CHAPTER IV 



FEEDING HORSES 



The amount and also the consistency of a horse's 

 daily food should be regulated first by the size and 

 breed of the animal, and secondly by the conditions 

 under which he is being worked. When his labours 

 are extra heavy the quantity of sustaining food should 

 be increased, and if there is little for him to do he 

 will benefit by having his diet curtailed. It is 

 desirable, however, that whatever the amount given 

 him may be, the meals themselves should be fairly 

 frequent, for the peculiar formation of the horse's 

 interior arrangements causes his stomach to empty 

 quickly, and therefore as the digestive apparatus 

 keeps at work, it is necessary that something should 

 be provided for it to employ itself upon. iVnother 

 thing that should be borne in mind is the propensity 

 displayed by horses for bolting their corn, and 

 consequently it is necessary to make it a practice to 

 mix chaff with the grain in order to ensure the food 

 being properly masticated and prevent it passing 

 through the body in the form in which it entered it, 

 and so without the animal deriving any benefit from 

 his feed. 



The most common items in the dietary of the 

 light draught horse, such as omnibus and tramway 

 slaves, are oats, maize, peas, beans, hay, and straw, 

 the latter commodities being usually given them in 



