HINTS ON THE CARE OF HORSES.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1040, 28 May 1883, Page 2

HINTS ON THE CARE OF HORSES.

The National Live Stock Journal makes the following practical remarks upon the little attentions required by horses : —lf it is right to call the horse a sagacious animal, then it is right, if we take no other than a purely selfish view of the case, to give him such kindly and necessary attentions as he will be thankful for. The merest cur -is thankful for attentions, hence why should not the horse be equally thoughtful and ready to serve the hand that gives him his oats in place of the one that gives him the lash. If a horse, naturally vicious, attacks the groom, it is because he is first attacked, or otherwise thrown into a frenzied state from injury or fright. The horse is required to show life and willingness to travel when out of the stall, hence there are certain attentions required in the feeding, that his body maybe supple and his spirits lively.. The horse fed freely on com will not be in a fit condition for active driving. In popular language, corn is said to be heating, and it has a tendency to produce , indigestion. As the horse with confined bowels is necessarily spiritless, the stable should at all times be provided with bran and oil cake, that by judicious use of these the bowels may be kept in just the right state—not loose, for this is debilitating. If the horse is expected to go fast for a short distance, to pull a heavy load, or make a day’s drive with comfort and safety to himself, no large amount of hay should be given. The same rule of keeping down the size of the abdomeii?2t always practised with the speed-horse—-should be the rule for service of any kind whether the animal be kept for light driving, or equally If he weigh a ton and works upon a four-ton truck. The giving of salt to a horse is one of those little attentions that takes but little time, and if only because he likes the taste of salt he should have.it as a luxury. Confined as he is upon two or three kinds of food during the year, he should certainly be indulged in his taste for salt, even though merely for the pleasure enjoyed in the eating. But salt has its uses, and these are real, not imaginary. It stimulates the flow from the follicles, excites actiofi in the muscular coat of the stomach and bowels, and in this way tones up digestion. Horses that suffer from indigestion are quite likely to have worms, and salt is destructive to these. The young worm just forming in the bowels is readily destroyed by salt, hence its regular, moderate use not only removes these from the bowels, but is antagonistic to their future formation. The position occupied by the food before the horse may be made one of discomfort, through the use of mangers and feed-boxes placed higher: than the natural formation of the animal will render comfortable. The.natural position in feeding is with the head down. With the head elevated, mastication, as well as the act of swallowing, is made difficult. Some object to high feedracks because of the liability of dust and hayseed falling in the horse’s eyes.: When the rack is so high as to cause this result, then of course this is ah added objection.