Review.