Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-08-24
Horse Feeding.

Horse Feeding.
| why is 1t that farmers do not tat
ten their horses to suit the markets
rather than sell them half fat to the
shippers who fatten them at great
expense for month and make a big
profit besides?" asks a correspondent
OF the Drovers' Telegram. Farmers
are far better able to fatten their
horses for market than the shipper,
who must buy all his feed. and the
horse can be worked, exercised and
properly fitted for market, when ne
viii sell at the top and be READY TO
go promptly to work, while the stan
fed horse is soft and must be gradu-
ally conditioned and hardened to work.
So common is it for farmers to sell
their horses half fat that a number OF
horse feeding establishments have
sprung up in various parts of the coun-
try, in which these thin horses are
gathered together and fitted for the
market The average farmer might
find some useful hints from the meth
DDS followed by these professional Mt
tiers, which, in the main, are as fol-
lows:
The horses are purchased. their
teeth are fioated and they are all put IN
the barn and fed gradually, as great
care must be taken for few days to
avoid collie. 1t seems preferable to feed
them grain about five times per day,
due to the fact that the stomach OF
horses. being proportionately smaller
than those of COWS, they need their feed
in smaller quantities and often. The
ooiyc
have access TO it at all times. They are
given all the water they can drink
twice a day. The following method is
followed in feeding the grain:
Corn is given at O'Clock IN the
morning, water at Z, the hay racks flited
at 9 o'clock. when they are also given
oats and bran, the proportion peing
two thirds bran and one-thlrd oats.
Then at IL o'clock they are fed corn
again, at in the afternoon oats ana
bran and the hay racks refilled; at
they are given a second watering, ana
at 6 the last feed Of corn is given.
"The proportion for each horse when
upon full feed is as follows: Corn, from
ten to fifteen ears at each iced; oats
and bran, about three quarts per 1eed.
making in all from thirty to forty ears
of corn and six quarts of oats and bran
per horse per day. The horses are not
given any exercise. 1t seems 1mposs-
ible to give them all sufficient exercise,
thus they are not given any from the
time they are put in the barn until
few days before they are to be shlp-
ped.
AS a substitute for exercise, In ord
err to keep blood in good order, thus
preventing stock legs, Glauber salts Is
used. This is found to be quite salts
factory and will in most cases prevent
this trouble. 1t is mixed with oats and
bran. as in this way the horses eat 1t
quite readily. These salts are fed
about twice per week. They can be
purchased very cheaply from the drug
gist when bought in considerable
quantities. They are not so strong as
EPSON salts. and they have desirable
and cooling effect upon the blood.
lone of the largest horse-feeding es-
Establishments in the state of Illinois,
firm which has fed hundreds of horses
annually, make business of buying in
horses in the half-fed condition from
farmers and feeding them from one to
three months in preparation for the
market. The length of the feeding
period would depend upon the condi-
ton of the animal when purchased and
the prospective outcome of the same.
Large-framed, coarse-boned animals
are always fed much longer than the
fine, pony-built horses The former
class make heavier gains, and requirs
more flesh to give them finish and to-
make them attractive to the eye of the
purchaser.
Many people have doubted the wis
dom of forcing the horses in this way.
They claim that the animal will not
wear as long after being subjected to
such fattening processes. This may
be so, and no doubt it is in no small
degree STILL we must cater to the
demands of the market We must give
our purchasers what they want. In
draft horses they demand fat. thus il
we hope to get the highest value for
our animals we must sell them in high
flesh"