400 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDET. 



healthy milk. It is not usually the custom among farmers to feed 

 grain to breeding-mares, nor to young colts ; but there is no 

 period in the life of a horse when a little grain judiciously given 

 will produce so good an effect on his form, his spirit, and his 

 constitution, as during the six months before and the six months 

 after his foaling ; and, very early during his colthood, he should re- 

 ceive, first an occasional handful, and then a regular daily feeding 

 of the best oats. 



As it has been well-demonstrated, in the care of all live stock, 

 that a clean and open condition of the skin is conducive to health 

 and to economical feeding, so it will be found that no labor on the 

 farm is more profitably expended than that which is devoted to a 

 a daily thorough grooming of even the very young colt. Both 

 before weaning, and after, the young animal should be treated in 

 such a manner as his future usefulness and his future need for 

 strength make necessary. He should be well fed, well groomed, 

 constantly handled, and petted and talked to, and should have 

 sufficient exercise, and, during the first five years, no excessive 

 work ; and should be, even in his infancy, accustomed to harness 

 and wheels and saddles, and all the other accompaniments of his 

 future service. 



By following these rules we may hope, without any perceptible 

 additional expense, to raise an animal that will be, other things 

 being equal, many times more valuable than the poor, half-starved, 

 and neglected " shag " that farmers generally bring to market. 

 Any fair horse is worth one hundred and fifty dollars in the New 

 York market, although he may have been neglected from the day 

 of his conception until the day of his sale to the drover, but very 

 often the same animal, if he had received the care herein recom- 

 mended, would have been eagerly bought for from five hundred 

 to one thousand dollars on the farm ; and the whole extra amount 

 of the price will have been gained by the inexpensive means of a 

 little extra care, and by the proper selection rather than by the 

 increased quantity or value of the food. If, in addition to all this 

 care and attention, we have taken pains at the outset to put the 

 right blood into the brute's veins, we may feel confident, not only 



