Mower County transcript., 1871-08-10
Care Of Horse and OK Teams.

MY horses, when look after and drive
them myself, arc always fat and in good
health, and do as much as any others and
SO it is with. mapy Il careful teamstcr or
master. The reason is, they never cover
do them. TO exemp|ity this we will just
! suppose it necessary to drive Il team,
heavils hmdrd, two miles only, and that the
roads are bad. One driver does the dis
tancc in three quarters Of an hour, and the
team is not distressed; another does it in
ten minutes or quarter of al hour tss,
never brt athing his horses, tearing along
the whole way, and the team reaches the
end blowing and sweating profusely, and
very probably qaivering ut the shoulder
and flank-in short, "ovcrd done" and only
few minutes saved-all Of which time,
and more, is consumed in rccupcration,
! and much more mischief done than could
be undone with a weeks care. Horses
and oxen, like ourselves, sometimes feel
| unWeu, but they arc unfortunately unable
to tell us 50. How often do we feel unable
to work quite as hard and as freely one
day as VIC have been in the habit Of doing.
1t is true we suffer no great pain, and we
can cat pretty well; but we do not ferl
right and work is severe labor, and five
are forced on, serious illness is often the
Consl qucnce; 80 it is with horse or OK
teams. These are at times affected the
same way, and an obscryant owner or
will quickly detect it, and ease their labor
accordingly. From seemingly tri1iing
symptoms unlikely to he noticed by any
but the person always entrusted with the
animals), any such ailing will t,c al once
detected. Twenty four hours care
will probably see material amendment,
and next day all will be rig as usual, pro-
viucd the necessary care be used. If other
wise treated, a week will often not
suffice to restore the balance of health and
appetite
In this department much error has crcpt
| III. The habit of ignorant. hired men is
often to M Ike the time requisite for giving
the food to suit their own convenience
rather than the necessities or health of
their horses. When brought to the stable,
ii is common custom to first take tho
team to the water trough, ard allow them
TO distcnl their stomachs Wi'hn immense
quantity Of we'll water. This is bad as
can DC. The horses want water, it is true
bat it is best to give only Al few mouthfuls
IT, rcf1cah them, then give q little hay, aud
in quarter of an hour grain of any kind
can hc given in almost any reasonable
quantities, without any chance of injury.
Af.er eating Water may be given with inn
purity to amy extent. Where horse teams
arc employed jointly with number of
men, s,lch as railroad work, or the like,
! they must be fed and ready again to go to
work when the dinner hour is over; and
for this meal, unu:r these circumstances,
, chopped hay and ground oats, slightly
moistened, form an admirable mixture l
prefer feeding it III this way 10 teams at
all times and SEASONS and am quite con
vnce.i that much saving is effected aud
; injury to horses avoidrd. With this mix.
| ture hnrs+ may be !, Il will! perfect saf; ty,
it ever s, heated, provided theIc is IL t too
much grain among the hay.
A very intelligent friend Of mine, who
used this kind of feed, always took Nose.
bags to the ii. Id with him. and gave his
horses ten miLutcs' feed and rest, at a
medium interval between breakfast and
dinner, and the same at about halfpast
four in the afternoon. No team did more
work than his, or on less feed.
Cavalry horses arc always sparingly fed
! both as to hay and OATS and any horse
that cannot live Oh the regular allowance
is at once sold as "cast horse" This,
however, very rarely happens. Generally
the feed, although scarcely more than half
as much as is ordinarily fed, will amply
suffice to keep the animal in high health
and condition. Men AMI teams often, ard
indeed generally, eat far more than is
absolutely requisite for them; they cannot
assimiate such an immense quantity as is
sometimes given. A large portion of the
excess passes ,lndigested through the ami
na'; or, il digcsted, unassimiat, d.
Ch"mcal analysis has proved this to he
the CHS" over and again. There is Ger
'ain demand made by the system for food
I" supply the wear and tear caused hy
labor. When this is supplied, no more CAN
be done. Ii the animal fail in condition,
rest or restoration to health is absolutely
ncccssary.-N b. F'trm3r.