HORSES AND MULES. 281 



the ground. This brings us to the subject of Food. The pasture 

 •is the natural feeding-ground of the horse. Tender, juicy gr:iss 

 and twigs are his natural food. His teeth are soft, his throat, 

 stomach, and intestines are sensitive. In feeding the horse, 

 these plain facts are generally overlooked or ignored. No posi- 

 tive rule for feeding all horses can be given ; but the foo'i 

 should be soft, juicy, easily digested. It should be clean and 

 sweet. Clean, fresh water should be always within his reach. 

 The farmer's horse can and should have more or less pasturage. 

 When the grass is green and tender, in the spring, the horse 

 delights in it. In the warm summer nights, if possible, he 

 should be permitted to roam at his pleasure in the pasture, 

 rather than be confined in the heated stable, tormented by flies 

 and other insects. The cool, dewy grass will be very beneficial 

 to him. When confined in the stable in warm weather, the 

 upper half of the stable door should be open, and he be free to 

 thrust his head out into the night air if he choose, which he cer- 

 tainly will. We have, in the chapter on breeding, referred to 

 the food necessary for the marc and foal, and will only speak 

 liere of the food of working horses. 



Too much hay and too little grain is the mistake in feeding 

 working horses. For ordinary work, from eight to ten pounds 

 of hay, (by which we mean the best of hay, properly prepared,) 

 and twelve quarts of good heavy oats is amply sufficient for 

 regular feed. They should be fed with a lock of hay and a 

 half-pail of water on opening the stable ; and when the stables 

 have been cleaned and aired, and the horse groomed, he should 

 have the other half-pail of water, and, if going out, six quarts of 

 oats, if not, four quarts, and, after these are eaten, four or five 

 pounds of hay. Horses should be watered, if convenient, during 

 the forenoon, and certainly at noon, when they should have four 

 quarts more of oats, and when they return at night, should be 



