1072 Rural School Leaflet. 



When a horse paces, he moves on his right front foot and right hind 

 foot at the same time. At the pace, he travels on lateral feet. 



8. In a horse that forges, the toe of the hind shoe strikes the shoe 

 of the fore foot on the same side. 



In a horse that overreaches, the shoe of the hind foot strikes the 

 front foot in such a way as to cut or inflict a wound. 



9. The foods given to a horse vary according to the locality. In the 

 Northern States, Indian com or oats constitute the grain part of the 

 meal, while cornstalks or timothy hay constitutes the coarse part of the 

 fodder. In the South, Indian corn is the common grain, and dry corn 

 stalks the coarse material. On the Pacific Coast, barley is the grain, and 

 wild oats, or the barley and wheat plants, the coarse material. Wheat- 

 bran is also a very good food, and should never be dispensed with in 

 feeding the horse, especially the driving horse, which is likely not to be 

 regularly driven. There is nothing better to feed a horse than good 

 sound oats, Indian corn, and wheat-bran for the grain part of the meal; 

 nor is there anything better than good sweet timothy, or mixed timothy 

 and clover hay, free from dust, for the coarse part of the ration. 



The number of pounds to be fed per day can not be stated with exact- 

 ness. That will depend on the kind of food, as well as the size of the 

 horse and the kind of work he is called on to do. We may say that a 

 horse of the average size doing light work will consume 20 pounds of dry 

 matter, water free; one doing medium work, 24 pounds; and one at 

 heavy work, 26 pounds per day of dry matter, of which one-half to two- 

 thirds should be grain, the remainder coarse fodder. The proportion of 

 grain that should be fed depends on the kind of work the animal is 

 doing. When the horse is at hard work, the grain should be increased 

 and the hay diminished; when he is idle, the hay should be increased 

 and the grain diminished. 



The portion of the day's allowance that should be fed at each meal 

 can be stated with more exactness than the amount. The animal should 

 be fed three times per day, having one-quarter of the day's allowance at 

 least one hour before going to work in the morning. When the morning's 

 task is over, he should be watered, then fed another quarter of his allow- 

 ance, and watered again on the way to work. When the day's work is 

 done, he should be watered, then fed the remainder of the food, which 

 will be one-half of his day's allowance. The reason for the large meal 

 at night is that he now has ample time to masticate and digest his 

 food. He should be unharnessed at once, and when the sweat has 

 dried, be given a thorough brushing. A horse cared for in this way 

 will come from the stable full of vim and energy and ready to attempt 

 any task he may be called on to do. 



