THEIR FEED AND THEIR FEET. 67 



nearly all day, and only taken out for an hour's 

 drive, or possibly making on an average five miles a 

 day? Without doubt five pounds of hay and four 

 quarts of oats (or two and a half of corn) would be 

 more than he would be able to digest. Probably 

 nice bright barley or rye straw would be much bet- 

 ter than the hay in all such cases, as well as for 

 young and growing animals ; the grain ration being 

 sufficiently increased, say fifty per cent. Thousands 

 of horses in private stables — horses whose work is far 

 from light — are kept thoroughly nourished and in 

 prime condition on four to six quarts of oats, with 

 liberal rations of hay, while other horses look pinched 

 on double the quantity of grain, though taking no 

 more, perhaps less exercise. In fact, such horses are 

 victims to excess in diet, and their owners can not 

 comprehend the fact, but would sooner increase than- 

 diminish their feed. Three times the work or one- 

 third the food would in the course of a few months 

 (chronic diseases' can never be suddenly cured) im- 

 prove the appearance of many of these underworked 

 horses who are swallowing ten to twelve quarts of 

 grain every day. 



This affords a hint and a very useful one to such 

 as desire to study the question. The old saying, 



"one's meat another's poison," 



as usually applied, is most mischievous and misleading. 

 The fact is that horses, like men, are when at leisure 

 (if not always) natural gourmands, and the harder all 

 creatures work, the less applicable this term is in de- 



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