Principles and practices involved in the breeding, feeding, and management of pure-bred draft horses in the United States

Front matter

I

Principles and Practices Involved in the Breeding, Feeding, and Management of Pure-Bred Draft Horses in the United States

VALENTE ESTRADA VILLEGAS

Contents

I. Introductory ....... 7

II. Object of the Work ...... 9

III. Sources of Materials . . . . . .10

II Object Of The Work

It is the aim of this dissertation to elucidate the findings gained from an investigation of the practices relative to the breeding, feeding, and management of breeding pure-bred draft horses as are actually followed and advocated by experienced and observant breeders of this class of horses in the United States.

Ill

SOURCES OF MATERIALS

In undertaking the work the writer made extensive trips and visited several leading breeding establishments of pure-bred draft horses of different breeds in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin in the summer of 1920. Other data were secured through correspondence by means of question¬ naires sent to the principal draft horse breeding farms throughout the United States and several experiment stations. And besides, interviews were held with some breeders during the visits made to the county fair at Janesville, Wisconsin, the interstate fairs at Sioux City, Iowa, and at Kankakee, Illinois, the state fairs at Springfield, Illinois, and at Des Moines, Iowa, and lastly at the Belgian Horse Show, Waterloo, Iowa, all in the summer and fall of 1920.

IV Past Work-general Statement

A review of the literature written on the breeding, feeding, and man¬ agement of horses reveals the fact that only a very limited amount of the work was undertaken under controlled experimental means, while legions of books and articles were put forth by competent authorities, whose wide and long experience unquestionably gives strength to their assertions and recommendations.

V

In choosing the stallion to head the stud Gay 4 indicates that he should possess the proper type and conformation, and should be sound as well as being strongest in such points in which the mares he is to be mated with are defective. Masculinity is desired and of this Gay mentions that the stallion must have “development of forehand, hardness of feature, and boldness of demeanor ” which he points out as indicative of the “impressive sire.” In referring to the same point, Johnstone 8 considers it the most important to bear in mind when right conformation and soundness go with it. Thus he alludes to a “high-headed, bold, noble, masculine presence” as a criterion of promising prepotency. He makes the statement that he has never known one to be a breeder with the head and neck of a mare. Another athority, Carlson, 6 writes that “no horse has ever proved himself a great sire, if not a stallion of most pronounced masculinity.” He characterizes masculinity by “the crest, the massive jaw, the voice, the hard and fixed expression of the eye, the muscular development of the jaw, neck and shoulder, and by his action and every movement.” Carlson 6 goes on to say that stallions of inferior masculinity produce many colts of low vitality although mated with vigorous mares. Pierrot, 7 in speaking for the breeders of the Perche, France, asserts that a good deal of character and reproductive ability are sought in the stallion as shown by the head, neck, and eye. A stallion with “well-crested, swan-curved neck, a clean throatlatch, a wellpoised head with small, fine ears—an intelligent head above all, with a large prominent eye, full of brilliance and fire” is desired. Great empha¬ sis is given to the eye, of which Pierrot remarks that he has never seen a reproductive stallion whose eyes are of the common type. According to Gelder, 8 the front outlook of a stallion should go with “a good crest, bold masculine appearance, bright, full hazel eye, a broad, full forehead and a strong, wide, well-muscled jaw.”

The stallion as a different animal, possessing characteristics essential for a reproductive male, is described by Blum 9 whose account on the subject is quoted in toto, to-wit:

“The sex character of the stallion is one of his conspicuous features. His head is somewhat stronger and larger than that of the mare, and his neck much heavier and thicker, with some strength of arch. When the stallion is in superior physical vigor and spirits, he tends to carry head and neck high, and shows the self-assertion and dominant quality of the masculine sex. He should show marked strength of character in his head, for it expresses much, whether bold and toplofty, or meek and droopy. Some stallions have heads of an effeminate appearance, or resemble the gelding in sexless character. Such heads should be dis¬ criminated against by both judge and breeder. One could not expect the best breeding results from a feminine appearing sire. The neck should show some length, rather than be short and steer-like, and be well laid with powerful, long muscles. A strong development of hair at the fore¬ top and top of the neck, is also a feature of the stallion, the hair tending to be coarse rather than fine. The stallion should manifest in his head and especially eyes, something of his character, not easy to define, yet expressing personality, temperament, disposition, and sexual dominance. The sex character of the stallion is also shown in his powerful develop¬ ment of bone and muscle, and in his sexual organs. Even when of the same size as the mare, his bone tends to he heavier, his muscles more prominent and his frame more powerful. The sexual organs should he perfectly developed, and the judge should note that the scrotum consists of a double sac and prominent enough to bear evidence of being on a breeding animal. A stallion with a single testicle is known as a ridgling, and is at least open to criticism in the show ring, though he may not be a non-breeder.

