64 HORSES: 



grain as a grocer's horse pulling an express wagon 

 one hundred and fifty miles, besides taking the fam- 

 ily out for a drive every Sunday perhaps. And yet 

 the latter performing all this keeps plump, round, 

 and " feeling good " throughout the year, on say nine 

 quarts, often less, of oats a day; while often enough 

 the horse of leisure consumes twelve quarts of grain 

 and possibly as much hay as the worker. For a time 

 he may maintain a fine appearance, but we seldom ob- 

 serve instances of such animals remaining round and 

 handsome as well as spirited to what is usually re- 

 garded a ripe old age — say eighteen to twenty years; 

 but why not thirty-five to forty? But oftener than 

 otherwise, as already remarked, these animals begin to 

 decline, grow seedy (dyspeptic), and, at the age of eight 

 or ten years, become worthless as family horses, where 

 appearance counts for more than, or is regarded as 

 synonynjous with, condition. Out of the ranks of this 

 class, too, come the victims to acute disease ; a few 

 " attacks " of this sort (unless finally fatal) preceding 

 a general decline. 



As a general thing our people use too much hay. 

 It is the prevalent idea everywhere that a horse may 

 have " all the hay he will eat up clean," whether he 

 is a worker or not. Thus he is at the mercy of his 

 appetite, which will often lead one horse not averag- 

 ing one hour of hard work a day to eat double the 

 hay eaten by another that works six, eight, or ten 

 hours. " Horses ain't alike," satisfies the average man 

 when this question comes up. Now, if a horse is doing 

 steady hard work, as, for example, hauling heavy loads 



