46 



APPENDIX 



It is best to breed from stallions and mares of five years old, but 

 there is no great harm if they are only four ; they should not, however, 

 be younger than this and in no case should they be aged. 



The mare should be reduced in flesh before being put to the 

 stallion, and to this end she should be ridden for a few days previously. 

 The winter season, till March, is best for putting the mare to the 

 stallion. The j^eriod of gestation is nine months, but some writers have 

 fixed it at eleven months and eleven days. The majority, however, say 

 it is a full twelve months. If a foal is born before nine months, it will 

 be defective ; but the longer it is in the womb, the better. The mare 

 may be ridden sparingly while carrying.^ The mare should be given 

 less food when she becomes heavy ; and for forty days before foaling 

 she should daily be given half a pound of ght. 



4. — On Determining the Sex of a Foal before it is Born 



If a south wind is blowing when the mare is put to the stallion, she 

 will produce a filly. If the I'ight nipple be black and swollen and carried 

 higher than the left, she will produce a colt. 



5. — On Feeding the Foal 



If the foal be given camel's milk, it will be strong ; if cow's milk, it 

 will be fat and round ; and if goat's milk, it will be active. The best 

 grain for a foal is barley. 



The foal should be led about by hand. Further, it is not good to tie 

 it up ; it should be allowed to follow the dam wherever she goes. The 

 foal should not be ridden till two years old. 



6. — Emasculation and Gelding 



Cast the horse. Let four or five men, relieving each other, pull 

 the cord of the testicles for an hour or so, till it becomes soft. In 

 appearance only, the horse will be a stallion. If the horse is trouble- 

 some, fix a bandage between its legs, scissor-wise, and tie tightly, and 

 remove after three hours. Hem: after pulling the cord as above, till 

 soft, brand with a line from the scrotum right up to the anus, so that 

 the sexual cord may perish. Itern : cast the horse, and pull the coi'd as 

 before. Then cover a pair of scissors with cotton wool, and compress 

 the cord with the scissors, and bind tightly. Kemove after twelve 

 hours. In the wintei' a slight wound will be caused, which, however, 

 can be quickly healed. In other seasons, both the testicles will come 

 out, and ointment must be applied. Item: cast the horse, bind the 

 cords with silk, slit the scrotum and remove the testicles, filling up with 

 powdered turmei'ic. In ten or fifteen days a recovery may be expected. 



That is, ridden at a walk. 



