296 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



(d) Saltpetre to the extent of \ oz. per day may be 

 added to the drinking-water or the concentrated 

 food. 



For valuable animals it would generally be wise to 

 seek expert advice without delay, but in other cases this 

 treatment may be tried for a short time, to see if the 

 fever abates. 



(2) Ailments due to Errors of Diet. These ail- 

 ments generally affect the abdomen (colic), the legs 

 (weed), or the feet (laminitis), and may be caused by 

 one or more of the following errors of diet : 



(a] Giving cold water while the body is hot, or in 



some cases by watering the horse immediately 



after the feed of corn, through the coarse, 



unsoftened oat - hulls being washed into the 



bowels. 

 () Feeding wheat, new barley, and in some cases 



new oats in comparatively large quantities 



per day. 

 (c] Giving horses musty and mouldy hay, or hay 



while in the " sweat." 

 (d) Sudden changes of diet from dry food (hay and 



corn) to green food (vetches, pasture grass), or 



vice versa. 



(e] Giving big feeds to a tired and hungry horse. 

 (/) Feeding too much nutritious food (say, excess 



of beans), and too little exercise. 



Prevention is always better than cure, and probably 

 the most important thing to keep in mind when feeding 

 horses is that " all changes of diet should be gradual." 

 Sudden changes of diet are always danger ous^ 



