TEANSPOET BY SEA AND LAND 917 



The second week the diet may be — 



Lbs. 



Corn ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Bran ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Hay and carrots as before. 



During the third week — 



Lbs. 



Corn ... ... ... ... ... 7 



Bran ... ... ... ... ... 5 



Hay and carrots as before. 



There is no secret in dieting horses on board ship ; keep 

 them moderately low by not overdoing the corn ; increase 

 the diet, gradually not suddenly ; give bran and carrots 

 to regulate the bowels, and sufficient hay to afford the 

 needful bulk. Make the horses eat their hay slowly by 

 putting it in nets, and if it takes them an hour to eat a 

 pound so much the better, it will be the means of keeping 

 them quiet for half a day, and at the same time insures 

 thorough mastication. 



Diseases. — No nitre is required with the food and no 

 vinegar on the body ; these are ancient methods of dealing 

 with horses at sea founded on ignorance and misconception. 

 The only medicine they may require is Magnesium Sul- 

 phate, but the best medicine is bran; and the best treat- 

 ment for bowel derangement, from want of exercise or 

 other causes, is aloes by the mouth and plenty of sea water 

 by the rectum. 



There are diseases, however, which cannot be regarded in 

 a light manner, one is pneumonia and the other ' ship 

 staggers.' 



Pneumonia may appear twelve hours after the horses 

 are on board, it runs a rapid course, soon becomes putrid, 

 and death occurs in three or four days. The pleura as 

 well as the lung tissue is affected. Some animals will die in 

 an hour or two, the previous symptoms not having attracted 

 attention. 



The disease sets in quite suddenly, frequently several 

 horses are simultaneously attacked, or in the course of a 

 few hours. A few recover, some partly recover to die later 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



