PEACTICAL HORSE FEEDING 335 



ward the end of the meal passage is slow and the diges- 

 tion in the stomach is more perfect. This would lead to 

 the conclusion that the bulky foods should be fed first 

 and the more nutritious foods toward the end of the meal. 

 This practice leads to the serious objection that the horse 

 is anxious, nervous and unsatisfied until fed his grain, for 

 which reason he is usually fed grain before hay. 

 P^atering the horse. — A discussion of the order of sup- 

 plying food should include the time of watering the horse. 

 Many persons think that the horse should be watered 

 before feeding, while others are equally as certain that 

 feeding §hould precede watering. This difference of 

 opinion may be due to the fact that either method will 

 sometimes result in digestive disorders. If the horse is 

 watered before feeding he may drink to excess., which 

 may cause digestive disorders and will surely affect the 

 appetite, and he will not consume as much food as he 

 otherwise would. On the other hand, if the horse is very 

 thirsty and water is withheld until after feeding, he may 

 not eat heartily and may drink so much water as to 

 lessen his usefulness while at work. 



The object to be attained is to water the horse so fre- 

 quently that he will not become thirsty and, therefore, not 

 drink to excess. To do this the work horse should be 

 watered four times each day; perhaps better results 

 would be obtained from watering six times. Little or no 

 difficulty will be experienced if the horse is watered after 

 breakfast, both before and after dinner, and before sup- 

 per. Perhaps better results would be obtained if the 

 horse was watered before breakfast and again after sup- 

 per, thus making six times daily, as is the custom in many 

 large stables. 



Changing foods. — Sudden changes in the food are to 

 be avoided, as the digestive system may not be able to 

 accommodate itself at once to such, and digestive dis- 

 orders follow. Such changes sometimes result in scour- 

 ing, as when the horse is too suddenly transferred from 



