NUMBEE OF FEEDS. 359 



best. There is only one use I have for sago, making 

 gruels for horses that have become feverish, and are 

 "baked," as the grooms say. Their coats are dry and 

 have lost their lustre, and the perspiration that should 

 follow their work does not take place. Sago gruels, 

 acidulated drinks, with a reduction of their work, will 

 generally effect a cure, unless the cause is disease which 

 will require the attendance of the veterinarian. I have 

 changed my system of feeding from what I formerly 

 practiced, in relation to the frequency with which I give 

 the meals. When I commenced training, six feeds in the 

 twenty-four hours was thought necessary. After a while 

 I tried five, and thought I observed a benefit from the 

 curtailment, and now I am satisfied that four feeds a day 

 are better than to have them come closer together. The 

 amount conveyed to the stomach requires time to digest 

 before it is replenished, and four hours is a short enough 

 space for the food to undergo this process. I also like to 

 have the stomach distended so as to increase the muscular 

 strength of this organ, which would not be the case if 

 smaller quantities were given with greater frequency. To 

 perform its functions properly the stomach must have 

 intervals of work and repose, proper exercise being as 

 essential to keep it in vigor as for any other part of the 

 anatomy. Our feeds coming at five and ten o'clock A. M., 

 and three and seven P. M., will only be varied in those 

 horses that cannot have their fast work given between the 

 first and second feeds. The time it takes the horses to 

 eat their hay in the evening, will leave them about eight 

 hours for repose, which is none too much. 



PUPIL. Do you think sago preferable to green food for 

 inducing perspiration in horses that are " burned " ? I 

 have had great faith in the efficacy of allowing a horse to 

 eat plentifully of grass, green corn blades, &c., when in 

 that fix. 