“The general body conformation of the stallion should show closeness of coupling and strength of back, but plenty of length of middle. Some persons favor much compactness of body, but if properly coupled and the back strongly sustained, then the body itself may have length to advantage. The shoulders of the stallion are also usually somewhat heav¬ ier and more prominent than on a gelding or mare, giving a thickness in front expressive of masculinity tand power.

“The size of the stallion usually exceeds that of the mare though not to a notable extent in many cases. However, a draft stallion weighing 2,000 pounds, might be a satisfactory size, while the female of the breed at 1,700 would meet all requirements. It is not unreasonable to expect the male to weigh three or four hundred pounds more than the female. Most men desire comparatively large, rather stretchy types of stallions, and these weigh distinctly more than the low set, compact, chunky sort. This type of stallion stands higher than the mares, and is larger and coarser in every way.

“The constitutional vigor of the stallion should also receive considera¬ tion. This is shown in the strength and character of the head, but is especially seen in the prominence of breast and the depth and fullness of chest. The degree of width of chest will depend upon the type, the draft stallion showing more than the lighter sort, but this should not be extreme. It is important that the forerib be well arched, but even more desirable that it be long, and so account for a strong heart girth and full flank. Not only this, but a long forerib is sure to be associated with general depth of body, feeding capacity and vitality. A horse with shallow body and long legs cannot stand up under work, and does not show the constitution that the deeper bodied, lower set one does. Constitutional vigor in the male is regarded of prime importance, and judges should give it due recognition.

“The temperament of the stallion will be shown in a degree, according to his type, the heavy draft horse being somewhat quieter and more phlegmatic than the lighter type. In general, however, when not over¬ worked, the stallion shows an animated, aggressive character, with evi¬ dence of much reserve nervous force. If overworked, he loses much of his fire and ambition. In the city of Paris there are thousands of draft stallions stolidly pulling away enormous loads, quiet and indifferent as to what is going on about them, giving little evidence of the naturally bold temperament of the sex. The stallions should be active and alert, yet not nervous and irritable. His disposition is usually good, but he will bear watching for he may be unnecessarily playful with either teeth or feet.”

2. Unsoundness and Diseases Affecting Selection

The Wisconsin stallion law 10 provides that any of the following diseases shall disqualify the stallion from service: Cataract, amaurosis (glass eye), periodic ophthalmia (moon blindness), laryngeal hemiplegia (roar¬ ing or whistling), pulmonary emphysema (heaves, broken wind), chorea (St. Vitus dance, crampiness, shivering, stringhalt), bone spavin, ring¬ bone, side bone, navicular disease, bog spavin, curb (with curby con¬ formation of the hock), glanders, farcy, maladie due coit, urethral gleet, mange and melanosis. The state of New York, 11 however, disqualifies the stallion from standing only when affected by any incurable or contageous diseases, and may be passed even though afflicted with some transmissible unsoundness provided that the unsoundnesses are men¬ tioned in the certificate. The law considers the following as transmis¬ sible: recurrent ophthalmia, cataract, amaurosis, laryngeal hemiplegia, pulmonary emphysema, stringhalt, bone spavin, side bone, navicular disease, curb (when associated with curby conformation of the hock). Under this law it is further pointed out that stallions which shall have reached their fifteenth year and found to be free from incurable, in¬ fectious and transmissible diseases, shall subsequently not he required to pass the examination for diseases or unsoundness after the issuance of the first certificate previous to this time. The Iowa 12 law disqualifies the stallion if affected with glanders, farcy, maladie due coit, coital ex¬ anthema, urethral gleet, mange, melanosis, blindness, cataract, and per¬ iodic opthalmia, while enrollment may be permitted if possessing any of such unsoundnesses as amaurosis, laryngeal hemiplegia, pulmonary emphysema, bog spavin, bone spavin, ringbone, side bone, navicular disease, curb (with curby conformation of the hock), and chorea, pro¬ vided that the unsoundness is specified in the certificate and advertise¬ ment.

