To regulate the mating of mares so that the foals shall be dropped at a suitable season is a matter of the greatest concern to the breeder of horses. In these days of horse shows, with their numerous and costly prizes, medals, championships, and challenge cups, great temptation is offered to the breeder of pedigree stock to strive after early produce, and resort to a system of forcing and pampering which, while productive of a limited and temporary success, cannot be otherwise than disastrous to the general well-being of the horse. As to the particular month of the year when foals should be encouraged to come, a great deal will depend upon the soil, locality, and climate in which they are to be reared, and, naturally, opinions on this question vary with the variations of experience gained under different local conditions. In a climate so uncertain and trying as ours, early foaling is distinctly prejudicial to the life and health of the offspring, and it is not too much to say that a large share of the loss and disappointment that breeders experience under ordinary conditions is due to this cause. Some consider the advantage of an early colt to be a good set-off against the risk entailed, and the latter part of February or the beginning of March is the time arranged for foaling to commence. With the prevailing winds from the east or north-east at this season of the year, cold rains and snow-storms, little sunlight, and a scanty supply of rank herbage, both mare and foal must either be subjected to confinement for several weeks, or face the rigours of the season and attendant risks. Nothing conduces so much to the health and well-being of the dam, and to the growth and stability of the foal in the first period of its life, as an abundance of spring grass and the vivifying influence of the solar rays.

These desiderata cannot be hoped for as a settled condition until the month of April has well advanced, and it is from this time onward, through May and June, that the best and strongest foals will be dropped, and most successfully reared. The best food that can be procured, and the most perfect stable and management that can be designed, are poor substitutes for the liberty, pure air, and rich succulent herbage of advanced spring.

Foals dropped late in the summer are at an equal disadvantage with those that appear too early. The grass at this time is losing its goodness, and the milk of the dam is indifferent both in quality and quantity. Besides, the nights are getting cold and damp, and, worse than everything, the youngster will be shedding its coat at a time when it should possess its winter suit. All this tends to lower the vitality of the individual, to check growth, and enfeeble development. If foals are to grow, and shape, and make good horses, they must bask in the sunshine of summer, and receive an abundant supply of the rich milk and ripe herbage it affords. Moreover, growth, to be attended with substantial development, must be continuous, and uninterrupted by the poverty and inclemency of both spring and autumn.

Light land districts where the soil is dry, the climate temperate, and the site protected, are the most congenial to early produce, but under the most favourable conditions early foals should only be turned out when the sun shines, and where shelter, in the shape of a comfortable shed, is provided.