176 STABLE ECONOMY. 



the horse feed more heartily. They fatten the horse very 

 rapidly, and produce a smooth glossy coat and loose skin. 



They are sometimes washed, sliced, and given raw, but in 

 general they are boiled, and occasionally steamed. In the 

 raw state they excite indigestion very readily, and are not 

 much liked. Few horses get them oftener than once a day 

 They may be given oftener, but the horse soon begins to re- 

 fuse them. If they are to be used for several successive 

 weeks, they should not be given oftener than once in twenty - 

 four hours, or at most twice, and then not in very large quan- 

 tities. When the quantity of food is limited, the horse will 

 be glad to get them at all times, but in that case he must have 

 little work. Straw, or hay, and turnips, will make an idle 

 horse fat ; they will enable him to do some slow work, but to 

 perform full work the horse will not, or can not eat enough 

 to keep him in condition : and for fast work he would eat 

 more than he could well carry. Most usually they are given 

 only once a day, and at night after work is over ; chaff or 

 hay-seed, and some grain, generally beans, are boiled along 

 with them. They should always be washed. They require 

 much boiling, and when large they may be cut. 



Carrots. — This root is held in much esteem. There is 

 none better, nor perhaps so good. When first given it is 

 slightly diuretic and laxative. But as the horse becomes ac- 

 customed to it, these effects are not produced. Carrots also 

 improve the state of the skin. They form a good substitute 

 for grass, and an excellent alterative for horses out of con- 

 dition. To sick and idle horses they render grain unneces- 

 sary. They are beneficial in all chronic diseases of the or- 

 gans connected with breathing, and have a marked influence 

 upon chronic cough and broken wind. They are serviceable 

 in diseases of the skin. In combination with oats, they re- 

 store a wornout horse much sooner than oats alone. 



Carrots are usually given raw. Sometimes they are boiled or 

 steamed, but horses seem to like them better raw. They are 

 washed and sliced. They are often mingled with the grain, but 

 I think they ought to form a separate feed. They diminish the 

 consumption of both hay and grain. Some tell me that six, oth- 

 ers that eight pounds of carrots, are equal to four pounds of oats. 

 But the calculation can not be much depended upon, for the 

 horse may eat more or less hay without the difference being ob- 

 served. According to Curwen, a work-horse getting from eight 

 to twelve pounds of grain, may have four pounds deducted foi 

 every five he receives of carrots. Fir fast-working horses, 



