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of digestible food must pass out unacted upon, entailing not only the 

 loss of this unused food, but also calling for an unnecessary expendi- 

 ture of vital force on the part of the digestive organs of the horse. It 

 is thus that, in fact, too much food may make an animal poor. 



In selecting food for the horse we should remember the anatomical 

 arrangement of the digestive organs, as well as the physiological func- 

 tions performed by each organ. Foods must be wholesome, clean,. and 

 sweet; the hours of feeding regular; the mode of preparation found 

 by practical experience to be the best must be adhered to, and cleanli- 

 ness in preparation and administration must be observed. 



The length of time occupied by stomach digestion in the horse varies 

 with the different foods. Hay and straw pass out of the stomach more 

 rapidly than oats. It would seem to follow, then, that oats should be 

 given after hay, for if reversed the hay would cause the oats to be sent 

 onward into the intestines before being fully acted upon by the stomach, 

 and as a result produce indigestion. Experience confirms this. There 

 is another good reason why hay should be given first, particularly if 

 the horse is very hungry or if exhausted from overwork, namely, it 

 requires more time in mastication (insuring proper admixture of saliva) 

 and can not be bolted as are the grains. In either instance water must 

 not be given soon after feeding, as it washes or sluices the food from 

 the stomach before it is fitted for intestinal digestion. 



The stomach begins to empty itself very soon after the commence- 

 ment of feeding, and continues rapidly while eating. Afterwards the 

 passage is slower, and several hours are required before the stomach is 

 entirely empty. The nature of the work required of the horse must 

 guide us in the selection of his food. Eapid or severe labor can not be 

 performed on a full stomach. For such horses food must be given in 

 small quantity and fed to them about two hours before going to their 

 work. Even horses intended for slow work must never be engorged 

 with bulky, innutritions food immediately before going to labor. The 

 small stomach of the horse would seem to lead us to the conclusion 

 that this animal should be fed in small quantities and often, which, in 

 reality, should be done. The disproportion between the size of the 

 stomach and the amount of water drank tells us plainly that the horse 

 should always be watered before feeding. One of the common errors 

 of feeding, and the one that produces more digestive disorders than 

 any other, is to feed too soon after a hard dafs tcorJc. This must never 

 be done. If a horse is completely jaded it will be found beneficial to 

 give him an alcoholic stimulant on going into the stable. A small 

 quantity of hay may then be given, but his grain should be withheld 

 for one or two hours. These same remarks v>nll apply with equal force 

 to the horse that for any reason has been fasting for a long time. After 

 a fast feed less than the horse would eat; for if allowed too much the 

 stomach becomes engorged, its walls paralyzed, and "colic" is almost 

 sure to follow. The horse should be fed three or four times a day; nor 



