SECRETARY'S REPORT. 199 



exliausted state should never be permitted to drink more than 

 a swallow or two of cold water, unless the exercise is to be con- 

 tinued at once ; and even then, the amount allowed should be 

 limited. In trotting matches it is customary to refresh the 

 liorse by rinsing the mouth and nostrils with cool, fresh water 

 by means of a sponge or cloth. 



The amount and kind of food most economically fed to horses 

 and mules performing severe, constant labor upon pavements, 

 may perhaps be inferred from the practice of the Sixth-Avenue 

 Raih-oad Company in New York. Tiiey employed in 1855, one 

 hundred and seventeen horses, and two hundred and eleven 

 mules, which were driven seventeen miles per diem. The daily 

 allowance of food consisted of te'n pounds of hay and fourteen 

 pounds of Indian meal for every horse, and half as much meal 

 for each mule. Ten pounds of salt were allowed per month, 

 and water was given five times per day in winter and oftcner in 

 summer. 



As it is not profitable to keep a poor horse, so it is unprofita- 

 ble to keep a horse poorly, and it is more economical to feed a 

 horse at work some grain, than to allow hay only. The practi- 

 cal difficulty both respecting the quality of the horse and the 

 food is, that persons without capital cannot afford to be eco- 

 nomical. 



The best food for colts after they are weaned is, that which 

 will make them grow most rapidly without becoming fat, and 

 too much pains cannot be taken to keep them in fine condition. 

 Tlie change from liquid or green food to dry hay, together with 

 the chilling influence of the first winter weather, is very apt to 

 to produce derangement of the digestive organs, followed by 

 attacks of parasitic worms within and lice without. If this colt 

 be now neglected and compelled to struggle unaided against 

 these difficulties, Jie will soon become spiritless, hide-bound, 

 ■with an anxious look, and staring coat, pot-bellied, and his 

 bones, instead of being fine-grained and sound, will be imper- 

 fectly formed, and in the right condition to develop ring-bones 

 and other excrescences. The first w^inter is the critical period 

 in the life of the horse, and therefore at this time he should 

 have the most careful attention. He sliould have a warm box- 

 stall for a shelter and resting place during nights and cold 

 storms, and a large, sunny yard to exercise in during fine 



