The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-02-07
FARMERS WARNED
TO TAkE Up
THEIR HORSES
Ward County HOrseman Says rs Per
Cent of Horses Rustling Are Apt
to Die-Many Already Have
Succumbed.

Farmers of western North Dakota
are warned by James H. Scoheld, \
prominent farmer and stockman, Of
Minot, to take up their horses i'm
mediately, which have been roaming
the prairies and fields during the win
ter, rustling for their existence. Mr..
Scotiefd says that already he estimates
out last fall have died and if the
others are not cared for Immediately,
ne believes that rs per cent Of them
will have died by spring
ut is nothing to me personally"
he said to an Independent represen-
tative last Saturday, "but l know
what l am talking about and despite
the fact that this may be said to be
poor advertising, the present condi-
tions are so critical that feel that I
would not be doing my duty if kept
quiet. If farmers expect to get any
work out of the horses now rustling
on the prairies and about the fields,
they must take them up at once, give
them attention and feed them we'll. It
does not matter what the feed will
cost, buy it and feed your horses. It
is better to spend the value of one or
two horses on feed than to lose all Of
them. Already ten per cent of the
horses turned out last winter are to
be found dead in the coulees and in the
fields in this section of the state and
if the horses are not given attention
very soon, | estimate that fully rs
per cent of them will die by spring.
Another thing, horses are going to
be high and mighty scarce in the
spring under these conditions.
81 have had experience with letting
horses range the prairie winters dur
ing the past thirty years. There was
a time when this could be done with
safety, but in those days there was
plenty of grass on, the prairies and the
horses would be picked up fat in the
spring. But conditions this year are
different. There is little grass on the
prairie and about the only feed they
can get is the stubble in the fields,
which has little food value. You can't
feed your horses on northwest wind
and snoWballs and expect to get any
work out of them in the spring.
II was told today that big 14O0
pound black mare 8 gears old, worth
fully 5000, was found dead near the
Chimes home near Surrey. Reports
come from Burlington that dozens of
dead horses are to be found in the
coulees and every section has similar
cases.
Feed is high and not very plentiful,
but with the countys $250,000 bond
issue, farmers who are depending on
getting feed with county funds, should
be given this opportunity at once.
at is poor policy to try to take
stock thru the winter on just as little
feed as possible. If you are going to
run short of feed at all, by all means
do so later in the spring. Feed your
stock and keep them up well early in
the winter and if you must stint them,
do so the last month before grass
comes. You can't let stock run down
in the middle of the winter and then
expect to throw few feeds into them
and revive them. That's dangerous
practice. If you let your stock run
down the last month before grass
comes, they will soon pick up on the
grass, but feed them now so that
when you kick them, they will jump
up and get out of your way When
you see them looking dull-eyed and
too inactive to get out of your way,
look out.
'T am feeding some ground corn
mixed with shorts to my stock. This
is a little expensive, but the corn fur
nishes the heat necessary for them
during the winter and it has more food
value than oats. Feed the corn now
and oats later when working them.
"Another thing, farmers should clip
their horses in the spring after the
weather warns up and about the time
they are put into the fields. It will
pay to do this, to get. rid of the old
hair, even if one has to be a little care
full to blanket the horses for time.
The horses will do twice as much
work on the same feed in the spring
if clipped. 1t is about the same to
work horses with long hair on as il
would be for man to get out in the
field with fur coat on and try to do
a good days work.
'Let me again emphasize the fact
that horses should be taken up and
fed now. 1t is very unusual for
horses to be dying on the PARTIES in
January. They usually hold out until
March. We will have two or three
months yet in which it will be neces-
sary to feed our stock. If it costs you
half what your horses are worth, take
them up and throw the feed into