Feeding the Horse. 



695 



making demands for another horse. So long as the buyers are satisfied, 

 we ought to be." 



The methods practiced in various parts of the country differ widely, 

 as do the foods used. One large firm gives two feedings daily of mixed 

 feed, bran shorts and oats, and one feeding of corn v/ith good clover 

 hay. "We have stated that the work horse should be provided with 

 somewhat more than two pounds of provender, of which one-half to 

 •two-thirds should be grain, for each hundred pounds of weight; and 

 that the animal should have plenty of exercise. This, however, fails 

 completely in this method of feeding as the animals are fed all they 

 will consume and kept closely stabled and blanketed, with often- 

 times no exercise 

 whatever. As a sub- 

 stitute for exercise, 

 in order to keep the 

 blood in good order, 

 thus preventing in 

 part stock-legs, glau- 

 ber salts are some- 

 times used. These 

 salts are fed once 

 or twice per week. 

 The assertion is made 

 that the salt aids in 

 putting on flesh and 

 that it gives the skin 

 a soft mellow touch. 

 In some instances 

 horses fed in this 

 manner have made a 

 gain of as much as 

 five pounds per day for a period of fifty or seventy-five days. An 

 instance is quoted in which one horse gained 550 pounds in 100 days. 

 The average feeding period is go to 100 days, and an average gain of 

 three pounds per day is considered satisfactory. 



Fig. 28. — Dan Patch, the shire prize winner 



