SELECTION, CAEE AND MANAGEMENT 535 



should have their daily chance at the ' wee bite, ' and 

 as they get older do not make the bites too 'wee.' 

 Crushed oats and bran make excellent feed. There 

 may be a better, but we need not worry about that. 

 About this time the foal on most farms is having 

 its troubles. Often the mare and foal have to fight 

 it out with too many others of the same kind or with 

 mixed lots of horses. The ideal arrangement is 

 for the mare and her foal, with no other horses, to 

 be placed in a grass lot that has not been pastured 

 by horses for at least a year. The nearer this con- 

 dition can be obtained, the better the foal thrives 

 and the freer it is from infection and trouble. 



' ' The next critical period for the foal is at wean- 

 ing time. Then the ravages of distemper are most 

 threatening, and an unchecked outbreak is always 

 frightful and frequently fatal. However, with the 

 colt long since a good feeder and carrying consider- 

 able immunity from previous bacterin or serum 

 treatments, it only remains to reinforce the immu- 

 nity against distemper by vaccinating a week before 

 weaning and by following with the same treatment 

 a week after weaning. The colt with his compan- 

 ions is now headed for winter quarters. Before 

 going, however, there is another good foot trimming 

 and leveling and, if it has not been done previously, 

 he is neck-branded. The brand, usually a herd num- 

 ber, is made a part of the owner's records. This 

 is for the convenience of the owner while he lives, 

 and afterward, if necessary, for the convenience of 

 his administrator. 



"Just a last word about the little fellows as they 

 are taken from their mothers and put in their winter 

 home. This has been freshly prepared for them, 

 thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Throughoutthe 

 winter it should be regularly cleaned and occasion- 



