656 DR' CHASE'S RSCIPES. 



while if put to the haxde«4 work at 4 or 5, they will not improve beyond 

 8 or 9. 



Weaning and Wintering Colts.— If the mare is allowed a few oats 

 while in pasture, which is a very proper thing to allow, the colt will soon learn 

 to eat with her, and as soon as this is obsen'ed, it should have a handful or two 

 daily, where the mother cannot get in to eat them from it; by which means you 

 increase its development and growth, and save the trouble of having to teach it 

 to eat them at time of weaning. And as cool nights approach, it is best to take 

 the mare to the stable over night, tying the colt near her; if a double stall, by 

 her side; but not to allow suckling, which will take away half, at least, of the 

 trouble of weaning without their knowing it; and if the mare will eat roots, give 

 such as beets, carrots, turnips, apples, pumpkins, etc., all properly cut into small 

 pieces to prevent choking; and some persons think all breeding mares should 

 be taught to eat roots to ensure a better condition of health. The colt will also 

 soon learn to eat them, but should not be allowed so much as to produce loose- 

 iiessof the bowels; enough, only, to aid digestion. Some persons allow their 

 colts to run with the dam till winter sets in; but it is not good for either the 

 colt or the mother, especially if she is again breeding. The colt should be 

 weaned, or shut off from the mother, about the end of the sixth month; but 

 should be well cared for the first winter — in fact, all winters; should have 

 either a warm stall, or at least a warm, dry place, with plenty of bedding, and 

 a good brushing every day, being very careful and kind about the legs, to 

 accustom it to after grooming; give a quart of good, sound oats daily, with 

 sweet, clean hay, and its little feed of roots, it you liave them; but coarse cut 

 food is not proper for a colt, as it packs too closely for the easy digestion of 

 young animals. If the fall is particularly dry, when a colt is being weaned, a 

 few bits of carrots, beets, or turnips wiU more especially be called for as aids to 

 digestion, on account of the shriveled condition of the grass. With these aids 

 it will not miss the mother's milk near as much as it otherwise would; ana if it 

 has already been accustomed to them, so much less trouble will now be exper- 

 ienced. If 3 or 4 colts can be shut off together in an adjoining field from the 

 dams, there will be still less trouble than with one alone. 



Profit of Raising Colts. — A colt may be raised for about the same 

 cost as a cow; but, at three years old, is generally worth as much as three or 

 four cows. Not only must the right kind of mares be kept, and the right kind 

 of colts be raised, but the mother must have the proper care, as indicated under 

 the head of Brood-mares, Proper Care of, etc. She must also have ample stable 

 accommodations, when needed. And as the profit of raising good colts is so 

 large, as before remarked, and the demand for them is becoming so great, let 

 the farmer keep the mares, which are just as kind and good to work on the 

 iarm as the geldings, and let the latter go to the town-people who care not to 

 engage in the breeding business. 



Colts of Ordinary Training— To Cure of Halter-Pulling.— 

 Colts which have not been broken young to lead by the side of the mother, as 

 previously instructed, often annoy their trainer by pulling at the halter. For 



