DAILY DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD. 187 



observed that a horse which would fail to consume during 

 the night a large and last feed of corn given to him at six 

 or seven in the evening, would eat up every grain if the 

 same quantity of corn was divided into two halves, one to 

 be given at six or seven ; the other, at ten or eleven. When 

 hay is given after the last feed at night, or at times when 

 the animal is supposed to consume it at his leisure, it is best 

 for it to be long hay ; because, when it is in this form, the 

 horse will be inclined to pull out the chosen mouthful and 

 separate it from the remainder of the hay, which will then 

 run but little risk of becoming tainted by the horse's breath 

 and saliva. Taking into consideration the inevitable ennui 

 which a horse must suffer from the more or less solitary 

 confinement he undergoes in a stable, we ought, I think, to 

 allow him the innocent distraction of selecting and picking 

 out the stalks of hay, when rigid economy of fodder is not a 

 matter of supreme importance. In any case, long hay might 

 be given after the last feed at night. 



DAILY DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD. 



A working horse, as we have already seen, should be 

 frequently fed. While observing the rule that a horse should 

 not get more corn than he can finish straight away, we should 

 bear in mind that the sooner work follows the consumption of 

 food, the more apt will it be to cause indigestion. Hence, the 

 quantity given to a horse at one time should, to some extent, 

 be proportionate to the length of the period of idleness which 

 is to follow the meal. 



In the giving of hay (under which term we may include 

 straw and other substitutes), we may give some before feeding, 

 mix chop through the corn, or give hay at the same time as 

 the corn, but not mixed with the grain, so as to allow the 

 horse to go to one or the other as he chooses. The usual 

 plan of giving hay after feeding is objectionable in the case 



