STALLIONS, BROOD MARES AND FOALS. 163 



afraid of feeding too liberally. More colts are 

 injured the first six months after weaning by a 

 too scanty supply of food than from the oppo- 

 site extreme. As soon as the mare and foal 

 can be separated the foal should have the run 

 of a good pasture, as there is no food better 

 than grass, no medicine so good as exercise, 

 and no exercise so profitable to young animals 

 as that which may be taken just when they 

 feel like it. 



EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON DEVELOPMENT. 



I wish to call especial attention to the impor- 

 tance of open-air exercise a,s absolutely essen- 

 tial to a healthy, symmetrical development of 

 bone, muscle, and the vital organs. The idea 

 prevails to a very great, extent among practical 

 farmers that high feeding and good care will 

 cause an otherwise good colt to grow up into 

 an unsound, " weedy" horse; and, on the other 

 hand, that there is nothing like " roughing it" 

 to develop hardiness and endurance. I am of 

 opinion that, the practical results in many cases 

 have been such as to warrant this belief. Not 

 that there is anything bad in generous and 

 liberal feeding, nor good in starvation and ex- 

 posure; but that with the latter the colt always 

 has pure air and abundant exercise, without 

 which therp can be no sound and healthy de- 

 velopment. This I regard as a factor in horse- 



