120 ESSAYS ON HORSE SUBJECTS 



making changes of diet, which should not be 

 done too abruptly, particularly changes to food 

 which, if eaten hurriedly or in considerable quan- 

 tities, is apt to cause indigestion. Good exam- 

 ples of such food are roots, boiled grain and 

 grass. An attack of indigestion in a horse that 

 is a good feeder may almost certainly be caused 

 by giving too large a feed of roots or boiled 

 grain or by turning him into a fresh clover field 

 that has a luxurious growth of herbage. If the 

 grass is short, and he has to work hard for his 

 feed, he can be safely turned into a pasture field ; 

 but where there is luxuriant growth, there should 

 be several days' restricted feeding before it is 

 safe to allow some horses, particularly greedy 

 feeders, liberty to eat at will. 



In all horses in which the excrement from the 

 bowels shows evidence of imperfect mastication, 

 the cause should be sought for, and removed if 

 possible. Greedy feeders bolt their grain, not 

 taking time for perfect mastication. This not 

 only results in waste, but is apt to cause irrita- 

 tion also. Bolting the grain may be prevented in 

 a variety of ways. Numbers of feed boxes have 

 been invented to overcome this trouble, some of 

 which are fairly effectual. The old-fashioned 

 plan of putting a number of stones amongst the 

 grain works very well. The addition of an 

 equal quantity of bran to the grain is also an 



