MANAGEMENT OF THE WEANLINGS 
97 
is essential that some grain be fed in connection with the hay. Oats are 
very satisfactory for this, but if the hay is a legume, rolled barley will 
prove quite satisfactory. The shed arrangement spoken of for wintering 
the foal is even more essential for wintering older animals. It is not so 
necessary that the older colts have as good shelter as the younger ones. 
In the sections where the winters are warm and wet, protection should 
be provided so that they can keep out of the rainy weather. In sections 
where snows and storms are bad, protection is needed for like reason. 
Under moderate conditions of winter, the horses will do very well if left 
outside most of the time, with protection provided for extreme cases. 
Colts wintered in this manner will not have the same sleekness as the 
barn-fed colt but they will obtain a ruggedness of constitution that will 
last much longer than a glossy coat. 
“The essentials in growing the twos and threes are to provide feeds that 
will continue the growth which was started in the foal and yearling. 
Fine pasture in summer, with good hay in winter, together with pro¬ 
tection from storms makes for this growth. Colts that are twos and 
threes will not need as much grain as the foal or yearling but will con¬ 
sume rougher feeds. These feeds, however, should be of nutritious 
character, as legume or cereal hay ... If the twos or threes are 
being developed for show purposes, they will need to be pushed along 
with some grain in order to give them their maximum size and the most 
satisfactory gains. For commercial purposes, however, very little grain 
is needed, until they reach the age when they will start to work.” 
Gay 4 recommends that the weaning of the foal be undertaken at the 
age of from four and one-half to six months; early, when the pasture 
is poor or in case the mare or the foal are not in good condition, and late, 
should the mare continue to furnish ample supply of milk and is not 
worked. He says: “If the proper provision is made for the foal to take 
more and more grain as he grows older, he will gradually reduce the 
amount of milk taken from his dam, so that when the time for weaning 
arrives very little if any setback or disturbance is caused either foal or 
dam. If, however, the foal must learn to eat after being deprived of his 
ordinary source of sustenance, he will require some time to accommodate 
himself to the new regime, while the mare will demand especial care 
on account of the removal of the colt before her milk supply has been to 
any extent dimished. Furthermore, a little foal acquires a spirit of in¬ 
dependence as he becomes self-sustaining, and for that reason the ab¬ 
sence of the dam becomes a less disturbing factor to him, especially if 
he has the company of another foal, than to the young thing which has 
been entirely dependent upon its dam until she is suddenly taken away. 
When once the dam and foal are separated it is better for both if the 
separation is complete; if, after both have become reconciled to the part¬ 
ing, they are permitted to see, hear, or smell each other again, all that 
has been gained up to this time is lost, and it will be necessary to begin 
over. Especial care should be taken to see that the new quarters, where 
the weanlings are confined, are so constructed and arranged as to make 
it impossible for them to injure themselves, in case they make a demon¬ 
stration of their resentment at being so treated.” 
Roudebush 70 says that weaning should be done at from four to six 
months of age. The procedure advocated consists of leaving the colt in 
the usual stall while the dam is placed in a nearby inclosure. 
Under the subject of feeding the yearling, Roudebush 76 is quoted to 
say: “If the roughage has been cut, shredded or whole corn fodder or 
timothy hay, then equal parts by weight of crushed corn, oats and wheat 
bran twice per day, is an ideal ration. From one to two quarts may be 
given at a feeding ... If fed on timothy hay and whole corn, feed 
a gill of oil meal once a day, and a little salt twice per week. If one has 
clover or alfalfa hay, whole corn can be fed exclusively as the grain 
ration. Oat straw and wheat bran make a good combination. Grass is 
