88 THE HORSE 



tolerable and they very soon become accustomed 

 to it and entirely contented. With the drying 

 up of the mare's milk and her continued use in 

 harness, which keeps her much away from the 

 colt, she soon loses her interest in him and he can 

 then be removed to some distant pasture with 

 very little protest on his part or hers. 



The care and common sense that should be ob- 

 served in weaning should be continued afterward; 

 at the risk of being accused of repetition, I may 

 say here that in raising horses, far more than in 

 any other stock, constant care and watchfulness 

 are necessary. Colts, should not run in pasture 

 with older stock, but be turned into a field by them- 

 selves. Where only one colt is being raised, this 

 is not always practicable ; but he can, at least, be 

 turned out with only one or two horses, with 

 which he is well acquainted, and thus the danger 

 of his getting hurt will be greatly lessened. As 

 a rule, horses are not very inimical to a young 

 colt, even when he is new to them ; more often they 

 are friendly and disposed to play with the young- 

 ster. But horse play is proverbially rough play 

 and, with companions so much older and stronger 

 than himself, he is exceedingly liable to get hurt. 



In wintering the colt it is not wise to feed very 

 much corn ; oats and bran are the right grains to 

 use. A little corn-meal mixed with the bran, how- 



