THE HORSE 131 



on the contrary, can rarely stand oats, which im- 

 mediately " get into their heads," and cause them 

 to be unruly and unmanageable. Oats are said to 

 be unsuitable, also, for Arabian horses, and one of 

 our greatest breeders cautions purchasers against 

 feeding horses of this variety on the regular sys- 

 tem, and advocates a diet exclusively composed of 

 hay and grass. The exciting principle in oats, it 

 may be mentioned, is an albuminoid called avenine, 

 and its bad effects are minimized if the oats are 

 given bruised or ground. 



Ponies under twelve hands, then, will do better 

 on hay on] 3^, and all ponies which are doing little 

 work will thrive best if corn is withheld. Ponies 

 of about fourteen hands, which are doing hard 

 and regular work, may have an allowance of two 

 quarter-peck measures daily if they can stand it. 



It must always be borne in mind that the com 

 must be regulated to the vrork, and that it is only 

 needful as an addition to hay or grass when or be- 

 cause a horse is working. Also that, as a rough 

 rule, the longer hours a horse works, the more 

 oats will he be able to consume with benefit to 

 himself, and, consequently, the more work will he 

 be capable of performing. In mentioning the 

 necessary allowances of oats, it is, of course, pre- 



