FOOD AND FEEDING 489 



oats, bran mashes, and gruels, with the addition of a small quantity of 

 grass or roots lor horses. Ihe change from this diet should be very 

 gradual to a dry, coarse fodder, in order to avoid digestive disorders. 

 Ine bitters, alconoi, hydrochloric acid, and salt, together with a copious 

 supply of water, will lurthermore aid convalescence. Carnivora, with 

 fever, should be fed milk, beef juice, broth, bread, oatmeal and a small 

 quantity of cooked lean meat. 



Obesity is treated most advantageously by proper feeding. A certain 

 amount of tat is essential in the body in lubricating the tissues, in acting 

 as a protection against cold, in serving ^s an enveloping and shielding 

 cushion to the underlying tissues, and finally in supplying a store of 

 nutrition. Animals living in cold climates are covered symmetrically by 

 fat, but those indigenous in hot countries have accumulations of fat in 

 masses to avoid over-heating the body. This is seen in the hump of the 

 camel, zebu and Brahmin bull. When the camel is severely taxed, the 

 fat is consumed and the hump becomes loose and flabby. House dogs 

 overfed and insufficiently exercised, horses, and other animals kect for 

 breeding purposes, are those most commonly afflicted with obesity. Fat 

 in the body may be formed from fat, albuminoids, and carbohydrates of 

 the food. Carbohydrates, if in excess of the needs of the economy, pro- 

 tect the fat in the food from decomposition and so enable it to be stored 

 in the body. Protein may also protect the consumption of fat of the 

 food, for it is broken up into nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous elements, 

 and the latter may be transformed into body fat. The accumulation of 

 fat proceeds most readily when there is an abundance of fat in the food, 

 in addition to the other nutrients ; less so when the ration consists of fat 

 and albuminoids, or of carbohydrates and albuminoids; ar^l least of all 

 with a diet consisting of pure protein. The latter, then, is the food to be 

 approached as near its purity as advisable. If a proteid ration is fol- 

 lowed too closely, digestive disorders, loss of strength and nervous dis- 

 turbances are likely to occur. The fat resulting from the decomposition 

 of a pure protein fodder is usually not sufficient to supply the needs of 

 the body, and the organized fat is gradually called upon to supply the 

 deficiency in the food. 



Exercise, cathartics, diuretics and diaphoretics, together with vene- 

 section, are synergistic measures. As emaciation proceeds, we must add 

 more and more non-nitrogenous material to our ration. Fat is said to 

 accumulate most readily in the vicinity of vascular areas where the flow 

 of blood is retarded, and therefore oxidation, combustion, and molecular 

 activity diminished. Exercise, on the other hand, stimulates the circu- 

 lation, while deprivation of water makes the blood-current more rapid by 

 decreasing the amount of blood. Both therefore favor the destruction of 

 fat. Vogel has reported good results in reducing obesity by the use of 

 the following rations. From 19 to 26 weeks are required for a cure. 



DAILY RATION FOR THE HORSE. 



Oatmeal 7 lbs. 



Straw 3.5 lbs. 



Hay 7 lbs. 



Linseed meal 1 lb. 



Salt 5 per cent, of above. 



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