Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others].

Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    42/690 (page 36)
    age stock raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, and clearness. Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell. Chemical and microscopic examination will frequently be necessary in order to detect the presence of certain poisons, bacteria, etc., and can, of course, be conducted by experts only. FOODS AND FEEDING. In this place one can not attempt anjThing like a comprehensive discussion of the subject of foods and feeding, and I must content myself with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of food, preparation, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and quantity. Improper feeding and watering will doubtless account for over one-half of the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and hence the reader can not fail to see how very important it is to have some proper ideas concerning these subjects. KINDS OF FOOD. In this country horses are fed chieffy upon hay, grass, corn fodder, roots, oats, corn, wheat, and rye. Many think that they could be fed on nothing else. Stewart, in uThe Stable Book,” gives the following extract from Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Agriculture, which is of inter- est at this point: In some sterile countries they [horses] are forced to subsist on dried fish, and even on vegetable mold; in Arabia, on milk, flesh balls, eggs, broth. In India horses are variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few, per- haps no, oats are grown; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses. In Bengal a vetch, something like the tare, is used. On the western side of India a sort of pigeon pea, called gram (Cicer arietinum) forms the ordinary food, with grass while in season, and hay all the year round. Indian corn or rice is seldom given. In the West Indies maize, guinea corn, sugar-corn tops, and sometimes molasses are given. In the Mahratta country salt, pepper, and other spices are made into balls, with flour and butter, and these are supposed to produce animation and to fine the coat. Broth made from sheep’s head is sometimes given. In France, Spain, and Italy, besides the grasses, the leaves of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, and the seeds of the carob tree are given to horses. For information as to the nutritive value, chemistry, and classifica- tion of the different kinds of food, I will refer the reader to Jordan’s or Armsby’s book on feeding animals, or to cl Smith’s Veterinary Hygiene.” We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of the digestibility of foods; and by this we mean the readiness with which foods undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit them for absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal economy. The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify the digesti- bility of foods, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, pre- serving, and preparing the foods.