STALLIONS, BROOD MARES AND FOALS. 157 



before foaling, but the "teats" seldom fill out 

 full and plump to the end more than a day or 

 two before the foal is dropped. Another sign, 

 which rarely precedes the dropping of the foal 

 more than a week or ten days, is a marked 

 shrinking or falling away of the muscular parts 

 on the top of the buttocks back of the hips. 

 In some cases, however, the foal may be dropped 

 without any of these premonitory signs. I re- 

 member a case on my father's farm, where a 

 roan mare that had been purchased, and was 

 not supposed to be in foal, was worked hard at 

 the plow up to about the middle of May. She 

 was fed and turned out to pasture one evening, 

 as was the custom, after having been worked 

 hard all day, and nothing unusual was noticed 

 in her appearance. The udder was not notice- 

 ably larger than usual, but next morning we 

 found her with a good strong foal by her side. 

 She was a sorry nurse, however, and the foal 

 lived only a few weeks, dying from "scours" 

 brought on, I believe, by careless feeding of the 

 mare. 



When the mare is a valuable one, and the 

 prospective foal is looked for with a good deal 

 of interest, it is quite well to watch her closely, 

 as many valuable animals have been lost which 

 by a little attention at the right moment might 

 have been saved. 



Moderate work is not only harmless but 



