The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-09-01
VETERINARY
FEEDS FOR THE HORSE.
By r. Hickingbottom. ". S.


Oats.-There is no grain so safe for
horse feeding, the animal rarely be-
ing seriously injured unless the attend
to the grain bin. Horses feed on oats
show strength which can not be reach
ed by the use of any other foodstuff.
The safety in feeding oats is due to
the great amount of indigestible mat
ter (hulls) that enclose the nutritious
portions, and unless the horse had bad
teeth or has. limited time to eat, oats
should be fed in the whole condition.
Relatively there is no difference be-
tween new and old oats. Extensive
experiments show that new oats do
not possess the injurious qualities at
tributed to them, but great care should
be exercised when changing from the
old to the new, lest diarrhoea, with
weakness and emaciation may occur.
Every 100 pounds of oats contains
90 pounds of protin, the heterogeneous
portion of which goes to form the or
ganic part Of bones, muscles, tendons,
etc., or in other words, builds up It's
sue and repairs waste, Alb pounds of
digestable carbohydrates, the non
heterogeneous, carbonaceous portion
which generates heat and energy, and
AZ pounds of digestable fatty mater
ials.
Substitutes for oats are barley, corn,
peas, beans, rye and wheat, together
with their by-products, bran, shorts,
middlings, ground mixed feeds, etc.
Horses are usually fed on two kinds
of grain with hay, oats, bran and tim
othy hay being the feed par excellence.
However, we find that in the southern
part of this country, Indian corn with
dried corn leaves are fed without dele
terious results. On the Pacific coast,
crushed barley is the common grain,
while the hay comes from the wild
oat, the barley or wheat plant. In
the foreign countries we find variety
of feed stuffs including moss, fish,
soup, flesh, etc.
Stations at stud should be fed main
ly on good sound oats, with an occas-
sional ration of corn or barley; for
horses, like men, are fond of variety
in their food, which is also conducive
to health.
Wheat bran is an invaluable adjunct
to the grain ration, and can never be
dispensed with. 1t is cheap, safe, and,
best of all, regulator for the bowels.
The art of feeding includes the
knowledge of feeding the proper
amount to the right horse. No speci-
fic directions as to the quantity of
food can be given. Some horses will
require twice as much as others, and
different kinds of work may make
change in the quantity required to
maintain the strength in certain ami
NAL.
Animals thin in flesh should be well
fed and slowly exercised where gain
in the body weight is desired. But
where strength is desired more exer-
else and plenty of feed will bring about
the desired results
While in foal the mare does not ne
cessarily require food different in quail
ity from that fed at other times, but
the quantity should be somewhat larg-
er, all conditions being equal.
In race horses the single requisite
of speed makes the carrying of every
pound of useless body weight and feed
a serious matter in the management
of the trotting horse. More important
than this, even, is the effect of the
food upon the characters OF the mus
cles formed from it, and especially up
on the nerve matter of the horse. Dur
ing the winter months one-half the
regular rations should be given and
when the springs work begins increse
the amount of grain and lessen the
quantity of hay until the proper pro-
portion is reached. Besides, too
much hay makes bulky mass in the
intestinal canal, thereby limiting the
capacity of the thoracic cavity, which
contains the lungs.
Coach horses should be fed much
the same as track horses. In this
case "hay belly" is Objectionable not