184 LIGHT HORSES: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



afterwards given twice a day in rice gruel, made by boiling 

 rice to a jelly. It may be necessary to withhold a portion of 

 the mare's milk and give this rice gruel instead. The foal's 

 body should be kept warm and dry, and the hind quarters and 

 legs clean. 



Sometimes mares give too much milk, and if the foal is 

 allowed unlimited access to it soon after birth, its digestion 

 may become deranged. As a matter of precaution, a portion 

 of the milk should be drawn from the udder before the foal 

 is permitted to suck, but this need not be continued for more 

 than a few days. 



The period of weaning will depend upon circumstances, 

 such as the quantity and quality of the milk the mare yields, 

 her constitution and condition, and whether she is again in 

 foal. The age of the foal itself is also a matter for considera- 

 tion ; but under ordinary circumstances it is generally agreed 

 that September is a good month in which to take the foal 

 from the mare, though in this allowance must be made for 

 foals which are born early or late. Weaning should be a 

 gradual process, and should inflict no injury on dam or 

 progeny. Foals begin to eat oats at a very early age, and 

 they should be encouraged to do so very soon, especially when 

 two or three months old. Crushed oats are preferable to 

 those which are whole, and if these are scalded and mixed 

 with a little bran and boiled linseed, and a small quantity of 

 salt, all the better. The quantity of oats that should be given 

 will, of course, vary with circumstances, but more will be 

 required after weaning than before. After weaning, if the 

 foal is robust it will consume about two quarterns of oats 

 daily, and bran mashes twice or thrice a week are not to be 

 neglected. Beans have also been highly recommended before 

 and after weaning. One authority asserts that half a pint of 

 beans, gradually increased to a quart per day, supplied before 

 weaning, will be of greater benefit than triple the quantity 

 allowed at two or three years old. 



It is bad policy stinting young foals in their food, and a 



