198 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



of courage and full of intelligence. Now take two other colts of 

 the same parentage and turn the fat one's brother out to get 

 his own living, and take the lean one's brother to your home 

 pasture and your stable and your oat barrel, and you will find 

 that the brothers look like animals of different breeds, while the 

 strangers look like brothers. Therefore pay attention to early 

 feeding. As soon as a colt can eat, he should be fed liberally 

 on a gruel made of ground oats and cows' milk. As he grows 

 older give him u^iground oats without the milk, and feed him 

 from a. box of his own, not out of tlie sour manger where his 

 mother has been fed. In summer let him run in the night and 

 roll at his leisure and eat fresh grass, but when the heat begins 

 to press carry him to the stable, and don't deny him his oats 

 because he has eaten grass all night. The best trainers will not 

 receive a horse into their training stables, whose oat fodder was 

 neglected while a colt, and no other fare allowed him than the 

 common pasture and staljle hay. They say the mischief has 

 already been done, and that it is useless to attempt to train an 

 animal for extraordinary speed which has not been oat- fed from 

 liis birth. 



As to breaking, if a colt is daily handled about the house door, 

 and taught by his owner witli gentle speech and patience, he 

 will not need what is called " breaking," he only needs teaching". 

 He is a kind and intelligent animal and wishes to do all that he 

 can comprehend. With a careful mare and a patient teacher, 

 he will usually go off the first time he is harnessed as steadily 

 almost as an old stager. 



One word with reference to stallions, as upon them it is a 

 part of our duty to report. The nearer the stallion which you 

 use is to the " thoroughbred," the better will be the offspring ; 

 the purer the blood the surer he will produce his characteris- 

 tics in his progeny. We know of no pure " thoroughbred" in 

 the State. There are some South, and their colts, of which 

 some companies of Southern cavalry were formed, harassed 

 our armies most unmercifully duiing the late rebellion. They 

 are more perfect in England than in this country, by more 

 judicious in-and-in breeding. The greatest cavalry charge of 

 modern times was that of the famous " light brigade " at Balac- 

 lava. Those valiant men that galloped down with Lord Cardi- 

 gan into the valley of death, all rode horses that were three- 