The law states that if the condition of the unsoundness is such that the stallion is unfit for breeding the same may be rejected for public service. Somewhat similar to the New York law the stallion is also given a permanent certificate, but in this case, the stallion must have passed examination for three consecutive years and reached the age of six years or over. The permanent certificate must, however, be returned each year for renewal, together with an affidavit that the stallion is free from contagious or communicable disease. Nebraska 18 bars any stallion from public service if suffering from urethral gleet, melanosis, periodic opthalmia, laryngeal hemiplegia, dourine, glanders, farcy, or serious de¬ fects in general conformation, and certificates are not issued to such stallions brought to the state if affected with urethral gleet, melanosis, periodic ophthalmia, laryngeal hemiplegia, cataract, amaurosis, chorea, stringhalt, bone spavin, bog spavin, ring bone, side bone, curb (with curby conformation of hock), and contagious or infectious diseases, or which is seriously defective in conformation or of vicious disposition. Here again a permanent certificate is given at the second inspection, the time of examination being made, first, between the age of two and three years, and again between the age of five and six years. But the certificate may be repealed if the stallion is found to have melanosis, periodic ophthalmia, or any contagious or infectious diseases or for any other cause. The California stallion law 14 only specifies that licenses issued to unsound stallions should bear the particular disease or unsoundness with which it is afflicted. Such unsoundnesses and diseases as are in¬ cluded in the law, sufficient to cause the stallion unsound, are periodic ophthalmia, cataract, laryngeal hemiplegia, pulmonary emphysema, chorea, bone spavin, ringbone, sidebone, navicular disease, osteoporosis, curb (when accompanied by faulty conformation of hock). Washington 16 bars any stallion affected with bone spavin, ringbone, sidebone, navicular disease, bog spavin, curb (with curby formation of hock), glanders, farcy, maladie du coit, urethral gleet, mange, melanosis. The state of New Jersey 16 makes the same provision, but adds that cataract, amaurosis, periodic ophthalmia, laryngeal hemiplegia, pulmonary emphysema, chorea, osteoprosis, canker of the foot, and laminitis as being also contagious diseases and unsoundnesses. New Jersey and Utah 17 laws are similar in this respect excepting that in the latter osteoporosis, canker of the foot, and laminitis are not included; furthermore, the Utah law discriminates against enlarged sidebone and curby formation of hock in place of side¬ bone and curb with curby formation of hock.

Barring stallions which were unsound before the enactment of the law, or such stallions as have become unsound after passing examination at over six years of age, the Stallion Registration Board of Oregon 18 is authorized to reject the issuance of license certificates to stallions suffer¬ ing from cataract, amaurosis, periodic ophthalmia, laryngeal hemiplegia, chorea, bone spavin, bog spavin, ringbone, sidebone, and curb (when ac¬ companied by curby formation of the hock). The Board is further em¬ powered to disqualify stallions that are unfit for breeding purposes to dis¬ qualify stallions that are unfit for breeding purposes arising from diseases or deformities. In order that stallions be licensed to stand for public service in the state of Colorado, 19 the law provides that the stallion be free from such diseases or unsoundnesses as roaring, ringbone, chorea, bone spavin, bog spavin, specific ophthalmia, curb (when accompanied with curby conformation), or any venereal or other contagious diseases. Ridglings and deformed stallions are also barred. In the state of Okla¬ homa 20 the stallioners are given the option to apply for license if they are to take advantage of the lien, and certificate of soundness is issued only when it is desired to advertise the stallion as being sound. The stallion is certified to be sound when found free from moon blindness, cataract, roaring or whistling, heaves or broken wind, St. Vitus' dance, stringhalt, bone spavin, curb (with curby formation of hocks), glanders, farcy, urethral gleet, mange, and retention of one or both testicles.

The law of Minnesota 21 provides for the rejection of stallions applying for license when affected with such transmissible diseases or unsoundnesses as bone spavin, sidebone, ringbone, curb (when accompanied by curby formation of the hock), glanders, farcy, maladie du coit, urethral gleet, and mange. But in case that a stallion which has been previously regis¬ tered is found diseased the Stallion Registration Board is authorized to issue license stating the nature of unsoundness. Under the same law is provided the examination of stallions every four years until said individ¬ uals have reached the age of ten years when the same will be exempted from further inspection. Montana 28 rejects the enrollment of stallions possessing diseases or unsoundnesses as cataract, amaurosis, laryngeal heiniplegia, chorea, bone spavin, ringbone, sidebone, gladners, farcy, ma¬ ladie de coit, urethral gleet, mange, melanosis, and curb (when accom¬ panied by curby hock). In South Dakota 22 such diseases or unsound¬ nesses as specific ophthalmia, including moon blindness, laryngeal hemi¬ plegia, bone spavin, ringbone, glanders, farcy, dourine, urethral gleet, mange, bog spavin, or curb (when accompanied by faulty conformation) are sufficient to disqualify a stallion so affected for breeding services. The Indiana Stallion Enrollment Board 28 provides for the rejection of stallions affected with any incurable, infectious, or contagious diseases, but transmissible unsoundnesses are passed which, however, should be indi¬ cated in the certificate of enrollment.

