THE HORSE 265 



the fresh milk of a cow. A colt should never be fed sour milk 

 or milk from unclean vessels. Should there be any trouble from 

 constiiDation, it will be well to add about one-half pint of oil meal 

 to the ration each day. Oil meal can be fed wi«tli profit to grow- 

 ing colts, since it furnishes a large proportion of muscle-forming 

 food. The effect of a ration consisting of sweet skimmed milk, 

 ground oats, and oil meal on the growth and development of a 

 foal is remarkable, and in all cases when the foal is likely to 

 enter winter in low flesh such a ration cannot be too highly 

 reconmiended. 



Most breeders advise leaving the colt in the stable while the 

 mare is at work; others allow the colt to follow the mare into 

 the field. Much depends on the nature of the work that the mare 

 is doing. In some kinds of work the foals may follow without 

 risk to mare or colt, while in other kinds, such as mowing hay 

 or reaping grain, they cannot be allowed to follow. If the foal 

 is kept in the barn, the mare ma}^ worry and fret and perhaps 

 heat herself badly at first, but in time she will become accus- 

 tomed to the separation. 



On being brought in from work, the mare should be given a 

 drink, but she should not be allowed to drink too much if she is 

 warm or if the water is very cold. After she has cooled off and 

 some of her milk has been drawn by hand, she may be turned 

 into the stall with the colt with perfect safety to both. 



Weaning the foal. — Weaning depends rather on the prepara- 

 tion of the foal for leaving the dam than on the actual removal. 

 The simplicity of the weaning process depends on the thorough- 

 ness of the preparation. If the foal has become accustomed to 

 eating grain, if it has been permitted to take increasingly more 

 as it grew, the process of weaning should not be difficult ; for as 

 the ration increases in amount of grain, it will decrease in the 

 amount of milk consumed. AVhen the time arrives for complete 

 separation there will be little, if any, inconvenience or disturb- 

 ance to either foal or dam. On the other hand, if the foal must 

 learn to eat after having been deprived of its accustomed source 

 of supply, it ^^^ll require time to become adjusted to the new con- 

 dition, and the mare will demand special care because of the 

 removal of the colt before her milk supply has been gradually 

 diminished. 



