'—317 — 



Bteause it is pleasing to the animcWs taste^ and more easily digested, 

 [A teaspoonful of salt in a bucket of water is sufl&cient.] 



11. Oats and corn should be bruised for an old horse but not 

 for a young one. Because the former, through age and defective teeth, 

 cannot chew them properly ; the young horse can do so, and they are 

 thiLS properly mixed with the saliva, and turned into wholesome nutri' 

 ment, 



12. Grass must always be cut for hay before the seed drops. 

 Because the juices thai ripeii the seed are the most valuable part of the 

 hay. If they are sucked out by its ripening and dropping, the grass 

 WILL NOT TURN INTO HAY ; but will wither and grow yellow. 



13. Vetches and cut grass should always be given in the spring 

 to horses that cannot be turned out into the fields. Because they 

 are very cooling and refreshing, and almost medicinal in their effects ; 

 but they must be supplied in moderation, as they are liable to ferment in 

 the stomach if given largely. 



14. Water your horse from a pond or stream, rather than from 

 a spring or well. Because the latter is generally hard and cold, while 

 the former is soft, and comparatively warm. The horse prefers soft, 

 muddy water to hard water-, though ever so clear. 



15. A horse should have at least a pail of water, morning and 

 evening ; or (still better) four half-pails ful, at four several times in 

 tlie day. Because this assuages his thirst without bloating him. But 

 ht should not be made to work directly after he has had a full 

 DRAUGHT of water ; for digestion and exertion can never go on together, 



16. Do not allow your horse to have warm water to drink. Be^ 

 cause, if he has to drink cold water, after getting accustomed to warm, it 

 will give him the colic. 



17. When your horse refuses his food, after drinking, go no fur- 

 ther that day. Because the poor creature is thoroughly beaten. 

 (See Humanity to Animals.) 



Fomentations. — This term has been used exclusively in the 

 application of warm water to an inflamed or sprained part, and 

 sometimes to a sore. I may be right or may be wrong, when I 

 say that the application of cold water to parts similarly affected, is 

 just as much entitled to the term fomentation, for certainly it is 

 applied the same way and for the same purpose, namely, to allay 

 irritation in the sore or sprained part ; and it has, from my own 



