208 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



to indicate a decreasing profit from this business. The relative profit 

 accruing from this class of animals as compared with cattle or 

 other live stock on the farm is a good argument for its importance. 

 The per centage of good horses in this country, today, is greater 

 than ever before, yet there is considerable room for improvement. 

 There are many common errors made in the care of various classes 

 of horses with the idea of economy in view. It is, however, poor 

 economy to starve a growing horse to save feed, for there is no 

 other class of animals on the farm that will return bigger profits, 

 if properly fed and developed than good horses. Farm work is not 

 so hard but that most of it can be performed by either brood mares 

 or horses, and mules that are too young to sell to the best advan- 

 tage. For this reason the farm should be the place of production 

 and development of even more high class horses and mules in the 

 future than it is at the present. 



The care and food accorded to the various classes of animals 

 differs considerably, not only with the class of animals, but with 

 the object in view. We find horses differing from other classes of 

 animals as to their general character, their digestive apparatus as 

 well as in the object of production. The object of production in the 

 case of horses is their future ability to work and wear for as long 

 a time as possible, while that of beef cattle, for example, is the fat 

 steer in his yearling, two-year old, or three-year old form. Con- 

 sequently there should be some difference between the ration of the 

 growing gelding and the rapidly fattening steer. 



It is true that the breeding animals of the various classes re- 

 quire much the same care and feed. Although the rations may 

 differ as to the kind and amount of hay and grain, their fundamen- 

 tal composition differ very little from each other. 



The growing animal to develop best must have food which sup- 

 plies muscle and bone-building material, such as wheat-bran, oats, 

 middlings, alfalfa and clover. The fattening animal needs only 

 enough of these to replenish the body waste, but which, if it is not 

 supplied, greatly decreases the ability of an animal to gain. The 

 bulk, then, of the fattening ration should be of foods which produce 

 fat. 



Breeding animals need a ration rather similar to that of grow- 

 ing animals. For the greater part of the time breeding females 

 are nourishing young either in foetus or after birth, while males 

 must be healthy and vigorous, and not over fat. Their ration should 

 produce, not high flesh but rather muscle, energy and vigor. 



