390 FODDER. 



may be that though his servant is honest, the owner is al- 

 most if not quite as much a loser by his horses being 

 underfed as though the servant, for the purpose of increas- 

 ing the size of his commission, allowed the horses more than 

 is required. 



In order to feed a horse economically it is absolutely 

 necessary that all the provender should be of the best qual- 

 ity procurable and that it should be in kind and quantity 

 according to the age of the horse, his temperament, the sea- 

 son of the year and amount of work the animal is daily per- 

 forming. This of course does not apply to the cheapest 

 mode of merely keeping a horse alive, but to maintaining 

 him in such condition as best enables him to perform a rea- 

 sonable amount of work. 



Because certain foods are too heating to give during the 

 summer season is no reason why they should not be em- 

 ployed, and to advantage, at a period of the year when the 

 horse, like his owner, feels the need of a more stimulating 

 diet. Meal, corn, beans and similar foods are very valuable 

 adjuncts or alternatives, providing they are given under the 

 right conditions and in judicious quantities. In summer it 

 is of even more importance that attention should be given 

 to the horse's diet, as his work is analogous to that of an 

 athlete, and the food given should be of the same cooling 

 nature as is required by man. 



FODDER. 



In considering the several foods that form a small pro- 

 portion of the innumerable kinds on which a horse can exist, 

 but does not invariably thrive, those that have been found 

 to contain the required nourishment and offer sufficient va- 



