HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



H3 



COLTS, Their Care and Management. 



Much harm arises from improper wean- 

 ing. A good method is, when the colt 

 is four or five months old, to put a strong 

 halter upon him, place him in a stall, and 

 put his mother in an adjoining stall, with 

 a partition between, so arranged that they 

 can see each other, and, if possible, get 

 their heads together. The first day let 

 the colt nurse twice — the next day once. 

 Feed the mare upon dry hay and dry 

 feed, and about half milk her two or 

 three times a day until dry. Feed the 

 colt upon new-mown grass or fine clover 

 hay, and give him a pint of oats twice 

 per day, and in about two weeks you will 

 have your coit weaned, and your mare 

 dry, and your colt looking as well as 

 ever. When he is one year old he has as 

 much growth and development of muscle 

 as one two years old weaned in the usual 

 manner. When the mare becomes dry, colt 

 and mare may be again turned in pasture. 

 An opinion generally prevails among far- 

 mers that, from the time the foal is taken 

 from its dam up to coming maturity, it 

 should not be "pushed," as the saying is, 

 nor fed on grain, for fear it would injure 

 one so young and tender. This accounts 

 for the great number of moping or spirit- 

 less and unthrifty colts, that are scarcely 

 able to drag one leg after another. Their 

 very appearance, cadaverous and pitiful 

 looks, seem to convey to the mind of 

 every sensible man that they are the vic- 

 tims of a wretched system of starvation, 

 which enervates thjp digestive organs, im- 

 pairs the secretions and impoverishes the 

 blood. Hence the deficiency in the de- 

 velopment of bone and muscle. The 

 muscles and tendons, being so illy sup- 

 plied with material for growth and devel- 

 opment, become very weak and afford but 

 little support to the bones and joints, so 

 that the former become crooked and the 

 latter weak — defects which no after feed- 

 ing, no skill in training can counteract. 

 It must be known to breeders that from 

 the time of birth up to maturity, colts re- 

 quire food abounding in flesh-making 

 principle, nitrogenous compounds — oats, 

 corn, etc.; otherwise they must naturally 

 be deficient in size, symmetry and powers 

 of endurance. Therefore they should 

 be regularly fed and watered, and their 

 food should consist of ground oats, wheat 

 bran, and sweet hay, in quantities suffi- 



cient to promote their growth. Finally, 

 proper shelter should always be provided 

 for them. They should not be exposed, 

 as they often are, to the vicissitudes of the 

 weather, under the false notion of making 

 them tough and hardy. Equally unwise 

 is it to confine colts to close, unventilated 

 and filthy stables, deprived of light, exer- 

 cise and pure air. They should be 

 groomed every day ; a clean skin favors 

 the vitalization of the blood. They 

 should be permitted to gambol about as 

 much as they choose. Exercise devel- 

 ops muscle, makes an animal active and 

 spirited, and increases the capacity of the 

 lungs and chest. By the above means, 

 and proper attention to the principles of 

 breeding, the business of raising colts 

 may become both creditable and profit- 

 able. 



COLT, to Prevent from Jumping. — 



Pass a good stout surcingle around his 

 body; put on his halter, and have the 

 halter strap long enough to go from his 

 head between his fore legs, then through 

 the surcingle and back to one of his hind 

 legs. Procure a thill strap and buckle 

 around the leg between the foot and joint; 

 fasten the halter strap in this — shorter or 

 longer, as the obstinacy of the case may 

 require. It is also useful to keep colts 

 from running where there is likely to be 

 danger from the result. If the thill strap 

 should cause any soreness on the leg, it 

 may be wound with a woolen cloth, and 

 it would be well to change from one leg 

 to the other occasionally. 



COLT, Callus in. — This is considered a 

 sure remedy: 



Take of Bitter Sweet i ounce. 



Skunk Cabbage I " 



Blood Root i " 



Steep and mix with lard ; make an ointment 



and apply once or twice a day. 



HORSES, Stables for The floor of 



the stable should be level, or nearly so. 

 When otherwise, it causes the horse to 

 hang back, because the incline causes his 

 loins and hind parts to ache intolerably, 

 and he hangs back in order, if possible, 

 to get his hind legs beyond the gutter, 

 diminishing, by many degrees, his stand- 

 ing up hill. The best bedding is straw — 

 fine shavings from a planing mill, or saw- 

 dust (pine saw-dust being the best, and 

 oak saw-dust the worst.) They should 