Condition of soundness is required in the first certificate and every two years until the stallion is ten years old, at which time and afterwards further application for soundness is no longer necessary. The following diseases and unsoundnesses are recog¬ nized as contagious, infectious, or transmissible: Recurrent ophthalmia, cataract, glaucoma, amaurosis, laryngeal hemiplegia, pulmonary emphy¬ sema, chorea, stringhalt, glanders, maladie du coit, urethral gleet, mange, bog spavin, bone spavin, curb, when associated with curby conformation of the hocks, ringbone, sidebone, and navicular disease. One or more of the following diseases and defects are deemed sufficient to bar a stallion from registration in the state of Idaho: 24 “Hemiplegia, roaring or whist¬ ling, chorea, stringhalt, bone spavin, bog spavin, ringbone, thoroughpin, enlarged sidebones, urethral gleet, ophthalmia, cribbing and curb (when accompanied by curby hock), or any marked, faulty or weak conformation, which he is liable to transmit.” The state of Illinois 26 issues license to unsound stallions that may be affected with amaurosis, bog spavin, side¬ bone, navicular disease, curb, chorea, stringhalt or roaring, provided that the unsoundness is indicated on the certificate. However, the stallion may be disqualified if afflicted with any contagious or infectious diseases, or suffering from periodic opthalmia, bone spavin, ringbone, curb (when accompanied by curby conformation). Certificate of soundness is no longer necessary in case of stallions 6 years old or over which have suc¬ cessfully passed examination for two successive years. 28 Said stallion is entitled to a permanent certificate of soundness. However, should this stallion constract infectious, contagious, or communicable disease the De¬ partment of Agriculture shall have the right to cancel the permanent certificate at any time. The North Dakota Stallion Registration Board 27 rules that no stallion should stand for public service if affected by such diseases and unsoundnesses as cataract, amaurosis, laryngeal hemiplegia, stringhalt, glander, sidebone, farcy, maladie cu coit, urethral gleet, mange, bone spavin, ringbone and curb (when accompanied by curby hock), and in like manner the laws of Montana 28 includes the same disqualifying factors. Besides, in another clause, Montana statutes provide that “No stallion shall stand for public service . . . which is deformed or so

badly diseased as to be . . . wholly unfit for breeding purposes . . . ” The Pennsylvania 20 laws provide for the licensing of stallions as are qualified and approved by the veterinarian, said examiner to certify on the soundness and conformation of the stallions, and to specify such unsoundness and inferior conformation that may be found, if any. In another section of the same law, it is stated that “Any stal¬ lion . . . the patronage of which, in the opinion of those charged

with the enforcement of this act, on account of unsoundness, inferior type or conformation, may prove a detriment to the horse breeding in¬ terests of the state, shall be refused a license, and when license is so re¬ fused the said stallion . . . shall not stand for public service in this

state.”

The laws of the State of Michigan 30 do not account for any unsound¬ nesses or diseases that may bar a stallion of the state for public service, but in Sec. 7, the provisions read: “Every stallion brought into this state from another state or from a foreign country to be offered for sale or for public service shall, before any such sale or use is made, be ex¬ amined by the state veterinary board or its regularly appointed repre¬ sentative, and certified fby said board or its representative that said stallion is free from hereditary, contagious or transmissible unsoundness or disease and is of good conformation and breed type and suitable to improve the horse stock of the state.”

Touching on the subject of unsoundness, Section 12 of the Kansas stallion law 31 reads: “It shall be optional with owners, keepers, or persons in charge of stallions standing for public service whether or not said stallions shall be examined for soundness, but no stallion shall be ad¬ vertised in any manner either directly or indirectly as a sound stallion until a certificate of soundness has been issued for said stallion by the Kansas State Live Stock Registry Board, and then said stallion may be advertised as sound only during the life of the certificate of soundness. This certificate of soundness shall become null and void and not in force on December 31 of the year during which it is issued.” The state of Missouri 32 make similar provisions on unsoundness.

