Horses and Horsemastership, 113 



3. FEEDING. 



There are two important matters in this connection 

 which I desire to firmly impress upon my readers : (1) 

 Never feed a horse immediately before working him, 

 and (2) never water a horse immediately after feeding 

 him. A horse should have finished his feed a clear hour 

 before he starts work ; otherwise it is better, especially 

 where fast work has to be done, to let him go out on a 

 half-feed. You should never w^ater after feeding, be- 

 cause by reason of the water having to pass through the 

 stomach and the small intestines to reach what is known 

 as the coecum, its destination (wiiich is one of the large 

 lower intestines), there is always the risk of some of the 

 undigested corn being washed into the small intestines, 

 and consequently of colic or trouble of a kindred nature 

 being started. 



The stomach of the horse is, considering the size of 

 the animal, comparatively small, a fact which points to 

 the necessity of frequent feeding, but it is generally 

 agreed that three times a day is quite often enough to 

 feed to keep a horse in good health. In barracks a 

 troop horse's ration per day consists of 10 lbs. com, 

 12 lbs. hay, and 8 lbs. straw. The corn is divided into 

 three equal feeds, the hay into two of about 4 lbs. and 

 8 lbs. respectively (the larger quantity being given at 

 night), and the straw is, of course, used for bedding. 



