326 Feeds and Feeding. 



gestion of hay; in the first, the material is pushed on, almost as 

 soon as it enters the stomach, into the intestines by the food which 

 follows, while toward the end of the meal the passage is slow and 

 the digestion in the stomach more perfect. 



Marlot, conducting experiments at the Agricultural College, 

 Department of Yonne, France, fed four quarts of oats to a horse 

 which was killed soon after. An examination of the stomach 

 showed that three quarts of the oats had been carried by the 

 water into the intestines. The grain of the ration being rich in 

 protein should remain in the stomach as long as possible for the 

 digestion of this nutrient. 



Sanborn, studying the effects of watering before and after feed- 

 ing, concludes as follows: 1 



"1. Horses watered before feeding grain retained their weight 

 better than when watered after feeding grain. 2. Horses watered 

 before feeding had the better appetite or ate the most. 3. Horses 

 watered after feeding grain, in ratio to the food eaten, seemed to 

 digest it as well as those watered before feeding. In a prior trial 

 there was a small apparent advantage in favor of feeding after 

 watering, on digestion. 4. It seems advisable to water both be- 

 fore and after feeding. " 



In some cases cruelty is certainly practiced towards horses in 

 withholding a normal water supply. Splan 2 writes: "As to 

 water I think every horse should have all he wants at all times. 

 A man says: Why, will you give your horse water before a race ? 

 Yes, before the race, in the race and after the race, arid any other 

 time the horse wants to drink. . . . When I said give your 

 horse all the water he wants before the race, I do not mean that 

 you shall tie him up where he cannot get a drink for five or six 

 hours on a hot day in a warm stall, and then take him to the pump 

 and give him all he wants. What I mean is to give him water 

 often, and in that way he will take but a small quantity at a 

 time." 



In general we may say that horses should have their regular 

 and largest supply of water previous to feeding, and it may also 



1 Bui. 9, Utah Expt. Sta. 



* Life with the Trotters, pp. 302-3. 



