220 THE HORSE, 
able to do without the aid of the professed singer and clipper, by repeated 
applications of the lamp. 
OIL BRUSHES are required, and also a small can of either neat’s-foot or 
fish oil, to apply to the outside of the feet before going out of the stable, 
and the former also to dress the saddlery and harness when required. 
BanDaAGEs are of two kinds; firstly, of flannel, for the purpose of keep- 
ing the legs warm, when they have been washed, or during illness ; and, 
secondly, of linen, cotton webbing, or unbleached calico, to give support 
to the vessels, and keep the legs and feet cool. Both should be about 
seven inches wide and five or six yards long, and should finish off by 
turning the corners down to a point where two strings are sewn, which 
tie round the leg, and prevent the last turn becoming loose. The strings 
are rolled inwards, so as to come out last; and the whole should be firmly 
and smoothly rolled up some hours before they are to be applied, so as to 
get rid of the creases left during the last application. 
FOOD AND WATER. 
In Great Britain anp Irexanp horses are chiefly fed upon grass 
(green or dried into the form of hay), corn, chaff (which is hay cut up with 
straw into short lengths), and roots of various kinds; but in addition may 
be mentioned the following kinds of green food—namely, clover, tares or 
vetches, lucerne, rye-grass, saintfoin, green oats, gorse or furze, and, lastly, 
the various stimulating mixtures which have lately come into fashion, 
being sold under the name of Thorley, Henri, &c. 
Grass is undoubtedly the natural food of the horse, though in his 
native plains the same species of plants are not met with as form the 
green surface of om own fields. inglish horses, however, may now be 
said to be thoroughly accustomed to our grasses, which seem to agree with 
these animals so well as to be one main cause of their superiority. The 
water grasses, which constitute a large proportion of the herbage found in 
our lowland meadows, are not suited to the constitution of the animal; 
and he will not take them, unless forced to do so by the absence of other 
and preferable food. On our uplands, clover (either white or red) is gene- 
rally more or less mixed ; and in proportion to their presence will the 
pasture suit the horses turned out to graze upon them. A sound and 
moderately young animal gets fat during the summer and autumn months, 
when turned out on a good upland meadow; but he is not able to undergo 
long-continued exertion, especially at a fast pase, partly because the 
amount of fat accumulated in his internal organs interferes with his wind, 
but chiefly from the fact that grass does not supply sufficient muscle- 
making materials for the wear and tear of his frame. If the horse is 
allowed as much oats as usual, and has regular exercise, he will be able to 
do a good day’s work while at grass; but he will sweat profusely, and on 
that account, if he is required to repeat his task often, he will lose flesh 
and become jaded in his spirits. For these reasons, grass is not commonly 
used as food for the horse, excepting for the purpose either of keeping him 
cheaply and conveniently, while he is undergoing treatment for some 
accident or disease, or to afford a renovating change after a long-continued 
course of hay and corn. For the former of these purposes, the horse is 
generally turned into the fields ; but for the latter, he is very often sup- 
plied with cut-grass, or some other kind of green food, in his stall or box. 
The effect of grass, when given by itself, is apparent in its action on the 
bowels, which is at first very marked, and also on the kidneys and skin. 
