Horse SecretsAlexander, A. S. (Alexander Septimus)
Science
Horse Secrets
Alexander, A. S. (Alexander Septimus)
Horses
Splitting the Profit Three Ways 55
A Glossary of Market Terms 56
Horse Feeding Secrets.
Secret of Hand Raising a Foal.
An orphan foal can be successfully raised on cows’ milk if the work is
intelligently and patiently conducted. Mares’ milk is sweeter than cows’
milk, but less rich in butter fat; therefore, in using cows’ milk for
foal feeding, choose that which is poor in butter fat—3 per cent. or
thereabout—and sweeten it with sugar or molasses. The latter sweetening
has the advantage of acting as a mild aperient.
It should be remembered that the first milk (colostrum) of the mare
contains a purgative principle for the removal of the meconium from the
intestinal tract of the foal, and as the orphan foal does not receive
this natural cathartic it is apt to suffer from constipation, which may
prove fatal. To prevent this inject into the rectum of the foal, twice
daily from birth, two or three ounces of warm water containing one to two
teaspoonfuls of glycerine, and continue this treatment until the bowels
have been moved freely.
A mixture of equal quantities of cream, molasses and warm water also
makes a good injection fluid for a young foal, and some horsemen insert a
small, thin tallow-dip candle into the rectum for a like purpose.
At first the foal should be fed once an hour, but gradually the times
of feeding may be reduced in number. Feed the milk blood warm, giving
at first half a cupful at each meal and with it three tablespoonfuls of
lime water to the pint of milk. The foal will take the milk readily from
a large rubber nipple fitted on the neck of a feeding bottle which must
be often well scalded. A kid glove thumb perforated and fitted over the
spout of a small teapot will do almost as well as a rubber nipple and
feeding bottle.
Hand-fed foals tend to scour. When such trouble starts withhold two or
more feeds of milk, and give one to four tablespoonfuls of castor oil in
milk, according to the severity of the attack and the size of the foal,
and repeat the dose every time there is any derangement of the digestive
organs.
Soon the foal may be fed but six times a day, then four times, and in a
few weeks it will freely take milk and lime water from a clean pail. At
this stage sugar may be omitted and the lime water be given only once a
day. The secret of success is to feed a little milk often and to keep all
utensils scrupulously sweet and clean. As soon as he will take to it,
the foal may be allowed to lick oatmeal in small quantities; gradually
increase the amount and add wheat bran. After six weeks give a little
sweet skim-milk in place of a part of the new milk, and by increasing
the amount day by day the foal may at three months old take skim-milk
entirely and continue to drink it freely three or four times daily while
eating grass, grain and bran.
Secret of Feeding Silage to Horses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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