142 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



between the digestive organs, the skin, feet, nervous, 

 lymphatic, and urinary systems, shows us how many 

 diseases of quite an opposite character may be dependent 

 on the food given ; in this connection may he mentioned 

 broken wind, laminitis, diabetes, lymphangitis, azoturia, 

 congestion of the brain, diarrhoea, etc. 



Horses performing slow work are necessarily dieted 

 differently from those performing fast work. Work of a 

 laborious nature, be it in the hunting-field or between the 

 shafts of a heavy cart, cannot be performed on a full 

 stomach, or distress is rapidly brought about by the 

 pressure of the stomach against the diaphragm, and the 

 consequent obstruction to the free action of the lungs. If 

 urged beyond this, rupture of the diaphragm or stomach 

 may be produced. During fast work the stomach should 

 practically be empty ; horses should, therefore, be fed one 

 or two hours before they are required, and the food given 

 should be of a concentrated character, such as oats. 



With slow or moderate work the same extreme care need 

 not be exercised with regard to abstinence before going out, 

 but even here a distended stomach may prove dangerous, 

 especially for animals performing draught work. 



Work should not be too prolonged or exhaustion soon 

 occurs ; after severe work the appetite must be tempted, 

 especially as very often all ordinary food is refused. Warm 

 gruel may be given and a good bed provided, for frequently 

 the appetite does not return until after a thorough rest. 



The influence of work on the production of colic is 

 extraordinary. One can only account for it by saying that 

 work interferes in some way with normal digestion, possibly 

 from some breach of the rules of feeding which we are now 

 discussing. 



After prolonged abstinence feeding in small quantities 

 should be observed, the ravenous feeding of a hungry horse 

 has caused many cases of colic, and more serious stomach 

 trouble. Eavenous and greedy feeding may be natural to 

 an animal apart from hunger, such cases should be care- 

 fully controlled, on no account, if it can be avoided, should 



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