LECTURE LXII. 



FEED, CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF COLT FROM 

 WEANING TIME UNTIL READY FOR WORK. 



The usefulness and value of a horse is largely deter- 

 mined by the feed, care and management the colt receives 

 from weaning time until ready for work. The greatest of 

 care and the best of judgment should be exercised in the 

 selection of the feed stuffs, and the administration of the 

 same; also in the management of the youngster. A very 

 common mistake is made in trying to mature a young animal 

 too soon. By so doing, the proper development of both bone 

 and muscle is very often checked. In growing the young 

 animal the aim should be to secure uniform and proper 

 development of all the parts. This is especially true of the 

 bone and the muscle. The young animal should never be 

 in high flesh, just in good growing condition. 



After weaning skimmed milk may be given to the colt, 

 especially if it is not in good condition to enter the winter. 

 Clean, sound oats, ground or unground, constitute the best 

 of all grain foods for the colt. It is better as a general rule 

 to have the oats ground at first. During the winter months 

 a ration of three parts ground oats and one part corn meal 

 will give very good results. A little oil meal can also be 

 added to the ration to good advantage. Do not feed too 

 sparingly of the above ration. More colts are ruined by 

 underfeeding and lack of exercise than by overfeeding when 

 combined with an abundance of exercise. It is very easy 

 to ruin a colt by too liberal grain feeding if it is not given 

 plenty of exercise. 



The ration must be such as to produce bone and muscle, 

 and that is why oats and oil meal are so valuable. A sole 

 corn ration does not contain enough protein and ash for 

 the best results. For roughness nothing is better than 

 alfalfa, clover, or oat hay. Dusty clover hay should never 

 be fed, as it is likely to cause wind trouble. Some corn 

 fodder, prairie or timothy hay can always be fed to advan- 



