196 TRAINING AND RACING. 



of the food, the diaphragm will be impeded in its effort 

 to afford room for the action of the lungs. The question 

 of food, however, is one entirely dependant on conditions 

 of health and nutrition, while the trainer may rest 

 assured that if they be duly maintained, the animal's 

 organs will accommodate themselves, in the best possi- 

 ble manner, to the work which he is called upon to 

 perform. 



When a horse's powers are fully taxed, we may safely 

 rely on his appetite as the best guide for determining the 

 amount of his hay, corn, and water, for he will instinc- 

 tively choose the proportion best calculated to furnish 

 material for the repair of tissue; always supposing that 

 he shews no signs of ill-health. 



Health. As the due nutrition of the system is de- 

 pendant on the state of the general health, we should 

 endeavour to secure the former by maintaining the latter 

 in the best possible condition, thus avoiding the too com- 

 mon error of neglecting the cause for the effect. Hence, 

 if the slightest symptom of indisposition can be traced 

 to the effects of the food, its nature or amount, as 

 the case may be, should be at once changed. The usual 

 symptoms of derangement, caused by errors in diet, are 

 feverishness with quickened pulse, hot dry skin, &c. ; 

 looseness or constipation of the bowels ; the presence of 

 flakes of mucous mixed with the dung, indicating irrita- 

 tion of the intestines ; sour smell from the mouth, grinding 

 of the teeth, licking white-washed walls, &c., shewing 

 acidity of the stomach ; dark coloured urine, evincing 

 that the animal is fed on food of a too highly nitrogenous 

 nature ; yellowness of the gums and lining membrane 



