10 THE ECONOMY OF THE STABLE. 



into four portions, and each portion, both of oats and hay, may- 

 be wetted with water : this will tacilitate mastication and swal- 

 lowing, and likewise digestion ; a horse thus fed will so quickly 

 digest that he will always be fit for his labour. The largest por- 

 tion, both of oats and hay, should be given at night ; and the 

 next in quantity to this, early in the morning ; the other two 

 portions in the forenoon and the afternoon, or about twelve and 

 four. But this must, of course, depend upon the kind of work 

 a horse is employed in, and must be regulated accordingly. 

 Horses that have been accustomed to an unlimited allowance of 

 hay will often eat their litter when put upon a proper diet, but 

 this must be prevented by a muzzle. It may require a little 

 time, when a stomach has been injured in this way, to restore it 

 again; but, by persisting in the mode of feeding I have recom- 

 mended, it may almost always be accomplished. The injury 

 done to the stomach, by the common method of feeding, and 

 consequently to the animal's health or constitution, arises from 

 the distention of the stomach with food, and the large bowels 

 with excrement, which impedes respiration, and debilitates the 

 stomach, considered only as a muscular organ ; for digestion is 

 performed in the hoi'se, not only by a juice secreted in the 

 stomach, but also by muscular contractions. When the stomach 

 is debilitated to a certain degree, its secretion, the gastric juice, 

 becomes unhealthy and deficient, and is incapable of converting 

 the food into chyme, which is essential before the chyle can be 

 extracted from it. 



In a state of nature, and even in his domesticated state, under 

 good management, the horse has a moderate and a very delicate 

 appetite, and is very nice in his choice, both of food and water. 

 1 have seen a large stud of horses that Avere kept in the highest 

 condition on an allowance of eight pounds of hay in the day and 

 night, and five quarterns of corn. Horses so fed will not drink 

 nnich water, — perhaps from two to four gallons in tlje day and 

 night : while one that has acquired a voracious and depi'aved 

 ap})etite has been known to drink four pailfuls at a time, that 

 is, from twelve to sixteen gallons, and eat from thirty to forty 

 l)0unds of hay in a day and night. With such a load in the 

 stomach and bowels, what can be expected but an abridgment 

 of the animal's life and services to one third of the period to 

 which they might have been extended under proper manage- 

 ment ? and his labour during this short period is often inter- 

 rupted by sickness. 



The manner in which horses are commonly fed Is apt to de- 

 prave or vitiate the appetite, and probably cause some degree of 

 acidity in the stomach and bowels. This is the only way in 

 which I can account for the propensity so common in horses to 

 drink muddy water, and eat earth or dirt of any kind. Mr. 



