Notes on Stable Management in India and the Colonies

by Joshua A. Nunn

Some horses are delicate feeders naturally, and take a long time in eating, or refuse their food altogether. In the case of a delicate or slow feeder, the food should be given in small quantities and often, rather than in the usual somewhat rather large feeds three times a day; and the horse should be fed by himself. This is easily done in India, as nearly all stables are loose boxes; but if the animal is picketed out with others that are likely to teaze him, he should be taken away and fed out of a bucket in the “compound” (garden or enclosure round the house). “Syces,” like all natives of India, have no idea of the value of time; and if he has his “hooka” (pipe), and a friend to talk to about the price of food-stuffs, rates of wages, and other such-like interesting bazaar topics, he is perfectly content to sit holding the bucket before the horse all day long, if necessary. If the animal refuses his food altogether, then it should be taken away, for if left standing in front of him he breathes on it, and if it remains any considerable time it becomes sour and fermented, and he gets disgusted with it; whereas, if taken away and nothing more given till next feeding-time, the appetite often returns, and the food is consumed with a relish; especially in the warm weather, if he is first led out and exercised, or picketed out under a tree. On no account should the feed that has been refused be kept over till the next feeding-time; a fresh one should be prepared, as in a hot climate wet grain ferments and turns sour in a very short space of time.

Times of Feeding.

The stomach of the horse is very small in proportion to the size of his body, and he requires to be fed often, and in small quantities. In England hunters are fed four, or even five, times a day. In India it is the usual custom to feed three times, and perhaps it is often enough. In all military stations a gun is fired at noon, and the midday feed is given at that hour; but the morning and evening one varies with the season of the year. I usually give only half a feed in the evening about five o’clock, and the remainder the last thing at night, about eight or nine, according to the season of the year; but, unless carefully watched, “syces” will not do this, as it is the custom only to feed three times daily, and “dastour” (custom) is a thing it is impossible to make a native break through.

Bolting Food.

Some horses have a trick of bolting their food without masticating it properly, especially if another is being fed in their company. It is a good plan to feed such horses apart from any others, which can easily be done in an Indian stable, as they are all loose boxes, or, if picketed out in the open, by moving him a short distance away from the others. A small quantity of chaff, grass, straw, or what is known as “bhoosa,” which is wheat straw that is crushed and broken into small pieces in the process of treading out the grain by bullocks, mixed in with the feed, will usually make them masticate it properly.

Spilling Food on Ground.

Horses have also a trick sometimes of throwing their food out of the bucket or manger, and spilling a quantity on the ground. Not only is a large amount wasted, but when the animal has finished what is left, and tries at his leisure to gather up what is on the ground, he eats a large amount of earth and dirt with it, which is injurious. The best way I know to prevent this is to feed the horse on a cloth on the ground; any bit of old sacking about four feet square will answer for the purpose.

Grass.

In India hay is not often seen, and horses are fed on grass; even race-horses are trained on it. This may at first sound strange, but Indian grass is very different to English meadow grass, and chiefly consists of the roots and runners, the actual blade of grass not being more than about an inch long. The best grass is what is known as “dhoob.” It is a short grass, with long roots and suckers, which is dug up out of the ground with a short iron hoe or trowel, called a “kurpa,” which is used with a scraping motion of the hand, the process being called “cheeling.” A considerable quantity of earth is taken up with it, which ought to be knocked off against the hoe; but as the grass is sold by weight, and the usual quantity a private “grass-cutter” is supposed to bring in daily is 20 seers (40 lbs. weight), it is not to his advantage to clean it. If horses eat dirty grass for any length of time, the sand and dirt, besides damaging the teeth, is likely to accumulate in the intestines and give rise to what is known as sand colic. When the “grass-cutter” brings in his bundle of grass that he has collected, which he generally does at midday, it should be spread out and cleaned; sticks and thorns should be picked out, as they are likely to lodge in the horse’s throat and choke him, and it should be well beaten with a stick to get rid of the sand and dirt. A good plan is to fasten a net between the wooden framework of a “charpoy,” or native bedstead, lay the grass on it, and beat it there with a stick, and it is surprising what a quantity of rubbish will fall through. An old lawn tennis net, if the meshes are not too big, answers well for this purpose. Grass-cutters are fond of wetting the grass to make it weigh. If it is brought in fresh, and damped with clean water beyond the actual loss in weight, I do not know that it does much harm; but it is exceedingly likely that the water has been obtained from some stagnant dirty puddle, and the bundle has been left standing for some time so that fermentation has set in, giving it an unpleasant smell. It is therefore best to have the bundles at once opened out and spread in the sun to dry as soon as they are brought in, and not allow the “grass-cutters” to take them away to their own houses. In parts of the foot hills of the Himalayas (“hurriarie,” or “hurrialie”) grass is obtained. It is not found in the plains, or in the very high mountains where it is cold. It is a long grass, running to about three feet high, and is cut with a curved sickle. When young and green it is a capital fodder grass; but when the seed is shed, and it gets dry, it is unfit for any other purpose than bedding, as the stalks get very hard and brittle, and so dry that there is little or no nourishment in it. It should not then be allowed into the stable for any other purpose than bedding; but being much easier to collect than “dhoob” grass, the “grass-cutters” will bring it as long as they are allowed to, even when it resembles nothing more than a bundle of sticks. I have frequently heard owners of horses in the hills complain of their animals getting thin and out of condition, the cause of which on inquiry was simply due to the bad dry hurrialie grass that was brought for them to eat.

Churrie.