CHAPTER IV 



FOODS AND FEEDING EXERCISE AND TRANSPORT 



99. EVERY owner of a horse has quite a respon- 

 sibility upon his shoulders that of seeing that 

 the animal is properly fed and cared for. The 

 modern law has a considerable check upon 

 owners of horses, but very often, through want 

 of knowledge rather than through cruelty, the 

 horse that works so hard for us is put to much 

 inconvenience and even suffering. For this 

 reason I wish to point out to the ordinary horse 

 owner the ways of feeding and caring for the 

 horse in the stable and on the road. The correct 

 regulation of the feeding of the horse is far more 

 difficult to control than is commonly thought. 

 As a rule the feed is thrown into the horse's 

 manger day after day without any consideration 

 being taken as to whether the horse is being 

 over-fed, under-fed, or wrongly fed. The horse 

 was created for motion, and he requires it ; and 

 the amount of motion he gets will proportion- 

 ately affect the amount of food he should receive 

 as well as the kind of food. 



100. After good food and rest, a deficiency of 

 exercise brings the horse to a state of nervous- 

 ness, a state which varies according to his dis- 

 position. This nervousness, which is usually 

 shown in the form of excitement, is due to 

 excessive exuberance of spirits. This excitability 

 may even be intense when the horse is lame. 

 A lame horse, who has been fed well while 

 standing idle for a week, if taken out for gentle 

 exercise, may apparently forget his lameness 

 and prance about, causing himself much injury. 

 Hence, a horse must be given various quantities 

 and qualities of food according to the work he 

 does. During the sixteenth century the common 

 way of causing fractious horses to become sub- 

 dued was to starve them. We read that Henry 

 VII. ordered a horse he was to ride in a public 

 procession to be starved for twenty-four hours 

 previously, because, as he was a bad horseman, 

 he was afraid to ride the horse otherwise. 

 Of course, no civilised person would think of 

 doing this now ; soft food and hay alone 

 would be sufficient to produce the required 

 effect. 



101. All horses in one stable should be fed 

 at the same time, because unfed horses are liable 

 to become restive and to learn objectionable 

 habits, as pawing, biting at the manger, etc. 

 The horse should be fed at regular hours, if 



possible. Irregular feeding causes the horse to 

 look unfit. When anyone approaches the horse 

 in its stall he should speak to the horse, or 

 otherwise a nervous animal is liable to kick 

 upon being suddenly surprised. He should say, 

 " Steady, boy ! " or something similar to this, but 

 not " Whoa ! " because the horse is already 

 standing still. On no account must the horse 

 be shouted at, unless he is preparing to kick, 

 and then a sharp word will generally stop him. 

 In using the pitchfork in the stall, care should 

 be taken to let the horse know what is being 

 done, else, on suddenly seeing the fork under its 

 hind legs, it may kick out, and perhaps injure 

 itself on the prongs. 



102. I strongly object to overhead mangers, 

 because with these the dust and seeds get into 

 the horse's eyes, mane and ears. It is far safer 

 to put the hay into the manger with the hands, 

 and not with the fork ; if the fork is used, great 

 care must be exercised. Care should be taken 

 never to throw anything up in front of the 

 horse's head as one's hand, for example. 

 Grooms should immediately report to their 

 master should they accidentally injure their 

 horses by pricking them with a fork, for in- 

 stance. By hiding such things serious trouble 

 may result, instances of which are not uncom- 

 mon. If, however, an accident is reported at 

 once, nothing serious will ensue, and the master 

 will be able to trust his groom in the future. It 

 is dishonest to hide anything like this, and a 

 dishonest man is not fit to look after a horse. 

 Laziness is responsible for a great number of 

 neglected horses ; the common excuse, " It has 

 always been done," should never be accepted. A 

 good horsemaster is one who would not have 

 done to his horse what he would not have done 

 to himself. 



The Digestive Organs 



103. Before entering into the subject of what 

 is the best food and what are the best methods 

 of using the food, we will briefly consider what 

 the animal frame is composed of, what foods are 

 composed of, and the manner in which the 

 animal system obtains its nourishment from 

 these foodstuffs. 



Health is the ordinary condition of the body, 



