194 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



herself and the life of the foal b}^ her side to sustain, 

 but there is an additional drain on her life-blood to 

 supply the creature in embryo. There is no greater 

 folly, no worse economy, than stinting the brood-mare 

 in her food, unless it be the ruinous but, I am> sorry to 

 say, not uncommon course of allowing the colt to run 

 down after he is weaned. 



"We aim to wean the colts at about five months old, 

 and about this time the mare is taken up and fed oats 

 and bran. It is a good plan to have some ground oats 

 Avhere the little fellow can reach it and where his 

 mother cannot, especially if it should happen that she 

 has laid on too much fat, which, however, will not often 

 be the case. When his mother is eating oats, or any 

 other grain food, ground grain being always prefer- 

 able, the youngster will learn to nibble at it too, and it 

 is surprising how quickly he will cultivate an appetite 

 for oats. This is a good time to avail yourself of every 

 chance to tame him. Handle him all you can without 

 frio-hteninfi:. Gain his confidence and show him that 

 he is not going to be hurt. He will soon begin to be 

 familiar and quite at home with you, and when this is 

 reached an important point is gained. After say a 

 week of this daily feeding and familiarizing you will 

 halter the colt and take him off the mare ; but before 

 taking him away from her, lead her a little, so that he 

 will learn to lead by following her. Have your halter 

 to fit ; have it light, but so strong that no break is pos- 

 sible, and if you have done right by the colt you are 

 not likely to have much trouble in getting it on. 



The next thing to be done is to learn the colt to 

 lead. Perhaps he will take a notion to lead without 



