24 STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



good oats I think little need be added in the shape of 

 provender besides hay ; though for a spare feeder a few 

 old split beans may be added to each feed, or, what is 

 thought by many better, white peas : but as I have said, 

 I have little faith in the good effects of either and seldom 

 use them. 



The quality of the hay depends more on the land that 

 produces it than on anything else ; a fact which should 

 in no case be overlooked. Hay grown on rich alluvial 

 soil or well-drained clay is the best; and that raised on 

 hungry gravel or poor chalk is the worst. And though hay 

 well made from the latter land, retaining all its most attrac- 

 tive qualities, such as colour and smell, may be had cheap, 

 it should on no account be used : as it contains no nourish- 

 ment, and is really to the animal very little better than 

 poison. But that grown on good land usually let at 3/. 

 or 4/. per acre, is by far cheaper, at 61. or 7/. per ton, 

 than the other would be as a gift. For this reason, and 

 this alone, I have always had my hay grown on the land 

 in the Vale of Blackmoor : land I suppose as good as 

 any in the kingdom, and although draught carriage of 

 about sixteen miles is an expensive item, I prefer it to 

 any and all others, and use nothing else, nor have I for the 

 last thirty years. 



I may supplement the above advice with a note from 

 Mr. Clark, who says : " New hay should not be given 

 to horses in strong work ; it should not be less than eight 

 or ten m.onths old." He condemns clover, and prefers 

 rye-grass to meadow, saying : " It is less liable to imbibe 

 moisture, and being hard, and firmer than natural hay, 

 it obliges a horse to break it down more minutely before 

 he can swallow it, and is easier of digestion." Now as to 



