PRINCIPLES or FEEDING. 235 



is always before him, lie never becomes sufficiently hungry 

 to eat heartily. In some places thirty or forty minutes are al- 

 lowed to feed ; and when the time expires, a man goes round 

 the mangers and removes all the grain that is left. In other 

 places the left grain is not taken away, but, if not all eaten 

 before the next feeding hour, no more is given at that time. 



The Hours of Feeding must vary with the work; when 

 that is regular, the hours of feeding should be fixed. After 

 the horse has become accustomed to them, they should not be 

 suddenly changed. When the work is irregular, the horse 

 often called to it without much notice, and when it does not 

 demand an empty stomach, the horse should be fed often. By 

 giving the allowance at four or five services, instead of two or 

 three, the horse is always ready for the road. He can never 

 have so much in his stomach at any time as if he were fed 

 seldomer. On a posting establishment, all the horses that are 

 in should not be fed at the same time ; one pair, or two, or 

 more, may be kept in readiness for work, not fed till some 

 others are ready. 



It is probable that fixed hours of feeding are favorable to 

 digestion, and it is certain that any sudden and considerable 

 change of hour is attended with disadvantage. When the in- 

 terval of abstinence is abridged, the horse does not eat so 

 heartily ; and when prolonged, he becomes exhausted. But 

 when there are no fixed hours observed, the horse's appetite 

 is the only guide. When the feeding hours are variable, the 

 horse gets hungry only when the system wants nutriment ; 

 when the hours are fixed, the stomach demands a supply, 

 whether the system wants it or not. 



The Bulk of the Food is an important consideration in 

 the feeding of horses. When fed entirely, or chiefly, upon 

 hay, grass, or roots, they are not fit for fast work. There are 

 three reasons why they are not. Bulky food distends the 

 stomach and makes it encroach upon the lungs, and impede 

 breathing ; its weight encumbers the horse ; and it does not 

 yield suflicient nutriment. The horse may be able enough 

 for slow work, because that work does not demand all the 

 energies of the system. But hunting, coaching, and racing, 

 are tasks of such labor, that the least impediment to breathing 

 renders the horse unable to perform them. Hay or grass 

 alone will yield sufficient nourishment to an idle horse ; but 

 he must eat a great deal of it ; so much that his belly is al- 

 ways very large ; the bowels must be constantly full. Such 

 a load is not so easily carried in the belly as on the back- 