The Stud License Law of the state of Kentucky 33 makes no provision for any unsoundness or diseases that may disqualify the stallion for public service.

Alexander 34 holds that certain diseases are “heredity or transmissible as a predisposition.” These include the following: “eye disease, such as periodic ophthalmia or ‘moon blindness’, cataract, amaurosis or ‘glass eye’, chorea or ‘St. Vitus’ dance’, constituting ‘crampiness’, or ‘shivering’, ‘stringhalt’, ‘heaves’ or ‘broken wind’, spavin, ringbone, sidebone, navicular disease or ‘grogginess’, melanotic or pigment tumors, and peculiarities of conformation rendering animals liable to disease or lameness such as

‘sickle’, curby-formed, ‘crooked’, ‘boggy’ or ‘sprung’ hocks, flat, weak, unsound hoofs, weak, ill-formed knees, ‘washy’ coupling, short upright pasterns, etc.” Alexander also gives a list of com¬ municable diseases which should be guarded against in breeding animals, namely: glanders, farcy, ‘‘maladie du coit,” infectious abortion, mange, leucorrhoea or “whites,” urethral gleet and simple pox.

According to Miles , 35 “Bone spavin, curbs, ringbone, navicular disease, and other similar affections of the bones and joints, are of frequent occurence in the hereditary form.” Too, it is claimed that “in horses, strain of the back-tendons, swelled legs, grease, and roaring, are often hereditary; while a predisposition to rheumatism, malignant and nonmalignant tumors, chronic cough, ophthalmia and blindness, epilepsy, and a great variety of nervous disorders, is inherited by them . . .” Miles

cites Finlay Dun who believes that “a disproportion in the width and strength of the leg below the hock to the width and strength above the hock, predisposes to spavin; a straight hock and a short os calcis, in¬ clining forward, gives a tendency to curbs; ‘round legs and small knees, to which the tendons are tightly bound, are especially subject to strains’; while a predisposition to navicular disease is found ‘in horses with narrow chests, upright pasterns, and outturned toes’.” It is also brought out by Miles, in the words of Dun, that “many farm horses, as well as others without much breeding, are remarkable for consuming large quantities of food, for soft and flabby muscular systems, and for round limbs containing an unusual proportion of cellular tissue. These char¬ acters are notoriously hereditary . . . Such characters indicate pro¬ clivity to certain diseases, as swelled legs, weed and grease.” And again Miles remarks that “If the leg below the hock is disproportionately long and the os calcis is short (giving a narrow hock), a strain of the joint, or some other form of the disease, is liable to result from ian amount of work that would not be severe in a limb of proper proportions.”

Gay 36 asserts that the ‘transmissibility of many of the so-called heredi¬ tary unsoundnesses has not been established; even roaring and moon blindness in horses, the only two things for which stallions are dis¬ qualified in France, where the most comprehensive system of inspection is, are now believed to be more frequently the result of preexisting in¬ fluenza in the one case, and of an enzootic infection in the other, than of hereditary influences.”

Quoting Youatt , 37 “there is abundant proof that blindness, roaring broken wind, sidebones, spavins, ringbones, laminitis, and navicular disease have been bequeathed to their offspring both by sire and dam.”

And Axe 38 believes that spavins, curbs, ringbones, sidebones, roaring, whistling, stringhalt, shivering, specific ophthalmia, and cataract are the most harmful among the heriditary diseases and unsoundnesses of the horse.

In this connection it may be well to consider such unsoundnesses as are deemed sufficient to bar a mare from being bred to a Government stallion by the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Govern¬ ment. According to Reese , 39 these unsoundnesses include bone spavin, ringbone, sidebone, heaves, stringhalt, roaring, periodic ophthalmia, and blindness, partial and complete.

3. Other Considerations Affecting Selection

Carlson 6 emphasizes the need of testing the stallion for its wind. He says there is no disease of the horse that is more likely to become hereditary than laryngeal hemiplegia. In discussing this subject, John¬ stone 5 suggests that in testing the horse for this defect go and pass by as if to punch him on the flank and if he grunts then it is an indication of the animal being windbroken.

