132 THE HORSE 



or shovel, a pail for watering, and a lantern which can 

 be hung from the ceiling of the car. Some men like a 

 hammock to sleep in, but I have always preferred a 

 bunch of hay or straw. 



It is best, I think, to feed little or no grain to a 

 horse on the cars so long as he shows any sign of fear 

 or nervousness, but let him have as much hay as he 

 wants. Horses almost invariably shrink while being 

 carred, which shows that the journey takes a good deal 

 out of them. When taken off the cars they always 

 appear to be in high spirits, but this undoubtedly is the 

 result of the nervous stimulation which they have 

 received. 



The secret of transporting horses by sea without 

 injury is to feed them very lightly for the first few 

 days — no grain except bran, and not too much hay. 

 If they are fed from the start in the usual manner, sea- 

 sickness, and in many cases death, will be sure to follow. 

 During the Boer war, when many horses and mules 

 were shipped from this country to South Africa, the 

 losses were sometimes enormous. One vet lost more 

 than half of the horses that he carried on his first trip. 

 In other cases the losses were very small, not more than 

 five or six, and in at least one case a cargo of 1,200 

 mules was transported from New Orleans to South 

 Africa without the loss of a single one. 



