268 CONFESSIONS OF A HORSE DEALER. 



animal eats his food without his usual relish, salt at the 

 rate of three or four ounces per day may be given in 

 his corn and bran mashes ; it will improve his appetite, 

 and of course his condition and coat as well. A drench 

 may be given as a substitute for the dry salt occa- 

 sionally, as it descends more immediately to the intes- 

 tines, unless the horse will drink salted water freely. 

 Hay, when salted with a solution of salt-water, in the 

 proportion of five or six ounces to a gallon of water, all 

 horses will eat with avidity ; but when used stronger 

 than this, it will act as a purgative upon many horses. 



The process of preparing salted hay is to fill a mo- 

 derate-sized tub with the salt and water as above di- 

 rected ; then fill a wicker basket \\ ith the provender, 

 and pour the salted water over it from a watering-pan 

 repeatedly, until the whole mass is thoroughly wetted ; 

 after it has done dripping, let it be given to the horses. 

 Twenty years ago, when potatoes were untouched by 

 disease, and cheap, many farmers in our country gave 

 them as provender to horses chiefly in their raw state, 

 and chopped up with furze, and a sprinkling of oat- 

 meal when hay was dear, and this food kept them in 

 fair condition when not too hard worked. But this 

 root is now too valuable for horse fodder, though where 

 many potatoes are grown, in digging time, many farmers 

 will sort those that appear predisposed to disease from 

 the sound ones, and give them to their horses. The 

 rinds of potatoes are bitter, and therefore act as a tonic, 

 but the nutritive value is increased tenfold by boiling, 



