88 THE HORSE BOOK. 



After foaling the mare may have her ration 

 gradually increased to its usual size. As a rule 

 when a mare has been worked regularly almost 

 up to her parturition a holiday of two weeks 

 after it should see her in shape to go back to 

 light work. About the third day, or even on the 

 second, if the weather is fine, give her a chance 

 to get out into some dry lot for exercise. At 

 the end of two weeks she should have been grad- 

 ually gotten back onto her usual feed and of 

 course she should run out in the lot whenever 

 she wants to. When it comes time to put her 

 back in the harness leave the foal in the boxstall 

 when she is taken out to work. He will fret at 

 first, but he will soon get accustomed to doing 

 without his mammy. At first work the mare but 

 half a day. She will be soft and worry greatly, 

 probably heating herself up quite badly. A 

 good plan in such cases is, on coming in at noon, 

 to milk the mare almost dry and then put her in 

 a stall in the work stable to eat a little hay and 

 cool off. After she has cooled off so she may 

 be watered she may be taken to the boxstall, 

 turned in with the foal and fed her grain. Be- 

 ginning with half a day in this fashion, she may 

 be gradually toughened back into doing her full 

 share of the regular team work. Never let a 

 foal suck milk from a warm mare. It sets up 

 indigestion and starts scours. Keep a bucket of 

 water in the boxstall so the foal may take a 

 drink whenever he wants it. 



