THEIR FEED AND THEIR FEET. 31 



without causing serious disturbance, — the stomach 

 resuming its work at the first period of leisure, or as 

 soon as the voluntary muscular system has been rested 

 sufficiently to permit the blood to flow freely through 

 the mucous membrane of the stomach. No doubt 

 Dr. Virez's coach-dog would have digested his break- 

 fast had he lived a few hours longer. But while the 

 aim should be to regard the principle here laid down, 

 as closely as practicable, it is evident that, if no atten- 

 tion whatever be paid to it, the danger is lessened 

 one-third by dispensing with the midday meal. 



Providing always the horse be liberally, that is suf- 

 ficiently fed, the time of feeding is of small account 

 compared with the vital necessity of obeying this 

 natural law in order to prevent indigestion. With a 

 strict observance of this law — and the two-meal sys- 

 tem renders this an easy matter — if the horse is 

 never over-fed nor kept in a stived-up stable, he will 

 not get foundered, have " pink-eye " (pneumonia), 

 nor " catch cold," though every stable in town may 

 be decimated with an " epidemic." The same horse 

 will do more work, stand more exposure, and keep 

 in prime working order, fed upon this principle, than 

 under the ordinary method, which is that he must 

 have his feed at or near the regular hour, with three 

 meals every day. 



I once took a " pulling " mare, just up from past- 

 ure, where she had been all summer. She was, of 

 course, very round — filled out full with fat and wa- 

 ter. I obtained possession of this mare expressly to 

 test the effect of the "rational system" on a 

 "puller" — a horse of whom it was said, " She hasn't 



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