17 



About the only examination of water that can be made by the aver- 

 age stock-raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, and clearness. 

 Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell. It should jjossess a 

 slight bluish tint. 



Chemical and microscopic examination will frequently be necessary 

 in order to detect the presence of certain i)oisons, bacteria, etc., and 

 can of course only be conducted by experts. 



Foods and feeding. — In this place one can jiot attempt anything 

 like a comjirehensive discussion of the subject, and I must content 

 myself with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of food, 

 preparation, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and quan- 

 tity. Improi^er feeding and watering will doubtless account for over 

 one-half of the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and hence 

 the reader can not fail to see how very important it is to have some 

 proper ideas concerning these subjects. 



Kinds of food. — In this country horses are fed chiefly upon hay, 

 grass, roots, oats, corn, wheat, and rye. Many think that they could 

 be fed on nothing else. Stewart, in "The Stable Book," gives the 

 following extract from Loudon's Encj^clopedia of Agriculture, which 

 is of interest at this point: 



In some sterile countries they (liorses) are forced to subsist on dried fish, and 

 even on vegetable mold; in Arabia, on milk, flesh-balls, eggs, broth. In India 

 horses are variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few, 

 perhaps no oats are grown; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses. In 

 Bengal a vetch, something like the tare, is used. On the western side of India a 

 sort of pigeon-i^ea, called gram {Cicer arietinum) forms the ordinary food, with 

 grass while in season, and hay all the year round. Indian corn or rice is seldom 

 given. In the West Indies maize, gtiinea corn, sugar corn tops, and sometimes 

 molasses, are given. In the Mahratta country salt, i^epper, and other spices are 

 made into balls, with flour and butter, and these are supposed to produce anima- 

 tion and to fine the coat. Broth made from sheep's head is sometimes given. In 

 France. Spain, and Italy, besides the grasses, the leaves of limes, vines, the tops 

 of acacia, and the seeds of the carob-tree are given to horses. 



For information as to the nutritive value, chemistry, and classifica- 

 tion of the different kinds of food, I will refer the reader again to 

 Smith's Veterinary Hygiene. 



We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of 

 the digestibility of foods; and by this we mean the readiness with 

 which foods undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit them 

 for absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal economy. 



The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify tlie diges- 

 tibility of foods, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, pre- 

 serving, and preparing the foods. 



In the horse digestion takes place principally in the intestines, and 

 here, as in all other animals and with all foods, we find that a certain 

 part only of the provender is digested; another portion is indigested. 

 This proportion of digested and indigested food must claim passing 



