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94

atable. Hay should be fed sparingly to horses which are hard worked, but the old theory that oats, and oats alone, are the only food for hard-worked ones is an exploded one, for there is no surer though slow means of, so to speak, " burning tip" a horse.

When possible, a few bites of green grass will be of benefit, as it will assist in keeping the digestive organs in good condition. Watering should not be carelessly done. While some persons go to excess in depriving their horses of water, it is certainly wise to limit them somewhat, excepting possibly at evening. A horse should never drink his fill before going to work on the road, and the variety of the work will be, in a way, a guide as to the quantity to be allowed. It is scarcely necessary to add that when a horse is heated and about to be stabled, no more than a sponging should be given until he is thoroughly cooled out.

This chapter is not intended in any way as a treatise on feeding, but merely to show that it is a subject admitting of, and in fact requiring, considerable judgment and experience.

In addition to careful feeding, it is necessary that a horse's teeth should be watched and kept in good order. Mangy- a case of debilitated condition, pulling, side reining, rearing, etc., is due to a bad state of the mouth, which, when neglected, causes permanent trouble.

Passing from the care of horses to that of the har-


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