ON THE STABLE. 157 



gons and stage coaches generally experience 

 the greatest losses when the roads are bad, and 

 the labour much increased. 



As the foregoing evils are in a great measure 

 the result of a want of regulation in the diet of 

 the animal. It remains to point out the plan ne- 

 cessary to be pursued in this respect. The 

 common practice is to feed all horses in the 

 same proportion, without regard either to the 

 labour they perform, or to their ages and consti- 

 tutions. The impropriety of til is practice mu<«t 

 be sufficiently evident, and it is, without doubt, 

 the basis of many diseases. In regulating the 

 proportions to be given to different horses, much 

 judgment Is not required. The following hints 

 may probably suffice. For a saddle or coach- 

 horse, which, on the average, goes about ten 

 miles daily (and there are some thousands which 

 do not perform even so much) half a peck of 

 sound oats, with eighteen pounds of good hay, 

 will be quite sufficient. If the hay is not good, 



another 



