694 Reading-Course for Farmers. 



During this breeding season the grain ration should consist mainly 

 of good, sound oats — nothing is better; but this should be varied from 

 time to time by a ration of corn, corn-and-cob meal or perhaps barley. 

 Wheat bran is a valuable adjunct to the ration and should never be 

 dispensed with. It is rich in protein, an especially important element 

 of nutrition for the stallion, and is the cheapest, safest and best of all 

 regulators for the bowels. The roughage should consist of sweet, clean 

 hay, timothy or timothy and clover mixed. 



No specific directions as to quantity of food can be given. Some 

 horses will require as much again as others. As a rule, it will be safe 

 to feed as much as the horse will eat with apparent relish; and if given 

 plenty of exercise he will not become too fat. Keep in mind that any- 

 thing which adds to the health, strength and vigor of the horse will 

 increase his reproductive power, simply because the sexual organs 

 will partake of the general tone of the system; and whatever tends to 

 impair the health and vigor will have its effect upon the sexual organs 

 as well. A horse in good condition needs nothing but sweet, sound 

 food administered regularly, pure air and plenty of exercise. 



After the close of the season, the stallion should receive no mares; 

 if permitted to serve a mare occasionally he will be nervous and anxious, 

 requiring the same attention as in the height of the season. When 

 possible, he should have a small pasture lot, securely fenced, adjoining 

 his stall, and the door left open at all times except in extremely cold 

 or stormy weather. If the lot affords sufficient grass, no other food 

 need be giv^. At the approach of winter when the grass begins to 

 fail, he may be given a limited feed of grain each day and all of the hay 

 or corn stover that he will clean up nicely. In this way a stallion can 

 be brought through the winter economically and satisfactorily. 



Feeding horses for market 



In certain parts of the country, feeding horses for the market has 

 become as much a regular business as feeding steers. As in beef cattle, 

 quality and fat go together in determining the price of the horse. Pro- 

 viding the horse is sound, it is hardly possible to get him so fat that 

 buyers will object for that reason. We have said that excessive fatten- 

 ing, with little exercise, lessens the future usefulness of the horse. But 

 the shrewd business mian proposes to meet the demands of the market. 

 The case stands just as a farmer once put it: — " The fatter the horse, 

 the more the buyer will pay for him, the sooner will he wear out, thus 



