Feeding and Care of the Horse 1805 



The amount of digestible food required for light work, according to the 

 table, would be furnished approximately by a ration consisting of 12 

 pounds of hay, as forage, and a mixture of 10 pounds of corn and oats 

 taken in equal parts according to weight; for medium work, 10 pounds 

 of hay and 15 pounds of grain mixture; for heavy work, 12 pounds of 

 hay and 18 pounds of grain mixture. 



This feeding standard should be modified according to the size of the 

 horse as well as the amount and the kind of work that he is required to 

 perform. In practice the work horse is supplied with approximately 

 2 1 pounds of provender daily for each 100 pounds weight. Of this amount, 

 one third to two thirds — the exact amount depending on the severity 

 of the labor — should be grain, and the remainder should be sweet, clean 

 hay. When work is heavy the grain in the ration should be increased 

 and the hay diminished, since grain furnishes more energy and is more 

 easily digested. On the other hand, when work is light, the grain should 

 be diminished and the hay increased. 



Amount of food needed by individual horses 

 While the amount cf food to be given a large number of horses can be 

 estimated closely, yet the rations should be modified so as to meet the 

 needs of each animal. One horse may need a little more than the regular 

 allowance and the second horse a little less, since some horses are kept in 

 condition less easily than others doing the same amount of work under 

 similar circumstances. 



Order of watering and feeding 



Because of the small size of the horse's stomach, the order of supplying 

 grain, hay, and water is of much importance. Investigators have shown 

 that the stomach of the horse must be filled and emptied two or three 

 times for each meal given. It appears that during the early stage of 

 the meal the partially digested food is pushed into the intestines by the 

 food that follows soon after it enters the stomach; toward the end 

 of the meal the passage is slow and the digestion in the stomach is more 

 nearly perfect. This being true, it would seem that the more nutritious 

 food should be fed toward the end of the meal, especially since the important 

 nutrients are largely digested in the stomach. 



The order in which food should be given cannot be discussed intelligently 

 without considering the time of watering the horse. Many feeders 

 believe that the horse should be watered before feeding, while others are 

 equally certain that feeding should precede watering. The object sought 

 is that the horse shall be fed and watered so frequently that he will feel 

 neither hunger nor thirst at any time. He should therefore be fed at 



