FEEDING AND CARING FOR HORSES 325 



if for any reason the dam and foal are not doing well, it is best to wean 

 comparatively early. On the other hand, if the mother has a good milk 

 flow, and her services are not needed, the foal may well be allowed to 

 suckle 6 months. If the foal has been fed increasing quantities of grain 

 as it developed, the weaning process will not be difficult, for the quantity 

 of milk consumed will have been gradually decreased. Complete separa- 

 tion will then cause little, if any, setback to either dam or foal. In part- 

 ing the dam and foal, keep them well separated, else all must be done over 

 again. "Weanlings should be placed in quarters where they can not in- 

 jure themselves while fretting for their mothers. At weaning the grain 

 ration of the mare should be reduced till she is dried off. When the udder 

 becomes so full as to cause uneasiness, part, but not all, of the milk 

 should be drawn. 



The education of the colt should not be postponed until it is sought to 

 1 ' break ' ' him as a 3-year-old, and then attempt to bring the independent 

 animal under man's guidance all at once. The young foal should be 

 taught to lead at the halter, stand tied in the stall, and display proper 

 stable manners. 



523. After weaning,- We have seen that the foal makes more than half 

 its entire growth during the first year, and that if stunted during this 

 time it will never full}' recover. (518) Good bone and muscle are of prime 

 importance with the horse, and feeds which tend to produce these should 

 be chosen. (118-20) Nothing is superior to bluegrass or other good pas- 

 ture, with oats as the grain. Among the concentrates, wheat bran, 

 linseed meal, buckwheat middlings, wheat middlings, soybeans, cowpeas, 

 and Canada field peas are rich in nitrogenous matter, which goes to build 

 muscle, and in phosphorus, a prime requisite of the skeleton. All the 

 legume hays alfalfa, clover, cowpea, etc. are rich in lime, the principal 

 mineral component of the bones. A combination of such concentrates 

 and roughages as these should furnish abundant bone-and muscle-build- 

 ing material. When properly balanced by nitrogenous feeds, corn, bar- 

 ley, kafir, milo, or emmer may be used as part of the ration. When fed 

 large amounts of alfalfa hay, colts will relish a little timothy or prairie 

 hay, straw, or corn fodder occasionally. If maximum growth is desired, 

 it will be necessary to feed some grain even on good pasture. A young 

 horse that is not developing the proper skeleton may be fed substances 

 especially rich in phosphorus and lime, such as 2 or 3 ounces daily of 

 tankage containing ground bone, or 1 ounce daily of ground bone, ground 

 rock phosphate (floats), or precipitated calcium phosphate. These rec- 

 ommendations are based on the results obtained with other farm ani- 

 mals. 



In the case of high-grade and pure-bred draft foals, it is especially 

 necessary that the supply of feed be liberal, for the price of the draft 

 horse depends largely on the size. Cochel and Severson 13 fed a lot of 

 10 draft colts during 2 winters and the intervening summer to secure 

 data on the feed required by draft foals. Most of the grain was a 



Penn. Bui. 122. 



