The farmer and mechanic., 1915-10-19
THE BROOD MARE on THE FARM
The Farm Horse Fills More Import
ant Place in Production Than Any
Other Animal.

the farm will have little let up the
farmer can have q moment to spare
TO ascertain Of what value his brood
mares have been.
He will rememb Der, in the first place,
that they have each given birth this
season and have raised to weaning
age a nice promising colt that bids
fair to develop into g good salable
horse later on.
These youngsters are increasing in
value and as they are yearlings now
will help to make their living next
season as two year olds. The brood
mares have also done much farm and
road work.
Probably I make a mistake in cred
iting each mare with a colt every
year; SO it is safer to say that count
ing for accidents a mare should aver
age two colt every three years.
1t would be rather a hard matter
to say just what product she will give
her owner each year Of her working
and breeding life. So much depends
on her quality and especially upon her
capacity as sure breeder and like
wise as a good mother.
Mares, like cows. differ greatly in
their flow Of milk and many times
medium sized animal with heavy milk
flow capacity will raise a bigger and
better colt than a much larger ami
NAL whose milk flow is insufficient.
The practical horse breeder and the
farmer or experience is we'll aware Of
these facts and one will often be sur
prised to see farmers keep breeding
mares that to the uninitiated appear
to be Indifferent specimens.
Say that a farmer has bought
mare in January for $3.50. She is five
years old and he breeds her in March.
The stud fee is $25, but the money is
not due unless the mare proves to be
in foal.
The colt has cost $25 at birth and
at weaving time, four months later.
| he should be worth, if a good indi-
vidual and a good grade, say $40.
BY next spring he should be worth
| SIS and at two years old should bring
| 500 to $125. Now he can be put to
work.
From then until he is four years
! cid he should earn his feed-say 81
year-and give a profit Of $25 per
year, although $50 would be nearer
| the mark.
At four years of age he should be
worth 5000, judging from the way
| well-bred Well-broken and Wellkept
| horses are now selling.
We will say that breeder is lucky
| enough to have raised a pair Of four
year-olds, sound, good lockers, hearty.
with snap and style. weighing form
| 1900 to 400 pounds each, for the
! the big markets.
These are not fanciful figures but
are based upon actual experience of
everyday farmers Of breeding, raising
and selling colts.
Every farmer should, if possible,
keep one or more good brood mares:
not broken winded, worn out, city
hacks but sound, wel1-shape we'll
bred animals that possess. individual
merit and whose progeny will sell
readily when the dealer comes along
Any breeder of experience, knows
well that almost as much depends on
the brood mare as on the stallion In
the raising of any breed of good
horses.
Many colts take their conformation
from their mother, especially from
their shoulders back. For instance, il
mare has wide, ragged hips, hel
colts are most liable to inherit this
tendency Many colts also inherit
their dispositions from their dams.
Brood-mares should be sound, ol
quiet disposition, strongly built, an6
they should be we'll cared for.
1t is severe loss to the farmer who
pays s25 stud fee loses two or three
months work of his mare, and ther
lcses a colt at birth, or afterwards
and all from neglect of some sort.
The mare can be worked up to {
week or two before the colt is dropp
ed In fact, she is better off for thu
regular exercise, but she should b.
handled by a careful man, who will
not excite her, and she should hav'
roomy box stall for her sleepint
quarters.
Although many may disagree will
w from
ly thirty years experience on breed
ing farms, that it is a risky bushes
purchasing aged mares, who hav
spent the best years Of their life do
= ing work in the cities, and trying t.
make broodmares of them.
- Even if they are only eight or tel
years old. it is an expensive exper