20 STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



bucket in the " compound " (garden or enclosure 

 round the house). " Syces," like all natives of India, 

 have no idea of the value of time; and if he 

 has his "hooka" (pipe), and a friend to talk to 

 about the price of food-stuffs, rates of wages, and 

 other such-like interesting bazaar topics, he is per- 

 fectly content to sit holding the bucket before the 

 horse all day long, if necessary. If the animal 

 refuses his food altogether, then it should be taken 

 away, for if left standing in front of him he breathes 

 on it, and if it remains any considerable time it 

 becomes sour and fermented, and he gets disgusted 

 with it; whereas, if taken away and nothing more 

 given till next feeding-time, the appetite often re- 

 turns, and the food is consumed with a relish; 

 especially in the warm weather, if he is first led out 

 and exercised, or picketed out under a tree. On no 

 account should the feed that has been refused be 

 kept over till the next feeding-time; a fresh one 

 should be prepared, as in a hot climate wet grain 

 ferments and turns sour in a very short space of 

 time. 



Times of Feeding. 



The stomach of the horse is very small in pro- 

 portion to the size of his body, and he requires to 



