DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OBGANS. 51 



FEEDS AND FEEDING. 



In this place one can not attempt anything like a comprehensive 

 discussion of the subject of feeds and feeding, and I must content my- 

 self with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of feed, 

 preparation, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and quan- 

 tity. Improper feeding and watering will doubtless account for more 

 than one-half the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and hence 

 the reader can not fail to see how very important it is to have some 

 proper ideas concerning these subjects. 



KINDS OF FEED. 



In this country horses are fed chiefly upon hay, grass, com fodder, 

 roots, oats, corn, wheat, and rye. Many think that they could be fed 

 on nothing else. Stewart, in " The Stable Book," gives the following 

 extract from Loudon's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, which is of 

 interest at this point: 



In some sterile countries they [horses] are forced to subsist on dried fish, and 

 even on vegetable mold; in Arabia, on milk, flesh balls, eggs, broth. In India 

 horses are variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few, 

 perhaps no, oats are grown; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses. 

 In Bengal a vetch, something like the tare, is used. On the western side of 

 India a sort of pigeon pea, called gram {Cicer arietinum) , forms the ordinary 

 food, with grass while in season, and hay all the year round. Indian corn or 

 rice is seldom given. In the West Indies maize, guinea corn, sugar-corn tops, 

 and sometimes molasses are given. In the Mahratta country salt, pepper, and 

 other spices are made into balls, with flour and butter, and these are supposed 

 to produce animation and to fine the coat. Broth made from sheep's head is 

 sometimes given. In France, Spain, and Italy, besides the grasses, the leaver 

 of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, and the seeds of the carob tree are given to 

 horses. 



We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of 

 the digestibility of feeds; and by this we mean the readiness with 

 which they undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit 

 them for absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal 

 economy. 



The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify the diges- 

 tibility of feeds, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, pre- 

 serving, and preparing. 



In the horse digestion takes place principally in the intestines, and 

 here, as in all other animals and with all feeds, it is found that a 

 certain part only of the provender is digested; another portion is 

 undigested. This proportion of digested and undigested feed must 

 claim passing notice at least, for if the horse receives too much feed, 

 or bulky feed containing much indigestible waste, a large portion of 

 it must pass out unused, entailing not only the loss of this unused 

 feed, but also calling for an unnecessary expenditure of vital force on 



