516 A HISTORY OF THE PERCUERON HORSE 



of weeks, until the foal is old enough to take the 

 milk freely. 



"It goes without saying that a stallion foal should 

 get a good start in life while by the side of his 

 mother. He should know how to eat grain before 

 weaning time, so that when weaned he will hardly 

 miss his mother's milk." After weaning he should 

 have a grass lot with feed and water always before 

 him and should be halter-broken and stablod at 

 night. Have oats, corn, bran and good hay, clover 

 or some alfalfa, always available. We aim to have 

 grain before our weanlings so that they can get it 

 as they want it. 



"When spring comes our yearling stallions are 

 placed in a pasture by themselves. They ai-e fed 

 grain three times a day and have good Avater always 

 availajjle. If the grass is not plentiful enough, we 

 give hay or silage to supplement it. In other words, 

 we give them plenty to eat and the freedom of the 

 pasture for exercise. When winter comes again the 

 yearlings are run in a 20-acre bluegrass pasture and 

 fed sorghum, silage, hay and grain in a roomy barn 

 where they go in and out at will. The next spring 

 they are coming two-year-olds. In March and April 

 they are kept off the pasture and yarded about the 

 barn. When grjiss is good in May they are turned 

 on the pasture and grained three times daily. We 

 had twelve two-year-olds running together last sea- 

 son. They get exercise, sunshine and shade as they 

 want it, and they grow and grow. They grow bone 

 and muscle and develop as colts should, and only 

 as colts can that are raised in the open. Last sum- 

 mer was dry and hot and the late pastures were 

 bare, but we planted some sweet-corn which ripened 

 early enough to cut. With that and our silage the 

 colts managed to squeeze through and those who see 



