At Seven o’Clock in the Evening, a third of Hay, and a third of Straw.
“Horses are Watered half an hour before receiving the Oats; consequently, twice a day during the hot weather, and their Thirst quenched again in the Evening.”—From p. 132 and 133 of Mr. R. de Rochefort’s Promenades à Cheval. Paris, 16mo. 1826.
Blundevill, in his Order of Dieting Horses, 4to. 1609, p. 10, says, “that half a Peck of Oates, or as much as a Man can easily take up at six times with both his hands together, is enough to give a Horse at once.”
For Carriage Horses employed in the usual Town work, sixteen to twenty pounds of sound meadow Hay, with from three quarters to a Peck of good full Oats, per Day, will be sufficient:—should Frost, or other circumstances, lessen their labour, their Food should be lessened also, and a small proportion of Bran substituted; on the other hand, when their Exercise is severe, the allowance of Corn should be increased; to which, when they are worked very hard, a few Beans are an invigorating addition; a great quantity of Hay is not good, except for Cart Horses, who are meant for no other use but to roll on slowly, with a fat fellow full of Beer swaggering beside them.
Lord Pembroke’s plan of feeding Horses, especially Old ones, with bruised Corn, and Chaff, is to be recommended—“Every grain then goes to nourishment, and Three feeds go further, than Four, as commonly given.”
Although a horse has but a short Stomach, he has Long Bowels:—Dr. Bracken tells us, that “the length of the Alimentary Canal of a Horse is seldom less than 35 Yards: He must, therefore, feed a little at a time; and as we know that when our own Stomach is empty, we feel languid, so does the Horse—and as a small Stomach must be soon emptied, it requires to be frequently replenished.”
A Horse should have Four feeds in a Day, the first about Six in the Morning, the next at Eleven, again at Four, and the last thing at Night:—of these, Supper and Breakfast should be the Best; the intermediate Eating should be at about Noon, and four or five hours after: in the intervening time, let his Rack and Manger be empty, then when he comes to his meal he will eat with an appetite whatever you give him.
Make it a Rule, to give your Horses their Food two hours before you put them to Work—that the first act of the restorative process of Digestion may be finished before they are disturbed.
Young Horses, that have not done growing, have strong Appetites, and require to be more fully fed than those that have come to Maturity, but not so much Corn;—Bran, and Clover Hay. Chaff damped, will occasionally do for them better—Young Horses, like Young Children, require their Food in Quantity rather than Quality, and the lighter it is the better.
Soft Water is to be preferred; the condition of a Horse’s Coat depends much on the quality of the Water that he drinks—very cold and hard water will break his Coat directly.