POOD 143 



they be fed from a nose-bag. Their food should be placed 

 on a level surface, such as the lid of a box, and spread out 

 in a thin layer with the hand. This quite defeats the horse 

 that bolts its food. 



To ensure thorough mastication of grain, it should 

 always be mixed with chaff, which should be damped to 

 prevent it separating from the corn. Chaff added to corn 

 in sufficient quantity will also control greedy feeding. 



Gorging may also occur from greediness, and in the 

 days when large feeds were placed before horses ' gorged 

 stomach ' with its attending brain trouble was very common. 

 Veterinary science has practically banished this disease out 

 of existence. 



Eegularity in feeding, and regular but not excessive 

 work, are the two chief measures for controlling dietetic 

 diseases. Horses should be fed three or if possible four 

 times a day in small quantities at a time. The hay ration 

 should not be given before work, the bulk of it should be 

 reserved for night time, as it gives the horses something to 

 do and keeps them quiet ; further, it is of course hygienic- 

 ally a sound measure. 



The feeding of horses four times a day and the bulk of 

 the hay ration at night, are remarks intended to apply to 

 saddle and carriage horses, and not to the regular working 

 horse of commerce, which we have seen is fed at every 

 available opportunity. These latter need at night all the 

 rest they can secure, the longer they are off their legs the 

 longer they will last. 



In connection with this point, it may be mentioned that 

 the ordinary horse requires very little sleep, and that his 

 natural habit is to prefer a series of broken rests, during 

 the intervals of which he will always eat if anything is 

 available. 



It is impossible to keep up vigour and condition on con- 

 centrated foods alone, a certain amount of bulk is needed 

 by the bowels for the due performance of digestion, without 

 it the horse becomes ' tucked up,' and^Stewart believed it to 

 be a common cause of ' wind-sucking ' and ' cribbiting.' 



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