456 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER, BOOK HI. 



sheds are used, care should be taken that the litter is dry, and that 

 the roof effectually keeps out the rain ; and, above all, it should never 

 be forgotten that "the eye of the master fattens the horse," or, as 

 Gervase Markham puts it, " the best provender for the horse [is] the 

 master's eye." 



In an inquiry instituted by the " Live Stock Journal " into the 

 feeding and management of horses, information was sought upon the 

 following points : 



1. Feeding of mares prior to and after foaling ; times of feeding ; 

 varieties and quantities of food, &c. 2. Management and feeding of 

 foals. 8. Feeding of stallions during service season and during off 

 season. 4. Management and feeding of young stock. 5. Summer 

 and winter treatment of horses at work. Amongst the replies are 

 several of high practical interest. 



Mr. George Rodger, Newton Bank, Preston Brook, Warrington, 

 Cheshire, says : 



1. Feeding of Mares prior to and after Foaling. As my mares are 

 kept solely for breeding (not for work), their feeding will differ con- 

 siderably from that of those which are worked more or less regularly. I 

 find it advisable to let them have the run of the grass fields winter and 

 summer, except when there is snow on the ground ; at such times, and 

 throughout winter, when there is little grass on the fields, each mare 

 has a bucket of boiled food morning and evening, and perhaps a feed 

 of mixed corn besides. The boiled food consists of chopped hay, bran, 

 turnips, and barley, with a few beans, and is allowed to grow cold 

 before being given. The mixed corn is usually crushed oats and 

 Indian corn with bran. Besides this they have hay in their racks. 

 For a fortnight before foaling, if not altogether on grass, it is safer to 

 give more and more bran, gradually deducting the more heating and 

 fattening substances, until on the day of foaling the mare is almost 

 solely fed on bran. After foaling, give oatmeal gruel, and later, bran 

 mashes, gradually adding the boiled food in larger and larger quantities. 

 If the mare foals before June, and more especially in the earlier months 

 of the year, when east winds are prevalent, the utmost care must be 

 taken to keep the loose box warm and prevent cold draughts getting 

 into it. In every case where a foal has died with me, congestion of 

 the lungs has been the cause, brought on by cold. 



2. Management of Foals, &c. It is always to be desired that the 

 mare be watched when about to foal, and remained up with until the 

 foal begins to suck so many fatal accidents may happen, such as 

 wrong presentations, foal smothered in sheet, foal lain upon by the 

 mother, if she gets up and goes down again, &c., &c. If the foal is 

 an early one, and in my opinion the earlier the better, it is an excellent 

 thing to encourage it to eat a little of its mother's boiled food, and 

 this it can do within a fortnight after it is foaled ; thus, when the 

 time comes for it to be weaned, it takes to artificial food quite kindly. 

 As a rule, I allow my mares to wean their own foals, unless this is not 

 done before seven months are out ; in such cases the mare is kept in 

 the house for a few days, and afterwards in a field at a distance. 



