232 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



stances be bred as a 2-year-old; all others when past three. Altho 

 the natural and customary foaling time is in the spring, when the 

 mare must do a hard season's work or she fails to get in foal from 

 spring service she may be bred to foal in the fall. 



The foal. — The thrifty, well-fed foal should make more than half 

 its entire growth during its first year. If stunted during this time, 

 rarely will it reach full size. It is therefore of the greatest importance 

 that the foal start life full of vigor and be kept growing thriftily. 

 Immediately after birth it should take a good drink of the colostrum, 

 or first milk, of the dam. This natural purgative removes the fecal 

 matter which accumulates in the alimentary canal before birth. 

 Otherwise, a dose of castor oil or a rectal injection is necessary. On 

 account of the great danger from navel and joint disease, the stump 

 of the navel cord should be carefully disinfected. 



If the dam does not supply the proper amount of milk, feed should 

 be given her which will stimulate the milk flow. Good pasture grass 

 is, of course, the best, but in its absence a liberal allowance of grain 

 should be fed. On the other hand, an oversupply of milk or milk too 

 rich in fat may cause indigestion in the foal. The dam's ration 

 should then be reduced and some of her milk drawn, the foal being 

 allowed the first portion, which is the poorest in fat. 



Feeding the foal. — By placing the feed box low, when 3 or 4 weeks 

 old the foal will begin nibbling from the mother's supply and will 

 soon acquire a taste for grain. The earlier the foals so learn to eat, 

 the more independent they become, and the mare will then be able 

 to do more work. Crushed oats or oatmeal, with bran, are excellent 

 feeds, as is a mixture of 4 parts of crushed corn, 3 of bran, and 1 of 

 linseed meal. Colts should be given good clover, alfalfa, or other 

 legume hay as soon as they will eat it, and all the clean, pure water 

 they want. Watchfulness should always detect the first appearance 

 of such ailments as constipation or diarrhea. In all such troubles the 

 food for both dam and foal should at once be lessened, since nothing 

 assists Nature more than reducing the work of the digestive tract. 



If the dam cannot furnish enough milk for the foal, cow's milk is 

 the best substitute. The poorer the milk is in butter fat the better, 

 for mare's milk contains only about 1.1 per ct. fat. Should the mare 

 die or have no milk, the foal may with proper care be raised on cow's 

 milk modified by the addition of sugar and lime water. 



When the mare is worked, the foal should not follow the dam but 

 should be left in a cool, dark stall during the day, where it will be safe 

 and not bothered by flies. The mare should be brought to the barn to 

 suckle the colt in the middle of the forenoon and afternoon. Allow 

 the mare to cool off, and perhaps draw some of the milk by hand 



