Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1859-10-20
garmtrs' dlepartment.
Care OF MARES and their FOal.

In the first place, however, to begin
from the beginning. the system of hor-
SEES feeding. as well as of his grooming
and stabling, commences, and if 1t be
intended that he shall be a valuable and
superior animal must needs commence
before he is born. If his dam while
pregnant of him, be overworked, be I'M
der fed, be neglected, and kept cold or
filthy. or allowed to pick up her own
subsistence as she may on open fields or
commons, the foal must be Il ssarvcllng;
and, ten to one, will never attain its full
size or the full possession of its powers.
If to neg lcct before its birth be added
neglect of the dam and young creature,
both. during its minority if they be ex-
posed to cold, to rain, snow, heat, IN
word, to the weather and its changes,
generally; if they receive no food-the
dam, but what she can gather from the
pasture. the foal. but the thin and I'M
profitable milk which the dam can pro-
ducc from such sustenancc, if they have
10 comfortable, airy shed to protect them
from the scorching suns of summer, no
warm stable to shield them from the
nipping cold of autumnal nigGts, the foal
will be, from the first to the last, but
wretched, stunted, starvelng creature
and will never repay the breeder the ex-
pense or pains of rearing him.
According to the nature, quality and
blood Of the fOal, so should the mare,
before and after parturtion, and the foal,
from the time of its birth, be nurturcd,
housed and fed. 1t is not of course to
be expected, that a cart-mare, in foal to
a cart-stallion, Norman, Canadian or
Cleveland, or Clydesdale, the produce
of which expects only to be cart.horse
of improved degree, or at tue best,
heavy carriage horse, should receive the
pains and have the expense lavished on.
her which would be expended on tho
rough-brcd mare, having the blood of
twenty generations in her veins, and stln-
ted to a horse inheritor of all she glories
of the turf, to the days Of its first and no.
blest champions. Still, it is a truth.
that if it be worth the while to breed
beast at all, it is worth the while to breed
a good beast, nay but the very best
beast, if one can, of the race or family
to which he belongs; and this cannot be
done unless both the dam, before partu
rition and the dam and foal together,
after the birth of the latter, be SO sup
piled with food, warmth and shelter, rs
to allow the the little animal an ample
fund whence to draw his bone, his mus
clcs, the development of his size, and
his blood, and, in word, sufficient nu-
trimcnt for the production of all those
qualities which one would desire him to
possess when he shall have attained his
maturity.
Mares and toals should then, always
be supplied. in their summer pastures,
with good, cool, airy shed. for shelter
against the sun or rain; in their winter
quarters, with close warm, but thor
oughly cleaned & ventilated stable. They
should have abundance of good, rich,
succulent food of the best quality, espe-
cially the dam, before the birth of the
foal, and during the time while she is
sucking it 1t is not necessary, but 1t
is desirable, that she should have oats or
corn; where it is thorough bred mare,
in foal to Thoroughbred, and expected
to produce racer, she should be cared
for almost as if she herself were in work,
and should have at least, her two feeds
daily, before parturtion; aud, after the
birth and in the early days of nursing,
two good mashes Of steamed oats and
bran, given moderately warm, in addi-
ton to her pasturage. AS the foal gains
age, she should have her oats regularly,
and the young thing should be encourage
ed to eat of oats, likewise, as early as
possible. He will soon take to it, and
a quart or two per diem, increased to II
full peck during the first year, and to
two pocks added to his pasturage in sum
mcr, and his hay, chopped straw, or
feed in winter. in his second year. will
amply repay the owner IN the quality OF
boneland muscle which the animal will
form, and in the increased size, and STAN
ina, which will be his characteristics
when he is growing toward maturity. -
1t is not too much to lay. that foal
treated thus, will be, at two years old,
the equal of any three year old, allowed
to take his chance, without any food but
that furnished by his dam from her or
binary commons, or picked up by him
self, in his summer pasture or winter
straw yard. Hints to Horsckcepers.