Johnstone 5 also adds some important considerations in the selection of the stallion. He brings out the matter of looking into the teeth, and as has been referred to under the stallion laws, he likewise gives im¬ portance to examining the eyes and testicles. A full normal set of testicles is required. With regard to testing the virility of the stallion Carlson® advocates that the semen be examined under the microscope. He also points out that the testicles should be well developed and even in size. According to him, the smaller, shorter penis is to be preferred inasmuch as more complete services are obtained thereby, the semen be¬ ing discharged into the uterus. Carlson further brings out that a stallion with tallowy deposits around the generative organs is to be discriminated against.

As has been referred to, vicious disposition is discriminated against by the Nebraska Stallion Law. Carlson 0 likewise rejects the dangerous individual or even one that is difficult to handle.

The pedigree of the individual should be carefully examined, bearing in mind the relative merits of the ancestry and above all the authenticity of the records.

Under the caption rejects, outside of actual unsoundnesses, Johnstone 5 may be quoted: “Avoid long couplings, light ribs, weak loins, light flanks, narrowness of conformation, calf-knees, sickle hocks, straight pasterns, and small, steep, flat, shelly or low heeled or mulelike feet. Very light bone also should be left for some one else, also crooked top lines, low backs, dropping rumps, ewe and short straight necks, sour or ‘fiddle’ heads, sow ears, dish faces and small piggy eyes . . . The legs should be smooth and clean from the knees and hocks down to the coronet and so to the hoof which should be of fine texture without ridges, cracks or breaks.”

4. Age to Breed

Carlson 0 prefers that the colt be started to serve at three years of age, and says that if he is to be used as a two-year old no more than 8 or 10 mares for the year should be covered, with an interval of five days be¬ tween services. With regard to the two-year-old, Johnstone 5 gives similar opinion, but adds that he should be vigorous and well developed. He restricts the three-year-old to 25 to 30 mares, and the four-year-old to 40 to 50 mares. The mature horse is limited to two services daily and in exceptional cases may be allowed to serve three times in a day. An average of three covers, according to Johnstone, suffices to beget a foal, and assuming that a stallion settles one-half of the mares, therefore, the three-year-old will on the whole render 45 services during the breeding season of fifteen weeks, or three services to the week. According to the same inference, the four-year-old will make 75 covers, but since his season may be extended to 115 days, his services will be called for at 3 times every two days. Dimon 40 says that if the two-year-old is at all to be used the services should be light, the three-year-old to be limited to 15 or 20 services, and the four-year-old to 30. According to Berg¬ man, 41 the two-year-old may be allowed 15 mares, the three-year-old 50, and the aged sire as many as 80 to 120 mares during the breeding season of four months. Curryer 42 mentions that from one to three covers for the first week <and four or five times the next comprise a good schedule in starting a stud horse for the season.

Then once a day, but never more than two times, may be permitted. Two services a day, how¬ ever, should be indulged in only occasionally. While the same authority also indicates that with stallions that were idle during the winter the stud work may be so regulated that an individual is allowed only two services a week throughout the season. Axe 38 is of the opinion that stallions should be started in the stud as a three-vear-old, ibut remarks that the two-year-old may stand to the limit of 15 mares. He gives the following average stallion allowances for individuals of different ages: The two-year-old may serve 10 to 15 mares; the three-year-old, 25 to 30 mares; the four-year-old, 45 to 60 mares; and the five-year-old or older, 70 to 100 mares. Axe 38 cites a case of a Shire stallion, which, after having completed a heavy stud work in Lancanshire, England, was allowed to serve 19 mares in the south where it was then taken to. The mares were served the same day the stallion arrived, of which 13 settled. It is also remarked that some stallions were known to have covered from 200 to 260 mares in one season and still leave a proper proportion of offspring. It is, however, emphasized that such action taken will eventu¬ ally lead to sterility or premature impotence. Wallace 43 asserts that a stallion is able to serve 80 mares during the season and get an average of 40 to 50 foals, and adds that certain individuals may cover 100 and some even 130. It is interesting to note that a horse with one testicle down, according to the same authority, can get foals, while if the two are both out no foals could be expected.

According to Allen, 44 the stallion American Eclipse, which was a suc¬ cessful getter till the age of 32, began stud work late and light service was allowed till he was fully matured. One extreme is here pointed out by Walley, 45 however, in that a few draft horses “are capable of ‘stinting’ successfully more than five mares in a single day.” He also remarks that from an aged stallion a dwarf or puny offspring is to be expected. It is interesting to note that Jackson, as quoted by Walley, places the allow¬ ance for a stallion in one season at only 25 mares inasmuch as he con¬ siders the stallion to make 100 services, or 4 covers to each mare.