FOALS 



blown into pretty hard, and its chest slapped with a damp 

 towel. Assuming that the mare has a sufficiency of milk of 

 the right quality, and the foal can be got to suck, everything 

 may be expected to go on well. On the other hand, if the 

 milk supply is short, it may be necessary to feed the foal 

 artificially, in which case cow's milk and water, in the pro- 

 portion of three parts to two, and slightly sweetened with 

 sugar, may be given in a bottle, or one of the substitutes for 

 milk which are advertised can be taken instead. Attention 

 to feeding may increase the yield of milk, and therefore grass 

 may be given to the mare, as it is not desirable that she and 

 her foal should leave their box for a day or two, whilst her 

 dry corn may be knocked off and scalded oats and bran 

 given instead ; she should also be given plenty of gruel 

 to drink. Sliced roots are very good if mixed with the 

 mare's chop, as they assist in keeping the blood cool, and 

 therefore reduce the chance of her udder becoming inflamed. 

 Should this occur — the symptoms are hardness, heat, and 

 tenderness — and warm fomentations and milking do not 

 improve matters, professional advice must be obtained. (See 

 Brood Mare, Foals.) 



Foals are very often constipated when they are first 

 born, but a dose of castor oil (about one ounce) will rectify 

 this. Later on they are very liable to scour, and if the 

 diarrhcea increases it may go hard with them, whilst under 

 any circumstances they will lose ground. The best treatment 

 is a dose of castor oil, as before, followed by feeding on 

 boiled rice or gruel with a little starch in it, and the mare 

 and her foal must be kept in their box. It is well, too, 

 to endeavour to ascertain the cause of the scouring, and 

 if the milk of the dam is suspected, her health should be 

 attended to and a tonic administered. Some foals can feed 

 quite well at a month old, whilst others commence later, 

 but when they do so a daily small feed of scalded oats and 

 bran, with a little salt added, will help them along, and in 



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