364 DISEASES OF HORSES AND CATTLE. 



after being weaned it should have a little ground 

 oats mixed with bran once or twice a day, and 

 have access to plenty of clean water, and if possi- 

 ble should be sheltered from the cold rains of 

 autumn, as being exposed to a chilly rain will not 

 only reduce it in flesh, but may cause rheumatism, 

 ending in destroying some of the joints. During 

 the first year at least, the colt should be well fed, 

 as this period does a great deal in shaping the fu- 

 ture horse. In order to do this it should have at 

 least two quarts of oats three times daily. Oats 

 are much better food than corn for a young grow- 

 ing colt, as they contain more of the elements 

 which go to make muscle and bone than any of 

 the other cereals. There is an idea that there is 

 danger in feeding oats to foals, but it is a great 

 mistake. Some of the best foals which I have 

 raised got as much as eight or ten quarts a day. 

 Bran is also good for foals. It not only keeps 

 their bowels in good condition, but also assists in 

 giving nutrition. There is really more nutrition 

 in bran than is generally supposed. Steep a pail 

 of bran in water over night and then boil the 

 water and you will find that it has given up a good 

 deal of glutinous matter, besides lime salts, which 

 go to build up bone and other tissues of the body. 

 Clover hay is much better for colts and horses 

 than timothy. It wants to be fed in smaller quan- 

 tities. Colts will eat too much of it if they can get 

 it, and in this case it may make them pot-bellied, 

 and in some horses may produce heaves, but if it 

 is fed as it ought to be there will be no danger o* 



