152 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



corn to colts. This is said to result in faulty bone- 

 texture, and premature breaking-down of the constitu- 

 tional powers. This is all humbug. I would not feed 

 corn to a colt, because it is too heating and rank, and 

 unfit, in the main, to give to any horse that is not used 

 for heavy and slow work : but oats are the natural food, 

 as one might say, of the horse ; and no colt will ever be, 

 hurt by being fed liberally on them. Colts, like grown 

 horses, differ. One requires more food than another, and 

 so no exact rule in feeding can be laid down as regards 

 quantity ; but the quantity can be regulated by the con- 

 dition of the colt, as in the case of older horses. Feed 

 liberally the first two years, and you will never regret it. 

 For the first month of the foaFs life, great caution 

 should be exercised to protect him from accidents, espe- 

 cially in taking his exercise. A foal in good health, after 

 he is a week old, is very playful, and even violent, in 

 taking his exercise ; but his eyes are not as yet strong, 

 nor accurate of sight. Especially is he unable to meas- 

 ure distances correctly. I have seen a foal, two weeks 

 old, run full tilt against the side of a barn in broad day- 

 light. The foal should be led, therefore, to a field level 

 and smooth ; and, while the dam is held by the groom 

 near the middle of the field, he should be allowed to 

 exercise to his heart's content. In a few weeks he 

 will have got experience, and he can run loose with the 

 dam in the yard or pasture. The matter of his educa- 

 tion must now be considered. 



