]64 TRAINING IN INDIA 



corn will eat far less hay than what is commonly sup- 

 posed. General Fitzwygram states that "practically it 

 will be found that horses which are not limited in regard 

 to oats will not usually consume above six pounds of hay 

 per diem." 



In concluding this subject, I may remark that the 

 trainer, while supplying the horse with food suitable for 

 the requirements of his system when undergoing severe 

 work, should never lose sight of the fact that the proper 

 assimilation of such food can only be ensured as long as 

 the functions of digestion are in a healthy state. To 

 maintain this all-important condition, he should study the 

 general question of diet and the various peculiarities of 

 each individual horse ; should preserve a sufficient variety 

 in the food, so that the animal be not disgusted by a 

 never-ending monotony ; and should supplement the hard 

 fare, from time to time, with a handful of carrots or par- 

 snips, a bunch of lucern, of freshly picked green grass, or 

 of young oats or wheat, a piece of sugar-cane, a linseed 

 mash — anything, in fact, to keep the appetite from palling 

 on corn, which is, after all, the chief source from which 

 to obtain muscle. 



