124 HOW TO FEED A HORSE. 



race or family to which he belongs ; and this cannot be done 

 unless both the dam, before parturition, and the dam and 

 foal together, after the birth of the latter, be so supplied 

 with food, warmth, and shelter, as to allow the little animal 

 an ample fund Avhence to draw his bone, his muscles, the 

 development of his size and his blood, and, in a word, suf- 

 ficient nutriment for the production of all those qualities 

 which one would desire him to possess when he shall have 

 attained his 'maturity. 



Mares and foals should, then, always be supplied, in 

 their summer pastures, with a good, cool, airy shed, for 

 shelter against the sun, or rain ; in their winter quarters, 

 with a close, warm, but thoroughly clean and ventilated 

 stable. They should have abundance of good, rich, suc- 

 culent food of the best quality ; especially the dam, before 

 the birth of the foal, and during the time while she is suckling 

 it. It is not necessary, but it is desirable^ that she should have 

 oats or corn : where it is a thorough-bred mare in foal to 

 a thorough-bred, and expected to produce a racer, she 

 should be cared for almost as if she herself were in w^ork, 

 and should have, at least, her two feeds daily, before par- 

 turition ; and, after the birth and in the early days of nurs- 

 ing, two good mashes of steamed oats and bran, given 

 moderately warm, in addition to her pasturage. As the 

 foal gains age, she should have her oats regularly, and the 

 young thing should be encouraged to eat of oats, likewise, 

 as early as possible. He will soon take to it, and a quart 

 or two per diem, increased to a full peck during the first 

 year, and to two pecks, added to his pasturage in summer, 

 and his hay, chopped straw, or feed in winter, in his sec- 

 ond year, will amply repay the owner in the quality of 

 bone and muscle which the animal will form, and in the 

 increased size, beauty and stamina, which wall be his char- 

 acteristics when he is growing toward maturity. It is not 



