COLT RAISING 17 



time and money. . . . Fall is the dangerous time. At that 

 time pasture is liable to become short, and the colt gets a start 

 down hill which the change to dry, winter feed does not tend 

 to check. 



The dryness of the winter feed should be offset by 

 feeding bran or potatoes. Otherwise, constipation is 

 Inevitable. Bran has another advantage as a colt food, 

 for it is an excellent bone-producer. 



A fair ration for a colt Is one quart of oats and one 

 quart of bran three times a day — with a bran mash once 

 or twice a week, and all the good hay that he will eat up 

 clean. The hay should be fed at least three times a 

 day. This Is a small grain ration, but usually sufficient 

 to keep the ordinary, medium-sized colt In good con- 

 dition through the winter, provided that he comes to 

 the barn In good condition. For big colts of draft 

 breeds It should be Increased.^ 



No colt properly kept and fed will be troubled with 

 lice, but If you should have an animal so Infested, apply 

 a mixture of Scotch snuff and train or black oil — one- 

 fourth of a pound of snuff to one-half pint of oil. This 

 should be well rubbed In, with a rag or brush, especially 

 at the root of the mane, on both sides of the neck, along 

 the spinal column, and on the breast and flanks. 



The proper handling of colts Is treated below In 

 the paragraphs headed *' Colt Training"; but one re- 

 mark on that subject may be made here. If the colt 

 is to become a safe and gentle horse he must be cared 

 for and handled by a man who Is fond of colts. Never 



^ At the Allen Farm, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a famous nursery 

 of trotters, the colts receive seven quarts of oats a day, mixed with bran. 



