FEEDING AND STABLE MANAGEMENT. 259 



about a horse than he will about a person. The latter can 

 reason and consider the source and circumstances, while the 

 former, acting only from instinct, is more deeply impressed by 

 the treatment received. 



Vicious and stubborn dispositions are often the results of 

 poor stable treatment, and it is not to be wondered at. If a 

 horse can be soothed by gentle words — and there are but few 

 that cannot — then it naturally follows that different treatment 

 will produce different effects. 



In feeding grain to horses it is important that it should be 

 fed at such a time that it may remain in the stomach as long 

 as need be to secure its complete digestion. 



The nitrogenous elements, in which grain is richer than 

 other food, are better digested in the stomach than in the in- 

 testines. The grain should be fed after the hay has been eaten, 

 and no other food or drink should be given for some time after, 

 so that the grain may remain in the stomach until fully 

 digested. 



If the grain is fed first and then a ration of hay, the grain 

 will speedily be forced from the stomach by the hay and will 

 not do more than about half as much good as if fed after the 

 horse had eaten about seven pounds of hay and had all the 

 water required. 



This system, although contrary to the general practice, is 

 well worth the owner's consideration in feeding horses. 



Indian corn is the great food crop for animals in this coun- 

 try, and is produced in nearly every county of every State, and 

 probably more cases of horse colic arise from feeding corn-meal 

 than from all other foods combined ; and this especially occurs 

 among farm horses, as farmers study the philosophy of foods 

 very little, or the effects of the conditions of food upon animal 

 health. They, naturally, feed what is most convenient and 

 cheapest, without considering that any good food can be other 

 than healthy. 



In my experience as a veterinary practitioner I have known 

 of the death of many horses, which, by examination, proved to 



