FOOD 139 



THE PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING* 



The principles which govern the feeding of horses must 

 now be reviewed. No attempt can be made to deal with 

 the matter in detail, we can only glance at the general 

 principles involved. 



_ Looking at the matter from a plain practical point of 

 view, a horse must be considered as a machine, out of 

 which it is desired to obtain the greatest amount of work at 

 the smallest expense and the least risk ; in the same way as 

 a cow may be regarded as a milk-making and breeding 

 machine ; oxen as meat-makers ; sheep as wool, tallow, and 

 mutton makers ; pigs as bacon and ham produces. 



The food given must meet several requirements ; it 

 must be wholesome, abundant, clean and sweet, the hours 

 of feeding regular, and the quantity given should be pro- 

 portional to the arrangements of the viscera. The mode 

 of preparation found by practical experience to be the best 

 must be adhered to, and cleanliness in preparation and 

 administration should be observed. 



There are certain physiological conditions connected with 

 digestion in the horse which have their hygienic aspect, and 

 these must first be briefly considered. 



The stomach of the horse is very small : an organ of 

 average size will contain roughly half a cubic foot of 

 material, and it does its work best when it is two-thirds full. 

 In estimating the amount of material this represents, it 

 must not be forgotten that hay takes up four times its 

 weight of saliva, oats rather more than its own weight, and 

 green grass half its weight. Thus considerable additions of 

 saliva have to be borne in mind, as they greatly add to the 

 burden of the stomach. 



* This section relates entirely to the principles involved in the 

 feeding of horses. Cattle and sheep have been fully dealt with in the 

 preceding pages. 



The feeding of horses is such a very special matter, and so intimately 

 connected with the production of disease or the preservation of health, 

 that no excuse need be made for giving it further consideration, even 

 if it involves some repetition. 



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