FEEDING OF HORSES. 



food he could consume. It will take longer to mature him by 

 feeding only moderately of grain at this early period, but he is 

 meant to last longer ; and I repeat that early maturity is not favor- 

 able to long endurance. By the other method you may show me a 

 colt that will look more like a horse at two years old than mine will 

 at three; and at three more like a grand horse than mine Avill at 

 five. But now I shall begin to overtake you. When yours is five 

 or six he is at or past his best. Put them together at eight and I 

 have got by far the better and more useful horse. At ten you have 

 got no horse at all worth mentioning; while mine is now 'all horse' 

 and in his true prime. 



" If anybody thinks to follow the old starving, corn-stalk 

 fodder, fed-in-the-snow system, under cover of what I have said on 

 this subject, he must go to the devil his own road. My system is 

 one of generous feeding, but not of stuffing a young colt with all 

 the highly-stimulating rood he can be got to swallow. Above all, 

 avoid Indian corn in all shapes for young colts, and take care that 

 they have plenty of pure water. If there is not a running stream 

 in the pasture where they are kept, be sure they are watered at least 

 three times a day and that they have all they want. 5 ' 



The intimate relation which exists between the trotting horse 

 and the driving horse in this country will justify the application of 

 Mr. Woodruff's method formulated from the results of his long 

 and extraordinarily successful experience to driving stock. 



Value of Proper Feeding- of Colts A horse that Las 

 never had any care may bring $125 to $175 in a good market, but 

 if he had had all his life the care we have recommended he would 

 have brought perhaps double the price, and the whole difference 

 would have been gain, simply costing proper care, proper food, and 

 in proper amounts, while nis system was developing. Let the 

 breeder look after this thing with the utmost caution, taking cir- 

 cumspect care in thesa respects of the mare, when she is bearing 

 foal and when she is suckling it, and of the foal itself during its 

 development, and if he has introduced into the blood of his colt the 

 proper strain, hs can look confidently for constitution, endurance 

 and strength, and the perfection of such other qualities as the breed 

 of his animal indicates ; and he may rest assured that the return he 

 will receive when the time for bill of sale arrives, will make him 

 entirely satisfied with what he has done. 



Youatt on Feeding 1 of Foals Youatt, in his work on 

 " The Horse," says, in reference to the feeding of foals early in life, 

 that, " There is no principle of greater importance than the liberal 

 feeding of the foal during the whole of his growth, and at this time 

 in particular, bruised oats and bran should form a considerable por- 

 tion of his daily provender. The farmer may rest assured that 

 money is well laid out which is expended on the liberal nourish- 

 ment of the growing colt. However, while he is well fed, he 

 should not be rendered delicate by excess of care. A racing colt is 



