2215. You cannot take up a paper without having the question
put, "Do you bruise your oats?" Well, that depends on
circumstances: a fresh young horse can bruise its own oats when
it can get them; but aged horses, after a time, lose the power
of masticating and bruising them, and bolt them whole; thus much
impeding the work of digestion. For an old horse, then, bruise
the oats; for a young one it does no harm and little good. Oats
should be bright and dry, and not too new. Where they are new,
sprinkle them with salt and water; otherwise, they overload the
horse's stomach. Chopped straw mixed with oats, in the
proportion of a third of straw or hay, is a good food for horses
in full work; and carrots, of which horses are remarkably fond,
have a perceptible effect in a short time on the gloss of the
coat.

2216. The water given to a horse merits some attention; it
should not be too cold; hard water is not to be recommended;
stagnant or muddy water is positively injurious; river water is
the best for all purposes; and anything is preferable to spring
water, which should be exposed to the sun in summer for an hour
or two, and stirred up before using it; a handful of oatmeal
thrown into the pail will much improve its quality.

2217. _Shoeing_.--A horse should not be sent on a journey or any
other hard work immediately after new shoeing;--the stiffness
incidental to new shoes is not unlikely to bring him down. A
day's rest, with reasonable exercise, will not be thrown away
after this operation. On reaching home very hot, the groom
should walk him about for a few minutes; this done, he should
take off the moisture with the scraper, and afterwards wisp him
over with a handful of straw and a flannel cloth: if the cloth
is dipped in some spirit, all the better. He should wash, pick,
and wipe dry the legs and feet, take off the bridle and crupper,
and fasten it to the rack, then the girths, and put a wisp of
straw under the saddle. When sufficiently cool, the horse should
have some hay given him, and then a feed of oats: if he refuse
the latter, offer him a little wet bran, or a handful of oatmeal
in tepid water. When he has been fed, he should be thoroughly
cleaned, and his body-clothes put on, and, if very much harassed
with fatigue, a little good ale or wine will be well bestowed