Nebraska advertiser., 1857-02-05
farmtrs' Department.
Frgm he Country GensIeman.
or BEARING COLTS.

much interest several articles in your
paper in relation to rearing and train
ing colts, and as do not consider the
subject exhausted, I wiz give you my
experience and practice.
During the past thirty years, since
1926, 1 have bred and trained quite a
number of colts, and have had no diff
fculty in learning them to be kind and
gentle in the harness, or under the
saddle, with the treatment l give
them.
For a brood mare, select one that is
sound if you can, but by all means
one that is kind to work; and on a
farm she will do almost as much work
while raising a colt as without, and
she can be worked reasonably up to
the time of foaling; then let her rest
two weeks, and she may again be put
to light work, such as ~cultivating corn
for two or three hours in a day. And
now is the time to commence training
the colt, first let him become familiar
with you by gently handling him until
he is not shy, but will allow you to lay
your hand upon him without fear OF
starting, which viii be in n very short
time if you treat him kindly. Mex
prepare a halter that will ct him the
head-stall should be of leather OF
some fat substance that viii not hurt
his head, and the leading string a cord
strong enough to hold him, and long
enough to form a loop large enough
to 90 around the mares neck and al.
low the colt to suck. Now if you have
treated your colt as kindly as yor
should, you can put the halter on hin
without violence, and after putting the
loop around the mares neck, let some
one led her off gently, and if the col
attempts to pull back, just touch hin
up with a small switch, and he vii
naturally follow the dam without mucl
urging. After n or two lessons o
this kind, you can harness your mar,
before the single wagon, make thu
colts halter fast to the thill stray CT
the right hand side of the dam, Will
sufficient length of rope to allow hin
to suck, and you can 90 to mill o.
meeting without having to chase afte,
a stray colt.
The next important treatment Of thu
colt is weaving. This can be don,
best during the latter part of Octobe.
or first of November, or as soon as til,
nights are cold enough to requir,
shelter for young animals. Put you
mare and colt into stall wide enough
for both to lay down comfortably in
make the colt fast with the halter il
such a way that he cannot reach t
suck, but allow him to eat oats or som
other suitable grain with his mother
do this at night only at first, allowing
him to get milk occasionally for a FEY
of the first days, which will also he'll
the dam about drying up her milk
Now feed them both regularly and lib
orally, and give the colt exercise dai
ly in an open yard, and he will no
miss his milk or his mother; but h,
should by no means lose his sucking
flesh the first winter, and when h,
comes to grass the second summer h
will grow finely.
The second winter a colt will d,
well in an open yard day times, bu
should be provided with a shed o
stable that he can have access to a
night, and during cold storms, as wel
as all other farm stock.
When a, colt is coming two years oil
it should take a second lesson i
"horse-ology." The bit should be sub
stituted for the halter; a few lesson
daily of one hour each, are all that j
necessary in this branch, before tn
harness is put on and adjusted proper
ly, until he is familiar with that a
we'll as the bit. Let it be distinct
understood that duringal this t%rainin
no violence OF whipping is to com
into the treatment; patience an
kindness with good language, tellin
the colt plainly as you would a perso
what you want him to do, and he wi
soon learn to do it. As soon as til
colt is familiar with the bit and han
ness, you may hitch him up by tn
side of his mother before a light sleig
or wagon, according to the time {
year, and drive moderately one or tv
miles for the first time, and repeat tn
operation at future times as occasio
requires, until this lesson is so We
learned that he viii always be famili;
with it the rest of his life.
The colt is now two years old, fam
liar with the halter, bit, and harness
Shall it be worked? My experient
says yes, but only at light work and
short intervals, such as is at all timc
at hand on a well conducted farm; b.
allow no one to drive young colts b.
yourself. My practice is to give Il
colt the advantage of its dam on Il
evener, to that degree that the colt ca
with ease draw its share of the draf
and at the same time be sure and hay
no more load than your team al ORA
without the assistance of the colt. /