298 



MANAGEMENT AND BREEDING OF HORSES 



must be with her when the foal is born. This is im- 

 portant. When the foal is born he may have the 

 membrane over his head and nostrils, and if this is 

 not torn and removed, he will smother. The navel 

 cord is rather tough and sometimes does not break. 

 In such cases, it should be tied with a silk or flax thread 

 and then cut three or four inches from the navel. Never 

 cut the cord before tying. Sometimes foaling jennets 

 are troubled with sore, tender and inflamed udders, due 

 to the large amount of milk they contain. When such is 

 the case, the jennet will not allow the foal to suck. She 



will kick and bite 

 him, and he may 

 starve if not looked 

 after properly. The 

 jennet must be care- 

 fully milked and the 

 udder bathed in salt 

 water to relieve the 

 inflammation. 



While mares us- 

 ually breed on the 

 seventh to the ninth 

 day after foaling, jen- 

 nets breed much later, 

 probably about the 

 twelfth to fourteenth 

 day. As with mares, if they fail to breed at this time, 

 they are not likely to mate while nursing the foal. A 

 few days after weaning, however, and the mare or jennet 

 dried off, they are likely to come into heat, particularly 

 if they have been well cared for and are in a thriving 

 condition. 



The foal. — The jack and jennet foal should receive 

 much the same care as that suggested for the horse foal 

 (p. 287), although jack stock is very tender when young 

 and should receive vigilant attention. These foals are 



Fig. 141, — Jack Colt Fifteen Months of Ace 



