PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING. 233 



complete it. The evils arising from prolonged abstinence are 

 less dangerous than those arising from fast work on a full 

 stomach. 



The work which must be performed with an empty stom- 

 ach, should be finished as quickly as circumstances will per- 

 mit. In order that the racer or the hunter may have all the 

 vigor he ought to have, his work should be over before ab- 

 stinence begins to produce debility. How long he must fast 

 before he is fit to commence his task, must depend upon the 

 pace, the distance, and the horse's condition. The stomach, 

 after an ordinary meal of grain, is probably empty in about 

 four hours. For a pace of eight or ten miles an hour, it does 

 not need to be empty ; if the food be so far digested that it 

 will not readily ferment, a little may remain in the stomach 

 without rendering the horse unfit for exertion of this kind. 

 Coaching-horses, therefore, go to the road in from one to two 

 hours after feeding. For a hunting-pace, perhaps a digestion 

 of two hours will secure the food from fermentation : and in 

 that time, after a moderate meal, the weight and bulk of the 

 food which remains in the stomach will not encumber the 

 horse nor impede his breathing. For a racing-pace the 

 stomach must be empty, and the bowels must not be full. I 

 do not know exactly how long racers are fed before com- 

 mencing their work. The time appears to vary, spare feed- 

 ers not being required to fast so long as those of better ap- 

 petite. I rather think that they are often, or sometimes, kept 

 too long without food ; but I have little right to venture an 

 opinion on the subject. It appears that racers sometimes re- 

 ceive no food on running days till their work is over. If hay 

 were withheld for twelve hours, and grain for three or four 

 before starting, I should think such restriction would be 

 sufficient. These horses, however, are always in high con- 

 dition ; they can afford to fast for a long time before fasting 

 produces exhaustion, and the distance they run is so short 

 that the expenditure of nutriment is not great. With horses 

 in lower condition, having less spare nutriment in them, a 

 fast of twelve hours produces a sensible diminution of energy, 

 and in this state he is not fit to perform all that he could per- 

 form after abstinence of only four or six hours. In the course 

 of training, cither for the course or the field, the groom should 

 learn how long the horse can bear fasting without losing 

 vigor, and that will tell him how to regulate the diet on the 

 lay of work. 



When the distance is considerable, or the work requiring 

 SO* 



