Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1915-10-28
Keep Colts Going Strong,
dive Stock World.


Many breeders make the mistake Of.
letting up on the feeding OF the draft
bred colts and fillies when there is
quite some time elapsing between
shows, as for instance is the case this
season between the Illinois State fair
and the International Some breeders
having been pretty good to their young
things prior to the Illinois State talr
will let up on the amount fed right
after the close there, and will not be-
gin to feed heavily again until, say a
month before the opening of the big
Chicago live stock exposition. I his
is a great mistake, 1t never pays to
feed young stock after the pattern Of
a patchwork guilt,
1 Regularity in feeding young horses,
both as to time and amount, invaria bly,
pays. 1t is thought by some that feed@
Nng four times day is better than
E1ree times, and the weight Of exper-
fences is with them, Probably five
times is better than four times. All
young horses will eat whenever fresh
grain is placed in front of them and
by feeding five times the owner can
make more growth and condition than
he can by feeding three times. The
reason is simple enough. Fed five
times day, the colts get considerably
less as a ration than they do when
fed but three times. Under the lat
ter system if a colt is to get enough
grain to make him reach his maximum
growth he must eat such large guam
tity at a feed that it is not good for
them. On the 0 her hand, if he is led
five times a day he gets less as a
feed, but, for that reason is better able
to care for it and rid his system Of
waste. just that much sooner.
No, instead OF letting up after the
close of the Illinois faiBa just to take
the present fall as an@exampie, the
best way to do is to keep right along
with the same amount or more feed,
providing, always, that the amount fed
is not so great as to cause any cloy-
ing of the appetite. Just about this
time OF year the weather begins to
get cool, especially at night and it is
better, all things considered, to take
the young show stock up altogether
and deprive it oil greenfield altogether
The writer has never believed in
green feed for show stock. Sugar cane
after it has started its seed head
may be fed in very limited quantities,
but the more experienced feeders be
Come the less dependence they place
on grass, corn and the other foods too
Often fed in large amounts to Young
drafters being got ready for the shows
Green corn, especially, is bad stuff,
both stalks and ears. Grass won't
grow horse to any great size, any
way, in this country unless he gets ali
the grain he needs besides. 1t is well
enough to let yearling fillies intended
for the shows run in short pasture
during the nights in summer, being
given, in addition, all the grain and
dry hay they need during the day,
but grass alone is mighty poor pro-
vender on which to raise horses to
great weights.
II is all nonsense to think that in
ed on grass alone To be sure, they
even as stations, in pasture, but they
besides. In Belgium, where the fields
in some regions, the grass is carefully
mown daily, chopped up with hay and
and mixed with ground feed, the mess
DGlil2-lSu Ill lIOuSlIS III tAC vi lOto
where the colts run. Pasture is too
precious there, they figure, to permit
the animals to tramp over it, so they
cut the. grass and feed If in the man
.ner described. This system of feed
ing is pursued with the 2-year-olds as
we'll as those of more tender age, and
it is by no means good one, or at
least would not be in this country.
If that sort of feeding were tried in
this extremely continental climate,
with its extreme dry heat in summer,
the net result would be the produc-
ton of joints too soft to; stand the
strain.
Good hard boned, clean jointed colts
without material deviation from cor
rect conformation will stand lot of
feeding during weather such as we
are having just now. It ought not to
be much ola trick to make yearlings
gain three to five pounds a day, if
so much is required, and mot by any
means overfeed them, at that The
best way, however, is to keep the
growth going, on evenly right from
the date of birth Feeding should be
begun as soon as the foal will eat and
carried forward according to its ca
pacity until its desired growth has
been attained
Temporary cessations of feeding,
when not demanded by sickness OF
other causes, are always to the depre-
Gated Changes of all sorts make
trouble in growing horses to big
weights. The more steadily the con-
ditioning is done from the start the
evener will be the finish when it is
obtained.
Now is the time, too, when foals
that have not been taught to eat grain
should be given a chance to learn that
trick before being weaned Thous-
ands of foals are ruined each year by
lack of foresight on the part Of their
owners in this regard.