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middle of the day a week or two after foaling, if the 

 weather is propitious, and brought under cover at 

 night. This may be continued for three or four 

 weeks, when, unless the weather is very inclement 

 and foals unusually weak, they may be permitted 

 to lie out. Of course it is necessary to keep very 

 early foals inside when there is no grass. The dams 

 should be liberally fed with soft food to keep them 

 laxative. Constipation in the bowels should be care- 

 fully guarded against until the mares are turned out 

 to grass. 



THE ADVANTAGE OF EARLY FOALS. 



**An early foal is always an early foal," is a saying 

 which is perfectly true, because a March or April 

 foal gets the benefit of the summer's grass, and is 

 consequently older and stronger to overcome the 

 hardships of the ensuing winter. A late June or 

 July foal is proportionately weaker, and is generally 

 at best but a mere foal even the following spring. 

 Thus it is a great advantage, when practicable, to 

 have foals early in the season. The question at what 

 age the growth of horses ceases is difficult to deter- 

 mine. Although five years is the age when horses 

 are supposed to reach maturity there are many cases 

 on record where they have continued to grow till the 

 age of seven. At the present time the writer has a 

 horse that grew two inches between the age of five 

 and seven years. 



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