76 Animal Husbandry 
endangering his health. For best results the ration of the mule 
should be comprised of easily digested and nutritious feeds, which 
should be varied from time to time, as no animal loves a variety 
better than the mule. The ration should be suitable to the kind 
of work. In all essential features the mule is very similar to the 
horse, and what we suggested for horses applies with equal force 
_ to mules. : 
135. Feeding the brood mare. — Mares in foal should be fed 
much as suggested for work horses with perhaps the addition of 
more protein foods, as bran and oil meal. The ration should be 
such as will supply the demands for energy and in addition allow 
abundant nourishment for the development of the foal both before 
and for a time after birth. A very good ration for the pregnant 
mare is as follows: four parts ground oats, four parts wheat bran, 
or its equivalent, and one part linseed meal, with bright clover 
or alfalfa hay for roughage. 
FEEDING THE FOAL 
It is essential that the new-born foal get the first milk from the 
dam. This fore-milk looks thick and yellow. It is a natural 
purgative for the removal of the material that has accumulated in 
the foal’s digestive tract during the last few days of its develop- 
ment. Its prompt removal is essential to the life of the colt. 
136. Food for the young foal. — It often happens that the milk 
of the mare is insufficient to promote healthy, vigorous growth in 
the foal, and occasionally it becomes necessary to raise a foal 
entirely independent of the dam. In such cases the best addition 
or substitute for the milk of the mare is that of the cow. The 
milk of the mare has more sugar and less fat than the milk of the 
cow. One should get milk from as fresh a cow as possible, and 
the poorer in fat the better, as mare’s milk will average only about 
1.2 per cent fat, while the milk of most cows runs above 3 per cent. 
Gruels, made by boiling beans or peas and removing the skins 
