FEEDING SICK HORSES 97 



is best insured by keeping water always before the 

 patient. Food should be offered frequently in small 

 quantities, and never allowed to remain in the manger 

 untouched for any length of time. The manger itself 

 should receive attention and be kept scrupulously clean, 

 especially in summer, when damp or cooked foods are 

 very liable to become sour. The height of the manger 

 from the floor may require to be altered in some cases, and 

 it may even happen sometimes that the horse can only 

 feed comfortably with the food near the ground-level. 

 The bran mash as a food for sick horses is deservedly 

 popular, for it is usually appreciated by the patient at 

 first as a welcome change from ordinary dry food, and, if a 

 horse has any appetite at all, is taken with avidity. At the 

 same time, bran-mash is a food of which a horse speedily 

 tires. If the appetite needs coaxing, change of food is 

 all important, and the mash may be varied in flavour by 

 the addition of a handful of maize-meal, pea-meal, bean- 

 meal, oatmeal, crushed oats, or boiled linseed, before 

 mixing. By this means the horse can be kept feeding 

 when he would steadily refuse simple mash. A bran 

 mash is made by putting a sufi&cient quantity (1 to 3 lbs.) 

 of bran into a perfectly clean bucket, pouring on boiling 

 water, and stirring vigorously till the required consist- 

 ence is obtained. The addition of a little salt makes the 

 mash more palatable, and it is made sloppy or kept fairly 

 dry according to the needs of the case. After adding the 

 hot water, the bucket is covered with a sack and left till 

 cool enough to be eaten. Care must be taken not to give 

 a mash too hot, or the horse may easily scald his muzzle 

 and mouth. A mash diet is laxative, nutritious, and 

 suitable for the majority of cases of sickness in horses, 

 also during preparation for surgical operations, or before 



7 



