FEEDING OF HUNTERS 57 



great believer in this last feed, and a good groom, 

 who takes an interest in his horses, will believe 

 in it too, though a lazy or beery stableman will 

 fight against it. I remember, once, when my stud 

 groom was laid up for some time, having a ' locum 

 tenens ' lent me by a friend. The man vv^as, in 

 many ways, a capable stable man, but rather too 

 fond of his nightly glass, and looked on visiting 

 stables at 9 p.m. as a ' fad ' not to be encouraged. 

 When I engaged him I told him I always 

 wished to see him at that hour, and, about the 

 third night he was with me, I went out. He 

 assured me that the horses had all been fed, though 

 every manger was clean and each horse told me 

 plainly enough that lie hadn't had his accustomed 

 feed. I waited patiently whilst each horse was fed 

 * again,' and during the remainder of his tenure of 

 oifice I believe the horses were fed as I wished, 

 though doubtless, in the village bar parlour, I was 

 stigmatised as ' no gentleman.' I always have 

 made a practice of going round stables occasion- 

 ally at night, not only to see that my rules for feed- 

 ing are carried out, but also to be sure that the 

 boxes are properly ventilated. 



As to the amount of food a hunter in work will 

 Amount of consumo per diem, you may calculate it 

 '""'' roughly at : Oats, 14 lbs., hay, 10 lbs., 

 with 10 lbs. straw for litter. 



