4 The Diseases of Animals 
that are fat are susceptible to disease, do not breed 
readily, do not endure well in parturition, nor per- 
form ordinary labor easily. It is a somewhat common 
practice, when severe exertion is required of a horse, 
either at draft or on the road, to give him an extra 
heavy feed. Such practice is injurious to the animal, 
as he cannot do his best work when the digestive 
system is overloaded with food and thus taxed to its 
utmost capacity. Animals of which hard work is ex- 
pected Should be fed sparingly. Of course, horses 
or other animals that are continuously at hard labor 
should be given food enough to keep them in good 
physical condition. 
When warm, and especially when tired, an animal 
should be allowed to rest before receiving its usual 
food. The overtaxing of organs already tired tends 
to bring on diseases of the digestive system. It is 
usually a good plan to water the animal sparingly at 
first and: give a light feed of hay; then, when it is 
cool and rested, to give what water is desired and 
the customary feed of grain. Rubbing an animal 
with a brush, cloth, or wisp of straw. is an excellent 
method of resting and soothing it when it is tired 
and nervous. 
When animals are fed out of doors or in pens it 
is best to have them divided into small groups, or to 
have individual places for feeding each animal. The 
food should be so distributed that each animal has 
opportunity to get its fair share. When this is not 
done the strone and aggressive animals are likely 
to keep the weaker ones from getting their share of 
