16 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



Hence, \l a Horse is put to fast work, his food 

 should be of that quality that affords the most 

 nutriment, and that lays in the smallest com- 

 pass, and requires the least water to digest it ; 

 consequently, the Horse's wind will be the 

 least distressed. If his work be hard, that is, 

 continued for several hours, but not at any 

 extraordinary speed, he may have more abund- 

 antly of hay, and even beans with his oats. 

 Chaff, if sweet and good, is proper for some 

 Horses, such as have thin light carcases, and 

 do not work hard. Those Horses that eat their 

 corn greedily without masticating it, and it 

 comes away with their dung, a handful or two 

 of good sweet clover chaff with such Horses 

 will be infinitely serviceable, as they will be 

 obliged to chew or masticate the oats with the 

 chaff before they can swallow it. But though 

 chaff is filling, it must be sparingly given to 

 Horses required to be in condition, as it fills 

 them up, and makes them inclined to drink, 

 by which they will appear plump and fair to 

 the eye, but not in condition for work. It is 

 most proper for slow draught Horses. 



To convey some idea of the quantity of hay 

 that may be necessary for a saddle Horse, I 

 shaM say from eight to sixteen pounds per day 

 according to size, constitution, &c., &c. ; so 

 that, if we take the medium, about twelve 

 pounds will be found generally sufficient ; but 

 large carriage Horses will require more, we 

 may say, from sixteen to twenty pounds per 

 day. Having mentioned an indefinite quantity, 

 judgment according to circumstances must 

 direct the remainder. If your Horses get lank 

 and more hollow in the flank and quarters than 

 you like, you must increase their allowance ; 

 but, on the contrary, you must not, for the sake 

 of having your Horses fat and plump, supply 

 them with too much hay and water. A Horse 



when fat is less fit for work than when lean 

 and poor, provided that poverty was not oc- 

 casioned by starvation, for a Horse may be 

 lean and poor by his work exceeding his keep ; 

 or, if a Horse is stinted to an allowance that 

 would keep him in tolerable condition with 

 only a little walking exercise, and then put to 

 work without an increase of food, he will of 

 course become thin ; but if you have not 

 taken so much out of him as to exhaust his 

 strength, as well as his flesh, he will become 

 nothing the worse for it; increase his food, 

 and he will be better for work than before. 



A Horse that is full of flesh, though it may 

 be in consequence of good and wholesome 

 food, with good looking after and regular ex- 

 ercise, is, nevertheless, not in that condition 

 that is most desirable ; for his flesh in this 

 state is an incumbrance, and were you to put 

 him to an excessive day's work, before you 

 had gradually reduced him, it might occasion 

 some inflammatory disease. 



Good oats is the most nutritious food for 

 saddle Horses, if given in proper quantities ; 

 this must, in some measure, be proportioned to 

 the work or exercise the Horse has to contend 

 with. You may keep a Horse in condition with 

 three quarters of oats per day, provided his work 

 is no more than exercise ; but if your work be 

 much, you must increase his food proportion- 

 ably, and according to his constitution ; some 

 Horses being much heartier feeders than 

 others. If the Horse be kept to constant hard 

 work, you are in no danger of over-feeding 

 him, if you were to give him as much as he 

 could eat ; but high feed, without work, would, 

 as I have observed, make him gross and unfit 

 for work. 



Beans are excellent and stimulating food for 

 Horses, that is, hard working Horses, but not 



