The writer was taught this while showing at a County Show very early in his career. The animal he was leading was--like himself--rather badly educated, and this was noticed by one of the oldest and best judges of that day, and this is what he whispered in his ear, “My lad, if you would only spend your time training your horses instead of going to cricket they would do you more credit and win more prizes.” This advice I have never forgotten, and I pass it on for the benefit of those who have yet to learn “the ropes.” CHAPTER VI REARING AND FEEDING During the past few years we have heard much about early maturity with all kinds of stock. Four-year-old bullocks are rarely seen in these days, while wether sheep are being superseded by tegs. With Shire Horses there has been a considerable amount of attention paid to size in yearlings, two- and three-year-olds, which, as before stated, is equivalent to early maturity in the case of cattle and sheep. For the purpose of getting size an animal must be well fed from birth, and this applies to foals. Of course, the date of birth counts for a good deal when foals are shown with their dams, as it does to a less extent with yearlings, but after that age it makes very little difference whether a foal is born in February or in May. From a farmer’s point of view I do not believe in getting Shire foals too early. They have to be housed for a lengthened period, and the dams fed on food which may be expensive. At the present time good oats are worth 30_s._ per quarter, and hay, fit for horses, at least 90_s._ per ton, so that two or three months of winter feeding means a little sum added to the cost of raising a foal. The middle of April is early enough for the average foal to arrive, and he can then make quite a good size by September if his dam is an ordinarily good suckler and he contracts no ailments, such as chills or scour, to check his progress. When colts are a month old they will begin to pick up crushed oats and bran while the dam is feeding, therefore it is no trouble to teach them to eat from a manger. A word of caution is necessary to the inexperienced in the matter of feeding the dam until the foal is a few days old and strong enough to take all her milk. This is to feed the mare sparingly so as not to flush her milk while the youngster is unable to take it fast enough. Of course, the surplus can be milked away, as it should be if the bag is tight, but this may be neglected and then scour is often set up, which a very young foal often succumbs to. It is better that the mare should have too little than too much milk while the youngster gets fairly on his legs. Cows always have most of their milk taken away, but young lambs as well as foals often suffer through taking too much of the dam’s milk during the first day or two of their existence.