Chapter XYI1L 



FEEDING AND WATERING.* 



HAY, corn-fodder, oats, and corn constitute the principal food 

 of horses in this country ; hay and oats in the Northern 

 States, fodder and corn in the South. The food should be of 

 the quality and quantity to impart strength, vitality, and elasticity ; 

 and this requires some, discrimination and care, as the food should 

 be harmonized both to the condition of the horse and the severity 

 of the labor to which he is subjected. As a rule, the stomach should 

 not be distended with food when prolonged, energetic effort is re- 

 quired. This is to be especially guarded against in the feeding of 

 hay. Greedy eaters can and often will eat so much hay as to unfit 

 themselves for active labor, and it usually results in heaves or 

 broken wind. Heaves are always found in the teamsters' or carters' 

 stables where there is no care in feeding. This disease is never 

 found among racing horses, from the fact that the utmost care is 

 used in selecting the food and feeding in small quantities, or in 

 adapting it more perfectly to the wants of the system. 



It has been demonstrated beyond doubt that the reason horses 

 improve so much in wind by eating prairie hay is.-that it is so coarse 

 that they cannot eat it fast enough to overload the stomach. The 

 quantity of hay should be Carefully regulated, and never as much 

 given as the horse will eat if at all voracious. The majority of owners 

 pack a large rack full, either allowing liberty to eat too much, or 

 making it unpalatable and unhealthful by being breathed upon. 

 From eight to ten pounds is about the average quantity for an or- 

 dinary roadster, to be allowed in twenty-four hours, more or less, 

 according to the size, the kind of work, and the quantity of grain 

 given. Dusty or moldy hay should never be fed, as it is liable 

 to produce various forms of disease. 



The food should be clean, and perfect in quality. . Hay is most 

 perfect when it is about a year old. Horses would perhaps prefet 

 it earlier, but it is neither so wholesome nor so nutritious, and may 



* The main points of this paper were, dictated by Dr. Summerville, of Buffalo, N. T., to the 



writer while studying with him. 



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