ON THE STABLE. 159 



Barley and buck-wheat are sometimes 

 given. Barley is undoubtedly a wholesome 

 food for horses, but it is seldom employed as 

 such, except it has been damaged by the weather, 

 and rendered unfit for malting. In this state, 

 its wholesomeness becomes very questionable. 

 Grain of every description may be much easier 

 and more perfectly digested by being first bruised 

 in a mill. Cut straw helps to fill the stomach; 

 much nutriment, however, is not to be expected 

 from it; but it has the good effect of obliging 

 the horse to chew his corn better before he can 

 swallow it. In the spring of the year, vetches 

 and young clover are given to horses whose em- 

 ployments prevent them from being turned to 

 grass; but these should be used very moderately, 

 as fatal consequences sometimes arise from their 

 fermentation in the stomach, and the rarefaction 

 of the air contained in them. Carrots con- 

 stitute a very grateful and nutritious diet, and 

 are particularly beneficial to thick-winded 

 horses. 



With 



