Feeding and Care of the Horse 



1813 



at ten days to two weeks of age, and this indicates that he is acquiring 

 an appetite for solid food. At this time it is important to encourage him 

 to eat. Possibly he should have a separate grain-box placed where he 

 can have easy access to it. At first he should have a grain mixture of 

 oat meal and wheat bran, half and half by weight. The young foal will 

 eat very little of this at the beginning, but if a fresh supply is kept 

 constantly before him he will soon acquire the habit of eating grain. It 

 is important that the supply be kept in fresh condition. The foal that 

 is encouraged to eat solid food in this manner can be weaned at five to 

 six months of age without loss of weight. 



The cost of raising a colt has been much discussed and estimates vary 

 widely. This variation is due largely to existing conditions. The cost 

 has been estimated by computing the cost of food in some cases at 

 market value, in other cases at the value on the farm, and in still other 

 cases at the actual cost on the farm; thus three cost prices are quoted. 

 The best way to estimate the cost of raising a colt is to ascertain the 

 amount of food required; each person can then estimate the expense 

 according to the value that he wishes to place on the food. The 

 suckling colt fed as suggested above will consume about 180 pounds up 

 to weaning time; as a weanling he will consume daily 5 pounds of grain 

 and 7 pounds of hay; as a yearling, 7 pounds of grain and 18 pounds of 

 hay; and as a two-years-old, 9 pounds of grain and 20 pounds of hay. 

 These figures represent averages obtained from four years of work in grow- 

 ing colts, although draft colts consume somewhat larger -quantities 

 while lighter colts consume considerably less. The grain consists of 50 

 pounds corn meal, 25 pounds wheat bran, and 25 pounds ground oats, 

 while the hay consists of sweet clover or alfalfa. The total food 

 consumed up to three years of age is as follows: 



TABLE 2. Amounts of Food Consumed by Growing Colts 



According to this computation, which is based on four years of experi- 

 mentation, a three-y ears-old colt consumes on the average approximately 



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