154 VETEEINARY HYGIENE 



the horse, is aimed at in the case of oxen, sheep, and 

 pigs. 



Excess of food, quite apart from the conditions mentioned, 

 predisposes to certain diseases. It is the fattest horses 

 which are first attacked by anthrax, the poorer animals 

 may entirely escape ; it is the oxen brought suddenly from 

 poor to rich pastures which may contract symptomatic 

 anthrax. It is the fat horse that suffers from laminitis, 

 pneumonia, and pulmonary apoplexy, — not entirely because 

 he is fat, but because he cannot be fat and ' in condition.' 



Overfeeding, as we have indicated, may be limited to one 

 food constituent, proteid, fat, or starch ; but apart from 

 this overfeeding may be confined to one particular food. 

 Take for example ' green food ' obtainable at certain times 

 of the year, and of which the dry fed horse or ox is neces- 

 sarily inordinately fond. If not given with discretion, 

 mixed with hay, or only small quantities allowed to begin 

 with, nothing is more common than stomach and intestinal 

 trouble. Both animals will suffer from tympanites and 

 intense pain, frequently followed in the horse by actual 

 rupture of the viscera from the evolution of gas, or even 

 asphyxia from the pressure exerted on the lungs. 



Deficiency of Food vpry early shows itself ; theoretically 

 the deficiency may be in any of the proximate principles, 

 viz., proteids, fats, carbo-hydrates or salts, practically it is 

 found the deficiency extends to all the food elements. 



It can be ascertained experimentally that the deficiency 

 of starch is better withstood than that of fat, and fat better 

 than proteid, but as we have shown all of these are required 

 in a properly balanced diet, and cannot be done without, 

 though the absence of proteid is felt much earlier than 

 either of the other principles. 



When animals are gradually starved it may be brought 

 about by two conditions, either insufficient food, or insuffi- 

 cient food for the amount of work performed. Inasmuch 

 as horses are not kept to look at, these two conditions are 

 generally combined, but it is useful to bear in mind the 

 enormous influence of work on insufficient food. 



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