236 STABLE ECONOMY. 



This weight, and the difficulty of breathing, are sufficient to 

 render bulky food unfit for fast- working horses. But even 

 slow work, when exacted in full measure, demands food in a 

 condensed form. The work, though slow, requires more nu- 

 triment than a bellyful of hay or grass will yield. The nour- 

 ishment extracted from hay, straw, or potatoes, may be quite 

 as good as that extracted from oats ; but the stomach and the 

 bowels can not hold enough of these bulky articles. 



A horse may gallop at the top of his speed for a few mo- 

 ments, even when his bowels are loaded with bulky food ; 

 but he soon stops or staggers, over-marked, or broken-wind- 

 ed, or he takes colic ; one or all of these evils may be ex- 

 pected when he is put to fast work with his bowels loaded. 

 Bulky food also renders the horse exceedingly liable to colic ; 

 and to me this appears to be the principal reason why the 

 disease is so much more common in draught than in saddle 

 horses. 



Condensed Food, for reasons already stated, is necessary 

 for fast-working horses. Their food must be in less compass 

 than that of the farm or cart horse. But to this condensa- 

 tion there are some limits. Grain affi)rds all, and more than 

 all, the nutriment a horse is capable of consuming, even un- 

 der the most extraordinary exertion. His stomach and bow- 

 els can hold more than they are able to digest ; [or, if it 

 could be digested, it would furnish more nutriment than could 

 be assimilated ; or, if assimilated, than the system demands.] 

 Something more than nutriment is wanted. The bowels 

 must sufl^er a moderate degree of distension ; more than a 

 wholesome allowance of grain can produce. They are very 

 capacious. In the dead subject nearly thirty gallons of wa- 

 ter can be put into them. It is evident they were not intended 

 for food in a very condensed form ; and it seems that they 

 require a moderate degree of pressure or dilatation to assist 

 their functions. It is not certain that their secretions, sensa- 

 tions, and contractions, are altered by emptiness, but it is 

 probable. They must have something to act upon. 



When hay is very dear, and grain cheap, it is customary, 

 in many stables, to give less than the usual allowance of hay, 

 and more grain. The alteration is sometimes carried too 

 far, and it is often made too suddenly. The horses may have 

 as much grain as they will eat, yet it does not suffice with- 

 out fodder. Having no hay, they will leave the grain to eat 

 the litter. A craving sensation of emptiness seems to arise, 

 and the horse endeavors to relieve it by eating straw. The 



