avery's own farrier. 129 



failing to come up to my expectation in proportion to 

 the extra care given him. Therefore, regular feeding 

 and exercise are very important in good stable manage- 

 ment. When by any cause you happen to miss giving 

 your horse his regular meal, you should give only the 

 usual quantity at the nexi. In the hands of some, the 

 horse suffers wonderfully from thirst. Water should be 

 given him a little at a time, and often, and in that way 

 allow him all he chooses to drink, and it will not hurt 

 him. But never let him drink two or three pailsfuU at 

 a time, as he often will after going without all day. and 

 more especially when he is warm and fatigued, or when 

 he is going to be sharply exercised immediately after. 



Feeding is a very important part of stable manage- 

 ment; and I think you will agree with me in saying that 

 good oats are the most natural and best kind of grain for 

 steady feed, and for all kinds of business that is required 

 of the horse; although corn, barley or wheat may, with 

 advantage, if properly fed, be added to torm a part of 

 his food in cold weather, when he is employed at the 

 heavier kinds of work. ^' Oats are best to be six months 

 old at least, if they have been kept sweet and free from 

 must. The old oat forms, when chewed, a smooth and 

 uniform mass, which is easy of digestion, and yields all 

 the nourishment it contains." The oat is said by chemists 

 to contain seven hundred and forty-three parts out of a 

 thousand of nutritive matter, which is much less than the 

 other grains spoken of above, and they appear to be pe- 

 culiarly adapted to the requirements of the horse; for 

 when he has been long fed on oats he has been compara- 

 tively healthy, and not so often attacked with colic or 



