THE HORSE 113 



Large quantities of bran should never be bought 

 at one time. It should, when fresh, be free from 

 any slight musty or sour smell. 



Linseed is also slightly laxative, and is to be 

 recommended as a conditioner. It should be 

 boiled to a jelly, and a small teacupful given 

 daily with the corn for a few weeks will make a 

 marked unprovement in the ap])earance of a 

 horse's coat. Harsh-coated horses will particu- 

 larly benefit b}^ a course of boiled linseed. 



Artificial foods and " conditioners " are not to 

 be recommended. The buyer can never tell what 

 they are made of, and if guaranteed free from 

 injurious ingredients, the price vfill be prohibitive 

 to the ordinary pocket. A horse which cannot live 

 and thrive on a good quality of natural food is 

 not worth keeping, and is certainly not sufficiently 

 valuable to warrant the spending of dollars on 

 patent foods of doubtful benefit. If something 

 extra is required for a horse which, say, is recover- 

 ing from illness, or is from any cause run down, 

 the owner can buy the " raw materials," such as 

 locust-bean. Linseed, ginger, and Indian corn, 

 which is what the^se foods are usually composed of, 

 and mix a food for himself at a quarter the cost, and 

 with the satisfaction of knowing what he is giving. 



