FIRK HORSES. 241 



though not so extreme, is sufficient to disturb the 

 animal's health, to impair his digestion, to prevent 

 his taking the needed amount of rest, so that event- 

 ually he too, after being doctored perhaps for an 

 imaginary disease, is transferred to some more peace- 

 ful occupation. 



Now that we have seen how a fire-engine horse is 

 instructed, and where he lives, it might be interest- 

 ing to know in what manner his daily life is ordered. 

 He takes breakfast, in Boston, at five or half past, 

 in some houses as late as six o'clock, — the meal con- 

 sisting, as a rule, of two quarts of oats. After break- 

 fast, he receives a thorough grooming, and about ten 

 o'clock he goes out to walk for an hour, with an 

 occasional trot, one horse of a pair being ridden and 

 the other led. At half past eleven or twelve he has 

 dinner, — two quarts of oats again, — which also is the 

 allowance for supper, at half past five or six. Some 

 old and some delicate horses have nine quarts of oats 

 per day. Usually a bran mash is given once a week, 

 and in some houses a little bran is fed every day. In 

 the afternoon the horse has another hour of exercise, 

 supposing that no fire has occurred. ' Hay is allowed 

 at night only, and in most of the houses it is fed from 

 the floor, so that the horse can eat it while lying 

 down. For several reasons this method is far better 

 than feeding from a rack, especially for the fire horse, 

 who takes a long while to eat his hay, inasmuch as the 

 bit remains in his mouth. In most cities the grain 

 allowance is about the same as it is in Boston, al- 

 though in Chicago the horses are fed just twice as 

 much, twelve quarts per day, and in Brooklyn, as I 

 am informed, the allowance varies from twelve to 



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