18 



a more satisfactory grain ration for horses at light work than whole 

 oats. 



The New Hampshire Station " studied the value of different grain 

 mixtures for horses with the view to determining whether the cost of 

 a ration could not be diminished by lessening the amount of oats fed. 

 The rations consisted of different mixtures of oats, bran, corn, gluten 

 feed, linseed-oil meal, and cotton-seed meal. Fairly good results were 

 obtained with all the grain mixtures, the mixture containing cotton- 

 seed meal being least satisfactory, as it was not relished at first by the 

 horses. It is stated by C. W. Burkett, who carried on the tests, that 

 the oats proved no more satisfactory than the other concentrated feed- 

 ing stuffs, either in respect to the general condition of the animal or 

 the efficiency for work, and the conclusion was drawn that a combi- 

 nation of feeding stuffs, furnishing the desired nutriment at a reason- 

 able cost, should l)e considered in preparing rations for horses. A 

 mixture of bran and corn, half and half, is regarded as a good substi- 

 tute for corn and oats for work horses. 



In a stud}^ of alfalfa hay and timothy hay for horses at the Utah 

 Station* the comparative merits of oats and a mixture of 1)ran and 

 shorts were also tested. The conclusion was drawn that the mixed 

 grain could be satisfactorily substituted for oats. 



The barle}^ grown on the Pacific coast is extensively used in the 

 feeding of horses, and its use for this purpose is old in other countries. 

 Elsewhere barley is not extensively used as a feed in the United States, 

 doubtless owing to the fact that it is in such demand for brewing pur- 

 poses that it is usually high in price. Wherever it is grown, how- 

 ever, it is frequently possible to secure at a low cost grain which is off 

 color owing to rain or fog during harvest, and which, for this or some 

 other reason, is unfit for brewing, but valuable as feed. 



Barley may be fed whole to horses having good teeth and not required 

 to do severe work. Since ground barlej^ like wheat, forms a past}^ 

 mass when mixed with saliva it is regarded as more satisfactory to 

 crush than to grind it, if for any reason it is considered undesirable to 

 feed the grain whole. 



At the North Dakota Station J. H. Shepperd'^ has recently studied 

 the value of barley as a feed for work horses and mules. For some 

 months this grain was fed with timothy ha}^ to three horses and two 

 mules. The mules did not eat the barley with marked relish at any 

 time, but for two months, during which time they were performing 

 light work, the}^ ate enough to keep them in condition. The work was 

 then increased, but they would not eat a correspondingly greater quan- 

 tity of barley, and soon began to refuse it altogether for a day or so 



« New Hampshire Station Bui. 82. c North Dakota Station Bui. 45. 



«> Utah Station Bui. 77. 



