It is manifest that the most natural position for a horse's food to occupy when he is eating it, is on the ground. In ordinary cases, it is certainly the one which is most conducive to his health; because it obliges him to eat his corn more slowly; it offers more facilities to the saliva to flow from the salivary glands into the mouth; and it gives more exercise to the muscles of the head and neck than would be the case if the food were placed on a higher level. As the corn which is supplied to a horse is richer in nutriment and can be more easily swallowed by the animal than any kind of forage he would be likely to obtain in the open, and as the digestibility of equine food is largely dependent on its thorough mastication; the natural inducement to eat slowly, offered by the fact of the animal being obliged to hold his head low down, must be an effective aid to digestion. I will not go the length of saying, as some authorities do, that failure to obtain sufficient exercise of those muscles of the throat which are constantly kept at work during the act of grazing, is a cause of roaring; but I feel certain that it must interfere more or less with the due nutrition of the structures which are brought into play by the act of feeding off the ground. Against this practice, we have the objections that some horses which have infirm fore-legs, could not feed comfortably with their forage in this position; that a horse is apt to soil and waste his food by trampling on it and by throwing it about, and to consequently make his stall untidy; and that the usual manner of tying up a horse in a stall, makes it inconvenient for him to feed off the ground. As hay is one of the least savoury articles of forage, no useful purpose is served by taking special precautions to make a horse eat it slowly.

The ordinary position for a manger is at the head of the stall, and about 3 ft. above the floor. Although the term "manger" is generally restricted to a trough for corn, roots and mashes, it may be extended to a receptacle for both corn and hay (presumably cut in short lengths), when these two articles of forage are given without any attempt being made to keep them separate. The size of the manger should be amply sufficient to allow a horse to eat his food without danger of his spilling any of it, to aid which object, it is well to have the edge of the manger turned a little inwards and downwards. The fact of the sides of the manger sloping downwards slightly towards the centre, and the bottom of the manger being hollowed out, will help the animal to take up his food easily. Among ready-made iron mangers, the intending purchaser will find a large variety to select from. As horses when feeding from mangers which stand out abruptly from the wall are apt to hurt the front part of the fore-arm just above the knee, by suddenly lifting up the leg from impatience, or from some irritation, and as the presence of such a projection is liable to cause a horse to become "cast," if he gets his head under it when he is lying on the ground; the front surface of the manger should slope downwards and forwards, or should be perpendicular. The accident of hitting the leg in the manner just described, is by no means unfrequent, and in hunters and other 'cross-country animals, is usually put down to "chancing" fences. With existing mangers that have the defect in question, it is better to fill up the vacant space with masonry than with wood, which is apt to harbour vermin. Any projecting portions of wood in or near the manger should be covered with sheet-iron, zinc, or other suitable material, so as to prevent the horse from gnawing them or cribbing on them.

The hay receptacle should never take the form of the old-fashioned hay-rack, which is placed high up, and which consequently is not an uncommon indirect cause of inflammation of the eyes, from irritating particles dropping out of the hay into them. Besides, with these hay-racks, many horses get into the idle and provoking habit of pulling out the hay, irrespective of their desire to eat it, until all the hay they have not consumed is scattered over the floor, and more or less "messed " about. The idea of a rack (a receptacle formed of open bars) for hay, appears to be altogether wrong; for it will allow any hay seeds which are in the hay, and which are of nutritive value, to fall out. Also, a rack will hold only long hay efficiently. I have therefore refrained in these pages from employing the term "rack," when alluding to a receptacle for hay. The hay holder which I find most convenient to use, is similar in shape to the manger, but is a good deal deeper and is somewhat broader and wider. Its opening is provided with a couple of transverse bars, which are nearer their respective ends than the centre of the opening, so as to stop the animal from throwing out the hay in the manner practised by many horses. This hay receptacle is placed alongside the manger and on a level with it, which is an arrangement similar to that generally adopted by the chief manufacturers of ready-made iron stable fittings. The precautions which I have advised when treating of mangers, against inducements to cribbing, and against accidents to horses from striking themselves, apply equally to hay holders. A net, similar to those used by carters, will often prove useful for holding long hay.

Horses are so fastidious as to the quality of their drinking water, and grooms are often so oblivious of this fact, that I feel certain it is a mistake to have, presumably alongside a horse, a fixed water vessel, which, we may be quite sure, will not be cleaned out as frequently as will be necessary. Observation convinces me that when a horse has a bucket or basin of water constantly in front of him, he will unduly slaver into it and foul it, so that its inner surface will soon be covered with mucus and dirt, which will not always be cleaned away by the groom, even if he be careful enough to keep the vessel constantly full. When the receptacle is a fixture, the cleaning out process can be accomplished only with difficulty. The arrangement by which its contents can be tilted into the drain or waste pipe by a mechanism somewhat resembling that used with the revolving covers of silver or plated entree dishes, facilitates the removal of stale water, but in no way ensures the cleaning of the vessel. Again, the constant presence of water alongside the manger often prompts a horse to play with the water and thus wet his corn in a manner that cannot be good for his digestion. I would therefore advise that instead of a constant supply of water being kept within reach of a horse tied up in a stall, he should be watered by his groom in the manner described in Chapter IV (Theory And Practice Of Watering Horses) (Theory And Practice Of Watering Horses). If, however, the owner prefers the constant supply plan, I would counsel him to get a cylindrical cavity made alongside the manger, so that a sheet iron or zinc bucket without a handle could be placed in it, and to give strict orders that the bucket must be removed, emptied out, re-filled, and replaced at least three times a day; say, first thing in the morning, before the mid-day feed, and last thing at night.