Colt production in Iowa

Abstract

<p>1. Records on colt production were obtained from 300 Iowa farmers in 15 counties.</p> <p>2. The majority of the farmers preferred brood mares weighing from 1,500 to 1,600 pounds. They also preferred work horses of about the same weight.</p> <p>3. Eighty-nine percent of the farmers preferred to raise rather than buy colts. The principal reason was that they thought home grown colts make better work horses.</p> <p>4. The most common breeding guarantee was that the mares would produce foals that would stand and suck. Such a guarantee system of payment works against the stallion owner and favors the mare owner.</p> <p>5. The time lost from work by mares at foaling time averaged 13.25 days.</p> <p>6. These data indicate that colts can be raised to working age on approximately 214 tons of grain and 2 ^ tons of mixed hay, plus pasture and some corn stalks.</p> <p>7. Some farmers start colts to work at 2 years of age but the majority prefer to break them when they are rising 3-year-olds. The average age at which colts were put to work was 2 years and 8 months.</p> <p>8. The principal objections made against raising colts are “ risk” and “ bother,” especially when farmers do not have good equipment.</p> <p>9. Records show that some farmers were able to reduce grain requirements about 60 percent by more extensive use of pasture and roughages.</p> <p>10. The largest item of expense is feed, but practically all feeds used were home grown.</p> <p>11. Colts make good use of pasture, corn stalks and other non-salable feeds.</p> <p>12. Little labor is needed to care for a colt, especially after weaning time.</p> <p>13. The raising of a few colts each year makes it possible for an individual farmer to sell his older horses and retain animals for work.</p> <p>14. The results show that a farmer can raise colts to working age with an expenditure of less than $30 in cash. The remainder of the costs were simply charging the colts with utilizing farm feeds and a limited use of equipment.</p> <p>15. Farmers generally appreciate the importance of using stallions of correct type and conformation to insure the production of good colts.</p>