182 TRAINING AND RACING. 



fat, while his legs are infirm. A horse on a full allowance 

 of corn will eat far less hay than what is commonly sup- 

 posed. Colonel Fitzwygram states, that " practically it 

 will be found that horses, which are not limited in re- 

 gard to oats, will not usually consume above six pounds 

 of hay per diem." 



In concluding this subject, I may remark that the train- 

 ner, while supplying the horse with food suitable for 

 the requirements of his system, when undergoing severe 

 work, should never lose sight of the fact that the proper 

 assimilation of such food, can only be ensured as long 

 as the functions of digestion are in a healthy condition. 

 To maintain which, he should study the general question 

 of diet, the various peculiarities of each individual 

 horse ; should preserve a sufficient variety in the food, 

 so that the animal be not disgusted by a never-ending 

 monotony, and should supplement the hard fare, from 

 time to time, with a handful of carrots or turnips ; a 

 bunch of lucern, of freshly picked green grass, or of 

 young oats or wheat ; a piece of sugar-cane ; a linseed 

 mash ; anything, in fact, to keep their appetites from 

 palling on corn, which is, after all, the chief source from 

 which to obtain muscle. 



