42 STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



Damaged Food. 



Damaged, mouldy, or sour food, the horse, of 

 course, will not eat unless he is very hungry, and 

 then only sufficient to stay his appetite. Damaged 

 grain there is no excuse for, and can only be given 

 through carelessness or indifference on the part of 

 the owner or his servants. Sour food, or food that 

 has fermented, is, with the best intentions, likely to 

 be placed before the animal, as it is surprising how 

 soon fermentation will set up in damp grain in a 

 hot climate. The food should not be damped more 

 than twenty minutes or half an hour at the most 

 before it is given, and a dirty bucket will easily con- 

 taminate it. In the hot weather in India, particularly 

 during the rains, when both man and beast are down 

 below par, very little will put both off their feed. 

 If the food, however, is at all sour it ought to be at 

 once detected, as the smell is unmistakable. 



Irregular Teeth. 



In old horses the back teeth get irregular and 

 worn in such a fashion that the food cannot be 

 masticated and crushed, and is not then properly 

 digested. The upper jaw of the horse is wider than 

 the lower one, so that the upper teeth overlap the 



