MANAGEMENT OP THE WEANLINGS 
189 
In the words of Dunham, “For proper development it is necessary that 
the young stallions have pasture and space to run in. They should be well 
fed and kept in growing condition. The great fault of our American 
breeders is that they keep their stallion foals too much in the barn, where 
they cannot possibly develop the bone and substance which is necessary to 
make them first-class horses. Colts should run at large as much as possi¬ 
ble; the exercise, the grass and the extra feed they get make them grow 
into desirable horses. The importance of exercise and grass cannot be 
dwelt upon too much. It is lack of these which prevents so many of our 
American-bred colts from developing into the kind of horse which they 
should be.” 
McLaughlin is here cited to say: “In developing the colts I would ad¬ 
vise feed, more feed, and still more feed, with oats, if possible; oats are 
the great developer of hard, clean, flinty bone. If oats are not available, 
feed corn, and plenty of it. For the first two years of its life a colt can¬ 
not be fed too much grain, as this induces early maturity, great size and 
heavy bone. 
“During the fall and winter after weaning the colt should be fed all the 
grain he will eat, with enough succulent feed, such as bran, and clover or 
alfalfa hay, to keep his bowels in good condition. When the colt is 
turned out to pasture in the spring he should still be fed grain in order 
to make him grow properly. I always prefer a hill pasture for yearlings, 
as it induces great muscular development. The winter that the colts are 
rising twos they should run in a paddock or field together, and should be 
fed all the grain they will eat. The spring and summer when they are 2- 
year-olds they should still run together in pasture, with plenty of grain; 
the exercise that they take playing with each other adds greatly to their 
development. 
“The fall that they are 2-year-olds, when it becomes necessary to sep¬ 
arate them, they should be placed in boxes with paddocks, if possible, and 
fed all they will eat. A few carrots do them a great deal of good at this 
time.” 
Corsa presents the system of colt management to be found at the Greg¬ 
ory Farm, thus: “Foals are inquisitive youngsters, and when only a few 
days old, will begin nibbling around the box. From the time they are 2 
weeks old, they 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 combination, 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 arrange¬ 
ment 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 condition 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 weaning 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 considerable immunity from previous bacteria 
or serum treatments, it only remains to reinforce the immunity against 
distemper by vaccinating a week before weaning and by following with 
the same treatment a week after weaning. The colt, with his companions, 
is now headed for winter quarters. Before going, however, there is an¬ 
other good foot trimming and leveling, and, if it has not been done pre¬ 
viously, he is neck-branded. The brand, usually a herd number, is made 
a part of the owner’s records. 
“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. Throughout the winter it 
