Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-06-22

New Born FoaI
The proper care and managemene Of
the new born foal is of great impor-
tance just at present, for it is easily
seen that horses are to be worth high
prices for many years to come, so that
every possible foal should be saved.
A few years. ago many farmers con-
sidered foals actual nuisances, but that
is changed and we are now glad that
the youngsters get warm welcome
as they did of yore. 1t is often the
case that a brood mare proves a poor
mixer and her owner is at a loss to
know what would be the best food for
her foal. If the proper food be not
provided the foal grows up stunted
in form and size and the possible prof
1T is lost. For foals that have lost
their mothers or for those that have
poor milking dams cows milk is the
best food at first. This milk is less
sweet than that of the mare, hence
should be sweetened with a little su-
gar. but not diluted with water. At
first half a pint of milk four or five
times daily will be enough for good
results, but as the colt grows strong
er the amount may be increased grad
ually until the foal is getting all he
will take. If the milk disagrees with
his stomach then it is a good plan
to add lime water to each mess of milk
in the proportion of one tablespoonful
to each pint of milk. This tends to
keep the milk sweet, but If consti-
patton is present the first step should
be to give the foal dose of castor oil
in milk to clear the Irritating matters
from the intestinal track. The proper
dose is from two to four tablespoon
fu1s for foal from two to four weeks
old, and after the physic operates no
other medicine will be needed unless
the foal has been suffering from
Scours, in which case ten grains of
subnitrate of bismuth should be given
three or four times daily, according
to the severity of the case until scour-
ing ceases, which it will speedily do
under this treatment. When the hand
fed foal reaches the age of four weeks
other food should be added to the
cows milk, and for this purpose moth
ing is better than oil meal or flaxseed
jelly. half pint of the meal is about
the right amount to give a young foal
twice daily, but when the jelly is used
it may be given three times daily. and
will keep the bowels in good order
The jelly is made by pouring two
quarts of cold water upon one cupful
of whole faxseed and allowing it to
soak for twenty-four hours, when a
jelly will have formed. In addition
to the above foods foal should be
early accustomed to eating grain, and
for this reason a box should be placed
where the colt can get at 1t and not
the mare, and this box should be kept
filled with equal parts of ground oats
and bran. When foa1 is four months
old the sweet milk may be replaced
by skim milk and the ground oats
by crushed oats, and the foal will have
commenced to eat little grass. When
the mare is a poor nurse, having
small supply of milk for her foal, she
may be made to give more milk by
proper feeding of milk-forming foods
OF these there is nothing superior to
green grass, but where this does not
suffice she may be encouraged in milk
flow by the feeding of such foods as
bran and oats. and where her foal is
to be a show beast the bran and
ground oats along with cut hay may
be made into slop with milk. Flax
seed or even cotton seed me3l will also
be found useful in stimulating flow
of milk, but great care must always
be taken to change the mares food
very gradually, else it will be likely
to injuriously affect the digestion of
the foal. See to it that the young foal
is dropped in cfean-bedded box stall
and that its belly and navel are at
once washed with a per cent solu-
ton of some effective disinfectant.
such as creolin or 1y5ol. The washing
of the navel should be repeated twice
daily for a week. or until every raw
spot has disappeared, for where this
is done there will be no danger of loss
from navel or joint disease, which are
caused by the entrance of filth germs
by way Of the open umbilical vein in
the raw navel cord. Avoid letting the
foal follow the mare to work or allow
sweaty.