CHAP. vii. MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. 459 



2 Ib. bran, and a small quantity of hay-chaff should be placed in a 

 manger in the shed daily. If you expect a well-developed foal, the 

 mare must be kept in good condition. Starvation is frequently the 

 cause of abortion. Nature is sure to assert her authority, and is 

 prone to resent liberties. The draught mare may be worked with 

 safety and advantage up to the date of foaling, provided she is entrusted 

 to careful hands. Immediately after foaling the mare should be fed 

 for the first week on sloppy food, consisting of oats, swedes, and cut 

 chaff. The whole should be cooked and given in a lukewarm state. 

 The working mare and foal should be kept in a roomy box for the first 

 few days. Outlying mares should also be shut up for a time, other- 

 wise the foal is in danger of accident. The food should be such as 

 will encourage the flow of milk. If the mare is well managed previous 

 to foaling, the young animal will not require any medicine. The 

 docking of cart foals is a barbarous practice, and should not be 

 encouraged. The War authorities will not purchase a docked horse 

 at any price, and in this, I think, they are right. 



It is idle to expect to raise good foals where the mares are con- 

 stantly worked : the milk of a worked mare is thin and wateiy. It is 

 a good policy to feed the mare while suckling her foal. The young 

 animal soon learns to eat. A few crushed oats and a little bran are 

 the best to begin with ; pure linseed cake may be used in small 

 quantities. The foal should have a separate manger constructed in 

 such a way as to prevent the mare from reaching the food. The foal 

 should be early taught to lead ; a tight leather headstall is worn, and 

 this enables the groom to catch the foal without much trouble; to 

 this he attaches the leading rein. A lesson should be given at any 

 convenient season. After weaning, a liberal diet should be provided. 

 We have tried unrefined cod-liver oil mixed with the meal and chop ; 

 they take to it readily, and thrive well. A small quantity is used, and 

 the additional cost is trifling. 



The stallion during the service season should be well kept. A 

 mixture of boiled beans, oats, and barley is not so heating as raw 

 corn, mixed with a small quantity of bran and nice sweet hay chaff. 

 The quantity necessarily depends on the temperament of the animal 

 as well as the constitution; irritable, ill-tempered horses consume 

 more food and do not thrive so well as a docile animal. 12 Ib. to 

 15 Ib. of boiled corn will be sufficient in most cases. Oatmeal gruel 

 and raw eggs may be given to a horse who has a heavy season. I 

 have to-day seen a horse who has already served ninety mares, and, 

 although travelling a wide circuit, he is in quite as good condition as 

 when he started. 



Young stock require plenty of breathing space, a liberal suppty of 

 pure water, and some nourishing food. They thrive best when kept 

 in quiet, well-sheltered situations, and when they also receive a daily 

 allowance of nourishing food. Except on the best lands, artificial 

 foods should be used in the summer as well as in the winter. Young 

 horses grow best when grazed thinly with other stock. Where a 

 number are kept together in the same field, they are sure to graze the 



