1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 January Voice RS | Page 42

cervix is open. It is very easy to
learn but it would be a good idea to
have a veterinary friend of yours
show you the proper procedure. Use
mineral oil on your hand and arm,
not soap. While I am thinking of this,
excessive amounts of semen coming
from the mare after service is a good
sign the cervix was not open and the
mare will probably have to be served
later or else it was too late to begin
with. Do not pull on a mare’s tail be­
fore the stallion enters as this will
cause her to step aside, making it
difficult for the horse. If a mare twists
back and forth while being served,
it’s probably because the service is
too close. To alleviate this, have the
mare standing uphill a little from the
stallion or use a stallion roll under
the mare’s tail. If the flagging move­
ments of the horse’s tail are slow in
the act of serving, he is probably
under par for that particular service
and may need rest or care of some
other source. I like to keep a breed­
ing stallion barefooted or, if he has
to be shod, keep the shoes especially
smooth around the heel. If you are
going to breed your mare early in the
year, fall is the time to start checking
her to see 'how normal she is. If
something is wrong, you can probab­
ly correct it before the time to breed
her is at hand. Do not wait until the
last minute to see the stallion owner
about the services. This can only lead
to difficulty. One of the biggest causes
of breeding troubles with horses is
caused by trying to get a mare in
foal by February 15 or else. This
could all be changed by changing
the show classification dates to some­
thing like we do in showing cattle. If
your mare is going to foal this win­
ter, do not leave her in the pasture
with the other mares to foal. This is
dynamite. If your mare retains her
placenta more than two hours, she is
in trouble. Do not try to remove this
yourself unless you are very, very
experienced in this line. To keep from
worrying too much about when your
mare is going to foal, you might re­
member that she will not be ready
until the milk starts to flow when you
slightly bump the udder. It should be
of some value to know that the sub­
sequent breeding ability of all our
mares is due in great part to the
condition of the glands that control
the health of the body as a whole.
KOPPERS INTRODUCES FIRE-RETARDANT WOOD
FOR MODERN STABLE CONSTRUCTION
Constructed entirely of fire-retardant wood, supplied
by Koppers Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, this 52-stall
horse barn is one of two recently built at the Hins­
dale, N. H. Raceway, introducing a new concept in
barn designed developed by Umbaugh Pole Building, Inc., Ravenna, Ohio. These barns, the builders say,
will confine fire to any area in which it may occur
and will carry smoke from above that area through
a continuous roof vent, as an answer to disastrous
fires of recent years, in which hundreds of priceless
animals have been lost.
Fire, which in recent years has
turned scores of horse barns at race
tracks, breeding and training farms,
into raging infernos with the loss of
hundreds of priceless animals, canbe
effectively confined to any area in
which a blaze breaks out and without
excessive loss of animal life.
This is the story being advanced to
state racing commissions, track own­
ers, and thoroughbred and purebret
farm operators by Kenneth Um
baugh, nationally known breeder o
Arabian show horses and presiden
of Umbaugh Pole Building, Inc., «
Ravenna, Ohio firm specializing ii
designing and erecting agricultura
and racing plant structures.
U mbaugh has designed and is pres
evading barns for race tracks
and horse farms which he claims
n?S fire safe as stables shouh
stall e °
structures, each witl
comni
horses, were recenth
ompleted at the Hinsdale, N. H
Wlth approval of the Nev
stateUp"0 fire marshal a"d th,
^ate s Racing Commission, and weri opened in late November.
Umbaugh’s "Fire Guard” stables
are constructed entirely of Non-Com
fire-protected wood to confine any
fire (always a hazard with hay and
straw) to the specific stall in which
it may start. This lumber, pressure-
impregnated with flame-proof chem­
icals by Koppers Company, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, emits a non-flammable
gas and vapor at a temperature sev­
eral degrees below the ignition point
of natural wood, setting up a pro­
tective char and extinguishing itself
when the feed fire is removed.
In addition, Umbaugh said, the
"Fire Guard” stable design vents
smoke from such a fire through the
roof directly over the flame area to
eliminate any danger of harm to
animals in other stalls from smoke
inhalation.
With certain modifications this de­
sign can be used, Umbaugh said, to
upgrade existing barns for the safety
of valuable animals, heretofore in
danger, should fire break out in any
area of the structures.
42
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse