FOOD. 375 



gus without injuring the life of the seed. Many persons, but without just cause, 

 have considerable fear of the kiln-burnt oat. It is said to produce inflammation of 

 the bladder, and of the eyes, and man^ affections of the skin. The fact is, that 

 many of the kiln-dried oats that are given to horses were damaged before they were 

 dried, and thus became unhealthy. A considerable improvement would be effected 

 by cutting the unthreshed oat-straw into chaff, and the expense of threshing would 

 be saved. Oat-straw is better than that of barley, but does not contain so nmch nu 

 triment as that of wheal. 



When the horse is fed on hay and oats, the quantity of the oats must vary with 

 his size and the work to be performed. In winter, four feeds, or from ten to fourteen 

 pounds of oats in the day, will be a fair allowance for a horse of fifteen hands one 

 or two inches high, and that has moderate work. In summer, half the quantity, with 

 green food, will be sufficient. Those who work on the farm have from ten to four- 

 teen pounds, and the hunter from twelve to sixteen. There are no efficient and safe 

 substitutes for good oats; but, on the contrary, we are much inclined to believe that 

 they possess an invigorating property which is not found in other food. 



Oatmeal will form a poultice more stimulating than one composed of linseed meal 

 alone — or they may be mingled in different proportions, as circumstances require. In 

 the form of gruel it constitutes one of the most important articles of diet for the sick 

 horse — not, indeed, forced upon him, but a pail containing it being slung in his box, 

 and of which he will soon begin to drink when water is denied. Few grooms make 

 good gruel ; it is either not boiled long enough, or a sufficient quantity of oatmeal has 

 not been used. The proportions should be, a pound of meal thrown into a gallon of 

 water, and kept constantly stirred until it boils, and five minutes afterwards. 



White-water, made by stirring a pint of oatmeal in a pail of water, the chill being 

 taken from it, is an excellent beverage for the thirsty and tired horse. 



Barlev is a common food of the horse on various parts of the Continent, and, 

 until the introduction of the oat, seems to have constituted almost his only food. It 

 is more nutritious than oats, containing nine hundred and twenty parts of nutritive 

 matter in every thousand. There seems, however, to be something necessary be- 

 sides a great proportion of nutritive matter, in order to render any substance whole- 

 some, strengthening, or fattening; therefore it is that, in many horses that are hardly 

 worked, and, indeed, in horses generally, barley does not agree with tliem so well as 

 oats. They are occasionally subject to inflammatory complaints, and particularly to 

 surfeit and mange. 



When barley is given, the quantity should not exceed a peck daily. It should 

 always be bruised, and the chaff should consist of equal quanti'ies of hay and bar- 

 ley-straw, and not cut too short. If the farmer has a quantity of spotted or unsale- 

 able barley that he wishes thus to get rid of, he must very gradually accustom his 

 horses to it, or he will probably produce serious illness among them. For horses that 

 are recovering from illness, barley, in the form of malt, is often serviceable, as tempt- 

 ing the appetite and recruiting the strength. It is best given in mashes — water, con- 

 siderably below the boiling heat, being poured upon it, and the vessel or pail kept 

 covered for half an hour. 



Grains fresh from the mash-tub, either alone, or mixed with oats or chaff, or both, 

 may be occasionally given to horses of slow draught; they would, however, afford 

 very insufficient nourishment for horses of quicker or harder work. 



Wheat is, in Great Britain, more rarely given than barley. It contains nine hun- 

 dred and fifty-five parts of nutritive matter. When farmers have a damaged or un- 

 marketable sample of wheat, they sometimes give it to their horses, and, being at 

 first used in small quantities, they become accustomed to it, and thrive and work 

 well : it must, however, always be bruised and given in chaff. Wheat contains a 

 greater portion of gluten, or sticky, adhesive matter, than any other kind of grain. 

 It is difficult of digestion, and apt to cake and form obstructions in the bowels. This 

 W'ill oftener be the case if the horse is suffered to drink much water soon after feed- 

 ing upon wheat. 



Fermentation, colic, and death, are occasionally the consequence of eating any 

 great quantity of wheat. A horse that is fed on wheat should have very little hay. 

 The proportion should not be more than one truss of hay to two of straw. Wheaten 

 flour, boiled in water to the thickness of starch, is given with good effect in over-purg- 

 ing, and especially if combined with chalk and opium. 



