200 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



weather. He should be abundantly supplied with the best of 

 hay, and have a quart or two of carrots daily ; and an additional 

 quart of good oats or wheat shorts will never harm liini. 



Nothing is so much wanting in our American horses, as that 

 perfection of nerve, muscle, and bone, which imparts to Arabian 

 and Thoroughbred horses their spirit, courage and endurance. 

 The Arab, as has been stated, feeds his colt on the most nutri- 

 tious food, such as milk, wheat and barley. The Thoroughbred 

 colt is constantly fed with oats from the time he is three months 

 old ; and the mare, both while with foal and while suckling, is 

 never deprived of them. Good horses cannot be produced 

 without good food — the knife will be like the steel from which 

 it is manufactured. 



GROOMING. 



It is the business of a groom to feed, clean, exercise, and 

 otherwise take care of horses, and his office is one of much 

 responsibility, requiring great fidelity, intelligence and judg- 

 ment, and an excellent temper. There are very few persons in 

 this country who possess the requisite qualifications, and fewer 

 still who can be hired for this purpose. The want of suitable 

 care, after a hard drive, ruins thousands of splendid horses 

 every year, and many others are seriously injured by want of 

 proper preparation for their work, and by thoughtlessness or 

 ignorance on the part of their drivers. A few hints, therefore, 

 respecting the treatment of horses, may not be out of place 

 here. 



The stable is the home of the horse, and should be furnished 

 with whatever is necessary to promote his comfort ; and per- 

 haps the first thing to be mentioned as indispensable is a good 

 bed. This should consist of an abundance of clean, sweet 

 straw, which should be entirely removed from the stall during 

 the day, and on no account put under the manger to destroy, by 

 its fumes, the eyes and appetite of the horse. No dusty or 

 musty hay should ever be used about a stable. 



In Egypt, dry desert sand is employed for bedding for horses, 

 and in that warm climate is admirably adapted to serve as a 

 substitute for straw. In this country, a similar practice is being 

 extensively adopted wherever fine sand can be conveniently 

 procured. It is used as bedding for both horses and cattle, and 



