HORSE DOCTOR. 



31 



firmed, and should increase, and it at lenc^th become5 

 necessary to cast him, or put him in the trevis, the owner 

 may he assured that many, years will not pass ere some 

 formidable or fatal accident will take place. If, there- 

 fore, mild treatment will not correct this vice, the horse 

 cannot be ioo soon got rid of 



Horses have many unpleasant habits in the stable 

 and on the road, which cannot be said to amount to 

 vice, but which materially lessen their value. 



SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING. 



Some^reedy horses habitually swallow their corn 

 without properly orrinding it, and the power of digestion 

 not being adequate to the dissolving of the husk, no 

 nutriment is extracted, and the oats are voided whole. 

 This is particularly the case when horses of unequal 

 appetite feed from the same manger. The greedy one, 

 in his eagerness to get more than his share, bolts a por- 

 tion of his corn whole. If the farmer, without consider- 

 able inconvenience, could contrive that every horse 

 shall have his separate division of the manger, the one 

 of smaller appetite and slower feed would have the op- 

 portunity of grinding at his leisure, without the fear of 

 the greater share being stolen by his neighbor. 



Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, 

 and will not, even when alone, allow themselves time 

 to chew^ or grind their corn. In consequence of this they 

 ca#iy but little flesh, and are not equal to severe work. 

 If the lack is supplied with hay when the corn is 

 put into the manger, they will continue to eat on, and 

 their stomachs will become distended with half-chewed 

 and indigestible food. In consequence of this they will 

 be incapable of considerable exertion for a long time 

 after feeding, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms of 

 staggers will occur. . 



The remedy is, not to let such horses fast too long. 

 The nose-bag should be the companion of every consi- 

 dej^able journey. The food should likewise be of such 

 a nature that it cannot be rapidly bolted. Chaff should 



