122 HOW TO FEED A HORSE. 



formula, for it must constantly vary with the various qual- 

 ities of horses ; the various conditions to which every in- 

 dividual horse is liable; the various kinds of work to 

 which he is applied, and the various circumstances under 

 which he may be required to" do his work. 



Thus, the food of a race-horse or a match-trotter will 

 and should differ essentially from that of a carriage-horse, 

 a road-hackney, or a riding-horse ; while the food of these 

 again, as also their stabling and grooming, will and should 

 differ materially from those of a team-horse, or a slow- 

 working farm-horse. Again, the food of a gentleman's 

 show carriage -horses, or roadsters, which are only called 

 upon to do a few hours light work on four or five days in 

 the week, and which stand idle in their stalls half the time, 

 yet are always required to show well in their coats, and ex- 

 ecute well as regards wind and speed, will and should 

 differ materially from that of horses of the same class, in 

 the hands of another owner who drives or rides his ani- 

 mals over twenty, thirty or forty miles every day, with 

 now and then, only, a day of rest, and who expects to have 

 them looking well, working well, in good heart and in 

 good condition all the time. 



Lastly, the food of all horses must vary and differ from 

 time to time, according to their age, the seasons of the 

 year, their exact state of health at the time, and the nature 

 of the work they are doing or will shortly be called upon 

 to do ; and, still more than all, must vary and differ, as 

 they may be standing in their own comfortable stables, or 

 travelling on the road in the performance of a journey, 

 under unusual hardship and fatigue. 



In the iirst place, however, to begin from the beginning, 

 the system of a horse's feeding, as well as of his grooming 

 and stabling commences, — and if it be intended that he 

 shall be a valuable and superior animal, must needs com- 



