There  are  two  modes  of  giving  salt,  and  a  kind  of  salt  for
each  mode.  Some  give  one  or  two  ounces  of  common  table-
salt,  every  night,  along  with  the  boiled  food,  with  which  it  is
well  mixed  ;  others  give  six  or  eight  ounces  at  a  time,  and
only  once  a  week,  generally  on  Saturday  night,  if  the  horses
be  idle  all  Sunday.  By  the  former  mode  it  is  said  to  promote
digestion,  and  to  render  the  food  more  palatable  ;  by  the  latter
it  relaxes  the  bowels,  and  increases  the  flow  of  urine.  In
both  cases  the  salt  excites  considerable  thirst,  especially  al
first,  before  the  horse  becomes  accustomed  to  it.  When
given  only  once  a  week,  he  never  becomes  accustomed  to  it.
The  same  effects  are  produced  every  time  the  salt  is  given.
I  have  no  reason  to  approve  much  of  either  of  these  modes.
Fast-working  horses,  either  from  the  laxative  property  of  the
salt,  or  from  the  quantity  of  water  which  it  makes  them  drink,
are  very  apt  to  purge,  and  to  sweat  easily  and  copiously.
