The Brinkley argus., 1916-04-28
GROWING ANIMALS ON THE.

GROWING ANIMALS ON 1hE
 FARM s No. 6. Growing Horses and Mules. By H. A. Sandhouse. Assistant Profes-
 sor of Animal Husbandry, Uni
 versity of Arkansas.
 The breeding of horses and mules Is generally considered as a side issue m general farm practice, more 80 than in breeding any other class of stock. The majority of farmers raise only few colts each year. the number de pending somewhat on the number of animals used and the nature of the work required of the mares at foaling time. Even though we are living in what might be termed the motor age. there is still great demand for good farm and heavy draft horses. which should be an incentive for~the farmer to breed more and better horses. The mule is especially adapted to South ern conditions, having greater re- sistance to heat, and they are harder, more docile and sure-footed than the horse.
 In selecting breeding animals the average breeder generally selects his brood mares from his best farm work mares. The brood mare should have refined and matronly appearance. and still have sufficient capacity for the foetus as shown by large, deep ribbed body. Since most of the mares gre grades, the relative influence Of sire and dam is apparently in favor or the sire.
 The grade sire may possibly have good appearance. but. coming from mixed breeding of unknown ancestry, 1 1t is hard to determine what his colts will resemble. The pure bred will improve his offspring as the tendency is to produce animals like the sire. The characteristics of the mule mare should be emphasized. since the mule inherits much of it's form from the mare. She should have size, weight and good conformation. Be cause of the generally recognized comparatively coarse qualities of the Jack, mule mares should have refine ment and quality. Heavy draft mares, are not as desirable as those which have some hot blood from the lighter breeds, such as standard bred or thor oughbred. Too much refinement will produce undersized mules, which are not as salable for remunerative prices. The body of the jack has a tendency to angularity, and therefore he should be mated to mares of square, smooth form to overcome this tendency. 1 In order to raise colts. the average farmer must either breed his working mares or work his brood mares The question which confronts the farmer is how to secure natural conditions for his mares while at work. The mare st work is just as well of for fresh air. sunshine and exercise as the mare | In the pasture, but the labor requires more energy and tissue-building mate rial in addition to that for body up- keep and development of the foetus. Furthermore, she Is subject to fatigue and mechanical injuries, such as jerk ing, slipping, extreme speed and rough treatment. The best way Is to grad ually, decrease the work so that dur Ing the last few weeks of pregnancy the marc will be doing the lightest work. The majority of the foals are foaled in the spring, which Is the natural time. However, if mares are expected to do the seasons heavy work in addition to raising colt. the fall will be better time.
 A few days before foaling the grain 1 ration should be decreased and bran or inseed meal should be fed to act as laxative and keep the bowels loose at this time. Alter foaling, the arst feed may be bran. and this may l be followed with oats or equal parts by bulk of corn and bran. feeding a light feed for the first ten days. Thsre are two active causes of Heath in young foals. One is due to inspection in the bowels because of lailurs to receive sufficient colostrum. or fsst milk. and if this be the case, lhe colt should be given tablespoon full of castor oil and warm water infection. The other cause b due to navel infection before the navel heals over. Give plenty of clean, dry bed ding and dip the stump of the navel cord in saturated solution of boric acid, which will prevent infection.
 The feeding of the colt should be- gin as early as possible, as the foal makes more than half of its entire growth during the first year. For bone and muscle forming feeds, blue grass pasture and oats has no supe- rior Corn, barley, kafir, etc, may be ted if properly balanced with legume hays. which have lime. for bone growth.
 q While the mare is at work the foal should be locked up in good box stall or yard, where 1t cannot hurt it. self While the foal Is real young, the mare should be brought in in the middle of the forenoon and afternoon to allow the foal to suck. If the mare Is warm and fretting, milk out part of the milk, as it will injure the foal, especially if the mare is not brought In until noon.