288 Feeds and Feeding. 



has not necessarily been brought about by any saving at the feed bin 

 and hay mow. Indeed, the poorer groom usually makes the more 

 frequent requests for supplies. The indescribable qualities which, 

 rightly commingled, mark the good feeder cannot be acquired from 

 lectures or books, but must, in a large measure, be born in the horse- 

 man. Study and observation will add to the ability of the alert 

 feeder, but all that may be written will not make one an adept if 

 he does not take to the work naturally. 



No one can study the practices of successful horsemen without 

 being strongly impressed with the fact that there are several ways 

 of reaching the desired end of high finish and fine action with the 

 horse. With the pig and steer we can estimate about how much in- 

 crease is returned from a Ib. of corn. The horse is on a higher plane, 

 nerve and action counting for more than mere weight. The skill of 

 the ' ' artist ' ' horse feeder enters, along with the food he supplies, into 

 the very life of the creature he manages. If the reader finds the 

 counsel here given on feed and management not entirely to his satis- 

 faction, let him remember that we have chosen a rational and gen- 

 erally applicable course, conceding that good results may also be ob- 

 tained by following other systems. 



455. The foal. It is of the highest importance in horse rearing 

 that the foal start life in full health and vigor, and to this end it 

 should, immediately after birth, take a good draught of the colostrum 

 or first milk of the dam, which possesses alterative properties that 

 tend to relieve the alimentary tract of fecal matters collected therein 

 during fetal life. If this result is not accomplished naturally, a 

 gentle purgative of castor oil should be administered. Some dams, 

 more frequently those with their first foal and those too hard- worked, 

 fail to supply the proper amount of nourishment, and the young 

 languish. In such cases the mare should be provided with food 

 which will stimulate the milk flow. Good pasture grass is of course 

 the best, but in its absence concentrates should be given in the shape 

 of oats, rolled barley, wheat bran, etc., with an equal weight of corn. 

 Sometimes the foal suffers from an over-supply of nourishment or 

 because the milk is too rich, and the indigestion resulting may ter- 

 minate in diarrhea. In such cases the dam's ration should be reduced 

 and some of her milk drawn, remembering always that the last por- 

 tion carries the most fat, which is usually the disturbing element. 



After foaling the mare should be confined for a few days, her feed 

 being simple and not too abundant. With favorable conditions at 

 the end of a week she should be turned to pasture where the dam 



