FEEDING AND CARE OF HORSES 233 



before turning her into the stall with the foal. Brood mares at work 

 and nursing strong foals should be heavily fed to sustain a good milk 

 flow. If the mare is worked during the day, it is well to turn. both 

 dam and foal onto grass pasture at night, and in addition feed a 

 liberal allowance of grain. 



When dams and foals are running at pasture, a pen should be made 

 in the pasture near where- the horses are inclined to loiter, building 

 it so high that the mares will not try to jump it, and with sufficient 

 space from the ground to the bottom rail to. allow the foals to pass 

 under. Put in a handy gate, then an ample feed trough. After the 

 mares have eaten together in the pen a few times the foals will visit 

 this "creep" regularly after their dams are shut out. To induce the 

 dams to loiter about, keep a large lump of rock salt near by and occa- 

 sionally give a feed of oats at the pen. If flies torture the foal, it is 

 better to confine the mare and foal in a darkened stall during the day 

 and turn to pasture only at night. 



Weaning. — At from 4 to 6 months of age, the foal should be weaned. 

 When the mare is bred soon after foaling, or if for any reason the 

 dam and foal are not doing well, it is best to wean comparatively 

 early. On the other hand, if the mother has a good flow of milk and 

 her services are not needed, the foal may be allowed to suckle 6 

 months. If the foal has been fed increasing quantities of grain as it 

 developed, weaning will cause little, if any, setback to either dam or 

 foal. In parting dam and foal keep them well separated, else all 

 must be done over again. The grain ration of the mare should be 

 reduced till she is dried off. 



The education of the colt should not be postponed until it is sought 

 to "break" him as a 3-year-old, and then attempt to bring the inde- 

 pendent animal under man's guidance all at once. The young foal 

 should be taught to lead at the halter, stand tied in the stall, and 

 display proper stable manners. 



After weaning. — The foal should be kept growing vigorously after 

 weaning by an ample allowance of feed. To make good bone and 

 strong muscle, feeds rich in protein, calcium, and phosphorus should 

 be chosen. Nothing is superior to bluegrass or other good pasture, 

 and oats. Among the concentrates, wheat bran, cottonseed meal, lin- 

 seed meal, buckwheat middlings, wheat middlings, soybeans, cowpeas, 

 and Canada field peas are rich in protein, which goes to build muscle, 

 and in phosphorus, needed in building the skeleton. All the legume 

 hays — alfalfa, clover, cowpea, etc. — are rich in calcium. A combina- 

 tion of such concentrates and roughages as these should furnish 

 abundant bone- and muscle-forming material. Corn, barley, kafir, 

 milo, and emmer may be used as part of the ration, when properly 



