32 The Management and Treatment of the Horse, 



in the loose box with the horse, which was tied up, but 

 during the night it managed to slip its headcollar. The 

 ]ad had brought a bushel of corn with him, and at night 

 brought a pail of water into the stable for the morning's 

 use, and being very tired lay down upon a sack and fell 

 asleep; the horse being awake and loose, amused itself by 

 eating nearly all the corn and drinking all the water. 

 When the lad awoke at about four o'clock in the morning 

 the old horse was blown out like a barrel. The lad was 

 in a sad way, and hardly knew what to do ; however, he 

 took the horse out and walked it about for two or three 

 hours, then brought him into the stable and put a muzzle 

 on him. He was afraid to tell the trainer what had 

 happened, and at two o'clock the horse was taken to 

 the saddling paddock, the flag fell, and Oakstick sailed 

 away, never running better in his life, and won the race 

 (a four mile steeplechase) in a common canter against 

 sixteen others. Neither of us have ever sent our horses 

 out for a hard day's work hungry since. I know one 

 gentleman now who will not allow his groom to feed his 

 horse more than twice a-day, and he is surprised to find 

 that it suffers from indigestion. After letting the heat 

 of its stomach consume itself for ten hours per day, and 

 when the horse is famishing with hunger, giving it as 

 much as it can consume, it does not properly chew its 

 food, but it swallows it whole. I was once asked by a 

 gentleman how I managed with a bad-feeding horse, to 

 which I replied that I never had one many days. But, 

 said the gentleman, if you had one would you not give 

 tonic powders. I replied, certainly, such as nature sup- 

 plies. " What do you mean ? " he asked. I said, " If I 



