Oct. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 729 



value of a ration which is poor in such constituents, and will improve a 

 diet which is principally of oaten or wheaten chaff, if added in moderate 

 quantities. 



Hay [grass or clover).— Both forms are valuable foods, clover being of 

 most use in conjunction with a diet low in nitrogenous matter. Good grass 

 hay and oats give a nearly perfectly balanced ration. 



Linseed Meal. — Both this and other similar meals can bn fed to horses in 

 quantities of up to 21b. daily, and can replace about twice the quantity of 

 bran so far as ordinary food material goes. If too much is fed it is simply 

 wasted, being passed through unassimilated. 



Stravj. — For horses which are not being worked, straw can be quite 

 usefully employed as feed, especially if made palatable with molasses, which 

 will also increase its food value. Ajudicious admixture of "chafF and chaffed 

 straw may also be utilised for horses doing easy work, and it is in fact 

 widely used. It must be remembered that the mastication and digestion of 

 straw requires a good deal of energy on the part of the animal. Oaten and 

 barley straw are the best. 



Molasses. — Of much value in making such feeds as straw, &c., palatable to 

 horses, in increasing tlie carbohydrates contained in the food, and in acting 

 as a mild laxative. 



'Many other materials can be utilised as horse-feed, and the adaptability 

 of the horse to different fodders is remarkable, particularly if he is brought 

 on to them gradually and fed on them regularly. Whatever the feed 

 selected, care must be taken that the quality is good. Musty and mouldy 

 food, new grain, dusty hay and chaff, and inferior food of all kinds are liable 

 to lead to trouble. 



Diseases Associated with Feeding. 

 . Of the diseases associated with feeding in the horse, the most important is, 

 •of course, colic in one or other of its numerous form.s ; and among others 

 may be noted azoturia, forage poisoning, laminitis and lymphangitis. 



C(jlic — The commonest causes of this complaint are errors in the quantities 

 of food given and the size of the feeds. Sudden changes of food (particularly 

 that from grass to grain), heavy feeding immediately' before hard work, the 

 bolting of quantities of indigestible grain, such as wheat, and the ingestion 

 of large quantities of fibrous matter, such as the running stems of the paddy- 

 melon (Cucumis myriocarjjus) — all these are liable to cause colic in strong, well- 

 <;onditi(>ned horses, and there are also other causes likely to operate in animals 

 debilitated through a continuous low ration or temporarily exhausted from 

 excessive strain. The administration of even an ordinary grain food will at 

 times cause trouble in these cases, and the giving of an extra large feed to a 

 tired or exhausted animal may lead to serious results. 



In cases of debility the tone of the digestive organs is so low that large 

 quantities of concentrated food cannot be dealt with, and indigestion and 

 colic result. Debilitated animals are also peculiarly prone to flatulent coHc 

 if food of a highly succulent and fermentative nature is given. Weak and 



