FOOD. 41 



Horses not Feeding. 



Horses refuse their food from a variety of causes. 

 It is usually the first symptom noticed in the 

 majority of attacks of illness, and I cannot too 

 strongly urge that in such cases the sooner pro- 

 fessional advice is obtained the better, there being- 

 nothing in which the old proverb, " a stitch in time 

 saves nine," more applies to. On the other hand, 

 horse owners are inclined to get very anxious with- 

 out cause about horses not feeding, and to imagine 

 that because he refuses to feed, or does not finish it 

 up with a good appetite, that the animal is in a 

 dangerous state. Horses are much like ourselves, 

 and we all know that we sometimes do not feel in- 

 clined to do justice to a "square" meal, and that if 

 we dine off a plate of soup we feel ready for a good 

 breakfast in the morning. If the horse refuses his 

 feed, or only plays about with it, have it at once 

 removed ; at the next only give him a little hay or 

 grass, and the probabilities are that at the next he 

 will eat up his grain with a hearty appetite. If he 

 does not, then the sooner professional advice is called 

 in the better, as you may be certain that something 



