190 THE HORSE 



without any absolute coercion. At the same time, it must be made to feel 

 that resistance is useless ; and if it begins to pull, it must on no account be 

 allowed to get away, the groom yielding as long as the foal pulls straight 

 back, but coercing it gently with a side strain. A carefully handled foal 

 will rarely give any trouble in this way ; but there is an astonishing varia- 

 tion in the power which different men have over the animal creation. Some 

 will gain control without using the slightest violence, while others will be 

 always fighting with their charge, and after all will not be able to do nearly 

 as much with them as their more quiet and clever rivals. The latter class 

 should never be allowed to have anything to do with young horses ; and 

 though there may be occasional exceptions which require severe measures, 

 yet if once a man is found resorting to violence with a foal which he has 

 had the management of from the first, he should, in my opinion, be removed 

 from his post ; or, at all events, he should be carefully watched, and a 

 repetition of the offence ought to be considered as a notice to quit. Long 

 before the coming among us of Mr. Rarey, this was recognized amongst the 

 most extensive breeders of horses in this country ; and though cruelty was 

 not unknown among them, any more than it is now, it was fully recognized 

 as not only an unnecessary but an unsatisfactory means of mastering the 

 horse. 



THE WEANING AND AFTER TREATMENT OF 



THE FOAL 



THE USUAL AGE FOR WEANING the foal is about the end of the sixth 

 month, that time being selected because the dam is generally about 

 " half gone " with her next foal, and cannot bear the double drain upon 

 her system. Nor does the foal benefit much by the milk after this age, 

 the teeth and stomach being quite strong enough to crop and digest the 

 succulent grasses that are to be had from August to October, those being 

 the months during which the several breeds attain the middle of their 

 first year. If the autumn is a dry one, and grass is scanty, a few steamed 

 turnips or carrots may be mixed with bran and given to the foal night and 

 morning ; but, as a rule, unless it is to be highly forced into its growth 

 for the purpose of early racing, it will require only the grass which it can 

 pick up when it is turned out. Three or four foals are generally placed 

 together in the same paddock for company, and in this way they miss 

 their dams far less than if confined by themselves. Care should be taken 

 that nothing is left within their reach which can do injury, every fence 

 and gate being carefully examined to see that no projecting bolt, nail, or 

 rail is likely to lay hold of their bodies or limbs as they gallop about in 

 their play. Foals of all ages are mischievous animals, and the better fed 

 they are the more inclined they seem to lay hold of anything which 

 attracts their notice. 



BESIDES THE SHELTER OP A HOVEL, which I have already insisted on, the 

 foal requires throughout its first winter good feeding proportioned to its 

 breeding and the purposes for which it is intended. Racing colts are 

 allowed three or four feeds of bruised oats with steamed carrots or turnips, 

 and sometimes steamed hay ; but the general plan is to give as much aa 



