Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1900-09-15
The Meaning Period.


hand and it will very much depend
how the foal is taken care of at this
period as to how he viii grow and
what he will grow into. 1t has been
truly said that it is impossible to re-
gain foaI flesh once it is lost at the.
weaving time, and a foal stunted at
this time will never make so good al
horse as would have been the case had
he been well fed and kept constantly
progressing. Nature supplies in the
milk Of the mare all of the require
ments of the growing foaJ and if at the
weaving time the food supplied in lieu
of the mothers milk be not properly
balanced as a ration the foal will go
back instead of forward. The chief re-
Quirement of the young growing ami
NAL is nitrogeEous food of a highly
nutritious and easily digestible ma
ture, and if this is supplied the foaI
will make steady progress and in
spring look very different from the one
that has been fed upon the lee side Of
straw stack with corn and corn
fodder in addition to coarse hay as a
ration. The best possible heterogeneous
food for young foals is oats in the form
OF meal or crushed and screened to re-
move the husks and as an adjunct to
this food bran and oil meal should be
added. Prior TO weaving the foaI
should be accustomed to eat this mix
ture from a box placed where the mare
cannot take the food intended for its
youngster. II this be done the foaI
will not fret so much when the dam
is kept away from it and will go on
growing in proper manner The mare
should be separated from the foal, but
not put in a different place or barn.
She may be kept in sight of the foaI
and this will also help to keep the foaI
from fretting SO much. The mare
should be partially MIXED three times
daily and have a ration of dry hay
and very little oats to keep back the
flow of milk which is no longer needed.
The udder should be carefully cared
for to make sure that it does not be-
come too much congested with milk.
If it should become hot and sore rub
it with camphorated oil and even
battle it with hot water. The cam
phorated oil is also a good application
to lessen the flow of milk if the mare
does not dry up promptly. After the
| milk ceases to flow the mare may be
separated from the foal and placed in
dry pasture for fear that the green
pasture might bring back a flow OF
milk. There is little fear Of feeding
the foal too much so long as the food
is nutritious and of the right sort. If
the oats are fed whole there is a like
lihood of causing indigestion or consti-
patton and when crushed the husks if
not removed are liable to produce the
same conditions so that it is best to
feed at first crushed oats from which
the hulls have been removed by screen
ing and after awhile the foal will be
able to digest the unscreened crushed
oats and later on the whole oats. If
it be desired to feed the foaI for a
horse show or to show it as a foal it
may be necessary to feed some milk,
but this must be carefully done else it
IS sure to make trouble. A fine adj
dition to milk as a diet for young
foals is oil meal or fiaxseed jelly and
the thin Cruel of boiled oatmeal which
may be given once daily and will be
greatly appreciated. All hay and
fodder should be wetted, and care
should be taken to keep the bowels
open for which purpose it will usual
ly be necessary to feed q soft bran
mash two or three times week. In
winter time carrots also make a splen-
did addition to the ration of both
foals and the adult horses on the farIn.
In all the feeding and management OF
the foal the main idea should be to
produce a steady growth and not to
feed such foods as corn except in small
quantities and in the coolest weather
If this be done the foal will grow up
into a profitable horse and will repay
! the owner for his care and feed.