MANAGEMENT OF LIGHT HORSES. 183 



then cow's milk and water, in the proportion of two of the 

 former to one of the latter, sweetened with a little sugar, 

 answers in the majority of cases. In those instances in which 

 this food does not prove suitable, less of it may be given, and 

 a preparation of husked beans boiled to a pulp and squeezed 

 through a hair sieve, when it forms a thick fluid like cream, 

 has been recommended as an excellent substitute. 



A dose of castor oil, to the amount of one or two ounces, 

 may be required by the foal so fed, as constipation is not un- 

 frequent ; and, indeed, this should always be given when the 

 young creature does not obtain the first milk of its dam, and 

 also when it is being suckled by the mare if its bowels are 

 torpid. It is always judicious to notice the state of its bowels, 

 as these are constantly liable to derangement while the foal is 

 being artificially fed or suckled constipation or diarrhoea 

 being the most common disorders. Constipation sometimes 

 occurs in a day or two after birth, and unless attended to 

 promptly may entail serious consequences in a short time. 

 Regulating the diet of the mare, giving her frequent bran and 

 linseed mashes and other sloppy food, often gets rid of this 

 condition in the foal. If it does not, then a dose of castor oil 

 and an enema, if the constipation is obstinate, will generally 

 afford relief. 



Diarrhoea is more often a source of trouble with foals than 

 constipation, and is in many cases fatal in a comparatively 

 short time. Its causes are more or less obscure, but the food 

 of the mare, and bad sanitary arrangements, are generally 

 blamed. The diet of the mare should be changed, and 

 crushed barley given to the extent of one or two quarterns 

 daily, with a diminished allowance of grass and an equivalent 

 of good hay with fresh clean water ; while cleanliness in the 

 surroundings should be observed, or the mare and foal re- 

 moved to another place. The foal ought to receive a dose of 

 castor oil with a drachm of carbonate of soda, and ten to 

 twenty drops of chlorodyne in a little tepid water. Half a 

 drachm of the carbonate of soda and the chlorodyne may be 



