The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1875-06-26
Treatment Of the Farm Horse. ,


It is not the amount of food given .
horse, 90 much IS gentle treatment and
the time and manner of giving him his
food, that insures his good condition.
There are times when he should have .
full feed, and there are times when he
should have q small one. His heaviest
feed should be in the evening after his
work is over. Then, after gratifying his
appetite, he will lie down quietly to
rest probably till morning, by which
time his food will be digested and his
whole system refreshed. and gets up in
the morning With renewed appetite and
his energies prepared to undergo another
day'sservice. His mornings meal should
not be 80 plentiful as that ofthe previous
evening. and after partaking of it be
should be worked moderately for the first
hour or two. after which, if necessary,
his gait may be increased. At mid day
his feed should be less than either that
of the morning or evening. and he will
then renew his labor in the afternoon
with more vigor and less exhaustion
than il be bad partaken Of full feed,
and will enjoy his evenings meal with
greater relish. 1t is the practice ofsome
horsemen to give their horses no water
until they have eaten their meal; but =
full drink of water should never be given
Immediately after being fed, as the bulk
of it will 60 directly to the large intes-
tines and but little of it retained in the
stomach, and much of the food is thus
washed out before it is digested, and con-
sequentiy very little nourishmcnt de-
rived from it.
Nor should a horse that has been
worked hard through the day be suffered
to spend the night without being we'll
cleaned and his limbs we'll rubbed down,
for this operation is worth as much to
the horse rs half = feed, and more per-
haps to the owner than the price of q
dozen feeds, and such duty should be
repeated in the morning. In fact, the
horse should never be taken out of the
stable without having his limbs well
rubbed down, for he will then feel that
he has limbs, and will take pleasure in
using them. Always cultivate an &C.
quaintance with your horse and be on
friendly terms with him. Meyer swear
at or scold him, nor allow others to do
so, for he is resentive animal and has
the spirit of resentment as we'll as man,
and there is no necessity for shouting or
yelling at him. The fact is, if more
kind treatment were given to these no.
BILE animals, we should find their docility
greatly increased. Just imagine a gee
or a haw given in such loud tone as to
be heard half mile of, when the animal
is in less than five feet OF you. Where
is the necessity for it? Why not speak
to him in more gentle and pleasing
terms? Rather talk to him in a kindly
tone of voice, pat him on the neck, and
even sing or whistle to him, for he is
fond of music, and those little attentions
are always sagaciously appreciated by
him. He is an intelligent animal, and
will obey a. command if given in gentle
zone, quite as readily as if given in tones
If thunder. The very best managed
cams in the country are those whose dri-
'ers rarely speak to them above their Or
linary tone of voice, and their horses al.
ways lay to their work with great deal
more apparent willingness than when
lriven to it by fearful shoutings and
blows. None of the brute creation more
eadily appreciate kind words or treat
nent than the horse. and that fact
hould ever be borne in mind by those
lnder whose care the noble animals are
Observation-Disclosures Sun.