MANAGEMENT OF THE WEANLINGS 
101 
Henry and Morrison 53 assert that “at from 4 to 6 months of age, de¬ 
pending on conditions, the foal should be weaned. When the mare is 
bred soon after foaling, or if for any other reason the dam and foal are 
not doing well, it is best to wean comparatively early. On the other 
hand, if the mother has a good milk flow, and her services are not 
needed, the foal may well be allowed to suckle 6 months. If the foal has 
been fed increasing quantities of grain as it developed, the weaning 
process will not be difficult, for the quantity of milk consumed will have 
been gradually decreased. Complete separation will then cause little, if 
any, setback to either dam or foal. In parting the dam and foal, keep 
them well separated, else all must be done over again ... At such 
time the grain ration of the mare should be reduced till she is dried off. 
When the udder becomes so full as to cause uneasiness, part, but not 
all, of the milk should be drawn.” 
As to feeding the foals after weaning, Henry and Morrison 53 say that 
“Nothing is superior to blue grass or other good pasture and oats. Among 
the concentrates, wheat bran, cotton seed meal, linseed meal, buckwheat 
middlings, wheat middlings, soybeans, cowpeas, and Canada field peas 
are rich in nitrogenous matter . . . and in phosphorus . . . All 
the legume hays—alfalfa, clover, cowpeas, etc.—are rich in lime . . . 
When properly balanced by nitrogenous feeds, corn, barley, kafir, milo, 
or emmer may be used as part of the ration. When fed large amounts of 
alfalfa hay colts will relish a little timothy or prairie hay, straw, or corn 
fodder occasionally. If maximum growth is desired it will be necessary 
to feed some grain even on good pasture. The young horse which is 
not developing the proper skeleton may be fed substances especially rich 
in phosphorus and lime, such as 2 or 3 ounces daily of tankage containing 
ground bone, or 1 ounce daily of ground bone, ground rock phosphate 
(floats), or precipitated calcium phosphate.” 
Alexander 80 is hereby quoted on the feeding of colts: “We should ad¬ 
vise feeding a mixture of 60% ground oats, 15% corn meal, 10% bran, 
and 15% cut alfalfa hay. Allow the colts to clean up all they want of 
this mixture. At Wisconsin experiment station 11 draft colts were thus 
fed and they consumed each 16.5 lb. of the mixture per day. 
“Some feeders are feeding skim-milk to growing colts. Instead of 
allowing the colts to drink the milk a good plan is to use the milk to 
wet the feed at meal time. A quart twice a day is helpful, although 
some feed a larger quantity. Care must be taken not to cause scouring, 
or ‘pot belly.' In addition to oats, bran and hay, allow the colts carrots, 
or even a little nicely made corn silage; but do not give silage and milk 
together. Oat straw and bright com stover also are useful as part of 
the roughage for growing colts.” 
Jordan 92 gives two grain mixtures which are considered less expensive 
than oats alone yet of such a quality as to promote growth of young 
colts. The first mixture is made up of oats 4 parts, peas 2 parts, while 
the other combination consists of corn 2 parts, oats 4 parts, bran 3 parts, 
oil meal 1 part. 
According to McCampbell, the following rations have proved to lead 
to good results: 
“1. Corn or oats, 6 parts; bran, 2 parts; linseed meal, 1 part; free 
access to alfalfa hay, together with some prairie hay, straw, or corn 
fodder. 
“2. Corn or oats, 6 parts; bran, 3 parts; free access to alfalfa hay, 
together with some prairie hay, straw, or corn fodder. 
“3. Corn or oats; alfalfa hay.” 
Reese 30 says that foals whose dams are being worked should be weaned 
earlier than those whose mothers are idle. He brings out that while It 
is the general practice to wean foals at the age of 5 or 6 months yet one 
should bear in mind that it is more economical to feed them through 
