The Treatment of Foak. 59 



thrown upon them, and he is glad to let his helpless burden 

 sink to the ground. The good effected is nil ; the harm done 

 is measured by a bewildered foal, and a mare alarmed and 

 distressed when it is imperative she should be kept as quiet 

 as possible. Later, when the foal has mastered the art of 

 balance and locomotion, and is industriously endeavouring 

 to extract milk from the mare's knee, the walls of the foal- 

 ing box, or the straw bed, our friend again goes to the foal's 

 assistance. The mare, her maternal instincts aroused, and 

 misinterpreting his designs on her foal, places herself 

 between the man and her foal, and, with ears laid back, 

 indicates plainly "hands off." This entails calling in 

 another assistant, who, by threats or cajolery, catches the 

 mare. The chief operator then catches the foal, which more 

 often than not, being startled by this new experience, 

 struggles, bucks, and squeals like a young porker, to the no 

 small alarm and distress of the mare, and apparent banish- 

 ment of all sucking instinct from the foal. A newly-born 

 foal being forced to suck is perverseness typified ; in some 

 cases its lusty struggles to escape from its would-be helper 

 alternate with spells of stolid sulking ; in others it will suck 

 the assistant's fingers, buttons, clothing, etc., ignoring the 

 mare entirely, following the man round the box, whinnying 

 after him as though in fear of losing him. The chief 

 difficulty arises from the fact that to secure the teat and 

 swallow with any comfort the foal has to hold its head at 

 right angles to its body. Left to itself in its foraging for 

 refreshments, it will sooner or later discover the trick of it ; 

 but if distracted by a fussy attendant trying to force its 

 head into the necessary position, it will stubbornly resist 

 coercion, with the result that it is soon in that frame of 

 mind best described by the proverb : " One man may lead a 

 horse to the water, but a dozen can't make him drink." 



