70 



HORSES: 



no work directly after eating, the first is the most 

 important ; but the aim should be to regard both 

 rules as closely as possible. So far as the above ra- 

 tion is exceeded, there should be a corresponding in- 

 crease in the amount of work performed. 



THE BEST FEED. 



For ordinary purposes hay and oats form a com- 

 plete diet, and, as all know, these are the staples. I am 

 satisfied that the less change or variety there is in 

 the feed the better. The stomach of any creature 

 becomes adapted to the regular food, and can digest 

 and assimilate far better than where it has one kind 

 to-day and another to-morrow and another the next, 

 or greatly differing quantities of the same. This 

 principle is very generally admitted ; but many still 

 harbor the idea that some change is essential, as an 

 occasional change from oats to corn, and vice versa. 

 The tendency of this is to produce indigestion, and 

 there is undoubtedly — though it may not be ob- 

 served — less perfect digestion in every case for the 

 first few days on the new diet.* The reason usually 

 given for such a change is that they " eat sharper " 

 or have a sharper appetite in consequence. This alone 

 would go far to condemn the practice, for there will 

 never be a lack of perfect appetite for the regular diet, 

 except as the result of getting a little too much of it. It 



* Cows at pasture will generally shrink their milk to some de- 

 gree at first if a ration of grain is added to their diet as well as 

 when their feed is lessened. The reason is that the stomach has 

 to adapt itself to the digestion of a new food. 



