Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-15
Feeding Horses.
IDroYers' Journal

Since the establishment of agricul-
tural experiment stations the feeding
of live stock has resulted in the COM
pounding of balanced rations for all
classes of animals. The dependence
of the prosperity of many of the great
industries is based on the use Of
horses, and the maintenance of these
animals in good working condition has
resulted in widely extended feeding
operations.
AS will be discovered, different
quantities of the same kind of grain
and hay enter the balanced ration of
the different experiment stations. The
fact that one particular ration is not
universally adopted as the standard
feed for horses at work, or in the pens
undergoing the grand finishing prep
aration for market. demonstrates a
wide difference in the individual tenn
permanent and assimilating ability of
horses. There is personality in each
horse that must be understood and
catered to in the maintenance of high
condition when at work or during the
fattening process.
Great corporations that employ a
multitude of horses in conducting their
business reduce their feeding opera
tons to system of so much grain and
so many pounds of hay per hundred
weight of the animal But there is no
uniformity even among the large feed
ing stables The Virginia Express
Company feeds 4.67 pounds Of corn,
5.33 pounds Of oats, s. pounds
of bran, 4.16 pounds of corn meal
1f thou
sand pounds of weight per day. The
Jersey City Express Company feeds its
horses 21.25 pounds of alfalfa. 80
pounds of corn, 10 pounds of oats, Lib
pounds of bran and 9.5 pounds of hay
per thousand weight per day. The
Boston Express Company feeds its
horses 12 pounds of corn, 5.25 pounds
of oats and 20 pounds of hay. The
United States army feeds per thousand
pounds Of live weight it's cavalry and
artillery horses IL pounds of oats and
IA pounds of hay and its mules y
pounds of oats and IA pounds of hay
The Utah experiment station feeds its
farm horses % pounds of alfalfa and
10 pounds of bran, or 22.S pounds Of
timothy and 10 pounds of bran The
Wyoming station feeds 1875 pounds Of
alfalfa and 2.25 pounds of straw per
day. In Omaha, Neb, 10 pounds of
oats and IL pounds of hay is the stand
ard ration for a draft horse. At Chi
cago the large companies feed rs
pounds of oats and 20 pounds Of hay
for a draft horse ration. At the Iowa
experiment station balanced ration
is compounded in the proportion OF
pound Of hay and 1 pound Of grain per
one hundred pounds of live weight Of
the horses used in the experiment
work.
The ration Of maintenance In the
above cases varies from the Wyom-
ing combination Of 1875 pounds of
alfalfa and 225 pounds of straw per
day to the Iowa experiment station
ration Of Is pounds of grain and 10
pounds of hay for 1900 pound draft
animal If horses can be maintained
in good condition at work on such
widely different ration, it demonstrates
q wide difference in the nutrition nee
essary to maintain horses in different
localities. The wide variation in the
ration Of maintenance practically
compels every owner of horses to con-
quot his lcOtllu6 OpCA e1SioiA' eNSSSA-&
to the individuality and assinlilating
ability of each horse in his stable.
Some animals require more grain than
others and an actual test will soon
determine the proper amount Of both
grain and roughage requisite for each
animal to maintain it in good condi-
ton or to fatten it for the market.
The Value of Good and Poor Cows.
In the practical Farmer" Mr.. I. b.
Terry makes some good points on the
value of a good cow and a poor one.
He says:
A reader, living in one of the great
dairy states Of the west, writes OF
clicking up choice dairy of grade
Holstein cows that will average AT
least $500 pounds Of milk each in
year. He paid from $50 to $50 head
for them. He writes us: "People
parted with their best cows, as that is
a large price here" Well, he is one
of our folks, and posted. hope he
didn't buy of any of our readers;
don't believe he did. Certainly he
made a far better bargain than did the
people who let their best cows go at
this price. have been at institutes in
New York good deal, and know how