Feeding. 43 



in the waggons and at plough, that they under- 

 take to build horses as many contractors do 

 houses : run up the frames and bare walls, and 

 then sell them to other people to put the plaster 

 on ; or perhaps they are of a philosophic turn of 

 mind, and would answer as Butterwick did, when 

 twitted about his horse, ^^Who wants to see a 

 horse even from stem to stern ? No, sir ; it is 

 monotonous and wearisome to the mind. Which 

 is best, a level plain, or landscape with a little 

 bit of hill and a little bit of valley ? You have 

 it in a horse like mine; and, beside, you are 

 always sure that nobody has stolen a single, soli- 

 tary bone, and you have all you purchased. If 

 he was as fat as a bladder of lard, how should 

 we know that some of its most important bones 

 were not missing?" The carriage horse and 

 hunter should always be fed on the best old oats, 

 with white peas or beans, or what is better, both. 

 Some people will say that old beans make horses 

 legs fill ; depend upon it^ they oftener fill for the 

 vjant of them. Four quarterns of oats and one 

 of beans, is as much as one horse will eat in a 

 day as a rule, if he is in good condition, with 

 a little sweet hay morning and night. I always 

 give cut hay with corn, as it makes the horse 

 masticate his food better; he does not swallow 

 the corn whole, as some greedy feeders are apt 

 to do. I do not think clover good for horses in 

 fast work, but am fond of good sanfoin to cut up. 

 Mouldy and mow-burnt hay are very injurious to 

 the horse; the first will be sure to make the 

 animal thick-winded and ultimately go broken- 



