224 BREEDING 



uess in the vessels used and the handling of the milk should be strictly 

 observed, and, above all, its administration must be frequent and regular, 

 both as regards quantity and time. At first half a pint should be given 

 every half-hour, and gradually increased as time goes on, while the intervals 

 between meals may be extended accordingly. It must be remembered 

 that to be successful the indications of nature must be closely observed and 

 acted upon. Neglect in this matter can have but one result, viz. failure. 



In commencing this system of rearing from birth, attention should be 

 directed to the state of the bowels at the outset. Should the foal not have 

 received the first milk of its dam, constipation is more than likely to exist, 

 and should be corrected by the administration of a small dose of castor-oil 

 and an enema of glycerine and water. Where the milk of a newly-calved 

 cow can be procured, its purgative properties may be sufficient to unload 

 the bowels, in which case further interference becomes unnecessary. 



USE AND ABUSE OF COW'S MILK 



To supplement the milk of the mare with that of the cow as a means 

 of raising foals is in certain circumstances both desirable and necessary. 

 Fillies with their first foal frequently fall short of an ample supply to keep 

 the sucker growing, and especially is this the case after a hard winter on 

 indiflPei-ent fare. At this early period of life the mare is building up her 

 own frame at the same time that she is nourishing her oftsjjring. The 

 mammary gland has not yet reached its full size, and as a milk-making 

 machine it has not developed a high functional activity. 



Mares advanced in years before being put to the stud, as well as those 

 which have bred on to the decline of life, and others constitutionally weak, 

 frequently fail to yield the necessary measure of milk for the support of 

 their offspring. The same result may follow upon an injury to the mam- 

 mary gland, by which its functional activity becomes in a greater or less 

 degree curtailed. Nor is the question of the nourishing power of the dam's 

 milk always one of quantity. The writer calls to mind several instances 

 where foals have starved on what appeared to be an ample supply, but 

 which was subsequently found to be of the most indifferent quality. 



In these circumstances a little help from the cow, until the youngster 

 can forage for itself, may make the diflference between a valuable and a 

 useless animal — between a serious loss and a substantial gain to the breeder. 

 We must, however, condemn that pernicious system so much adopted to- 

 wards foals preparing for show, of allowing them an unlimited supply of 

 cow's milk not only before but long after they are weaned. There is no 

 doubt that by this treatment a spurt is given to growth, size is materially 



