THEIR FEED AND THEIR FEET. 27 



not account for it. " I knew he had a hard jaunt 

 before him," says the owner, " and I gave him a 

 couple of quarts extra at breakfast, but he gave out 

 before he got half-way ; in fact, he wasn't himself 

 from the start." The old saying that " a good pay- 

 master pays after the work is done," applies here : a 

 good horseman feeds to-day in proportion to the work 

 his horse did 'yesterday. He pays him well, and every 

 day, but never in advance. The fact is this : The 

 digestive fluids are formed in the blood and remain 

 subject to order, in proportion to the needs of the 

 organism for food, and not in proportion to the 

 amount of food swallowed, — the " needs " having ref- 

 erence to work already performed, cold endured, etc. 

 Other things being equal, the horse that is hard pushed 

 on an empty stomach, will bear more before breaking 

 down, and, if driven to exhaustion, has a far better 

 chance to recover well, than the one driven in like 

 manner, but fed immediately before starting, and 

 halted just long enough to swallow his dinner en 

 route. The rest, without the meal, would have been 

 far better. 



I am aware that in making this statemicnt I am 

 running counter to the opinions of most men, based, 

 as they are, largely upon their own sensations when 

 deprived of their regular meals. " Needn't tell me," 

 says the owner ; " I won't work without my regular 

 food, nor let my horse "; which^ sentiment is every 

 way praiseworthy, and does honor to the man's heart. 

 Nevertheless, I can not withdraw the statement, for 

 my opinion is based upon absolute knowledge from 



