350 AMERICAN FAEMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



mother is unhealthy, the offspring will he unhealthy also. 

 Each may have disorders that the other entirely escapes. 



But corn, though the best grown, is not the feed for a 

 mare suckling a young colt. It is too strong and heating, 

 and forms a quality of food not suited to the needs of the 

 foal. So, although the mother remains in scarcely impaired 

 health, he may be the victim of obstinate costiveness, or the 

 most troublesome scours. The difficulty would have no ex- 

 istence had the mare been fed on proper diet, and judiciously 

 cared for in all other respects. The case is the same in re- 

 gard to the other class of affections. Although the urinary 

 organs of the mare may suffer to some extent, the superior 

 strength of her system enables her to bear up against the 

 unhealthy influence, and may even enable her to throw them 

 off almost entirely ; yet the tender colt succumbs more readily, 

 and suddenly the owner discovers that the young animal is 

 very ill, and suffering acutely. Stricture, suppression, diabetes, 

 bloody urine, are the various developments of disease having 

 one uniform origin. 



TREATMENT. 



The treatment will prove difficult, as it is very dangerous 

 to give medicine to the young colt, and he may be seriously 

 iiQared, if not killed outright, by injudicious drenching. In 

 this case, all the medication attempted should be through the 

 milk of the mother, and the clyster alone given the colt. If 

 the bowels are constipated, an aperient given the mother 

 will affect the colt nearly as quickly as it does her. In this 

 case, give the colt a clyster of salt and water, as warm as he 

 can bear it, with a small quantity of aloes added ; or some 

 warm soap-suds may be used for the same purpose. 



In " scours," as it is called, neither through the mother's 

 milk nor to the colt will it answer to give much astringent 

 medicine. A little of the blackberry-root tea may be ad- 

 ministered to the mare. ' As a clyster for the colt, it will be 

 best to use fifty drops of laudanum, with one- fourth of an 

 ounce of Epsom salts, dissolved in water ; or a little salt and 



