1806 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



least three times, and watered not less than four times — if convenient, 

 six times — each day. He should be watered in th e morning before feeding, 

 and for the morning meal should receive approximately one fourth of the 

 daily allowance at least one hour before going to work. This food should 

 be in a condition to be easily and rapidly consumed, so that it will be well 

 digested when the animal goes to work. As he goes to work he should 

 be watered, and after five hours of exhausting labor he should be given 

 his midday meal, a second quarter of the daily allowance. Before being 

 fed he should again have a drink of fresh, cool water, but care should 

 be taken that he does not drink too rapidly nor gorge himself if he is 

 very warm. If convenient the harness should be removed, so that the 

 horse can eat in comfort and have a few minutes of much-needed rest. 

 One hour should be allowed the horse in which to consume the midday 

 meal. After watering and feeding he is ready for the second half of his 

 day's work. When he has worked for five hours he should be given the 

 evening meal. As he comes to the stable in the evening he should first 

 of all be given a drink; care must be exercised as before to see that he does 

 not drink too rapidly. He is now ready for the remainder of his daily 

 allowance. Thus heavy feeding comes at night, when the horse has ample 

 time to masticate and digest his food and is not obliged to go to work 

 immediately. 



Cost of the ration 



In formulating the ration for the work horse due consideration should 

 be given the cost, which will vary with the size of the animal and the 

 nature of the work to be performed as well as with the cost of feed. Hays 

 are ordinarily much cheaper than grains, especially on farms. The hard- 

 working horse, however, is unable to dispose economically of a large 

 proportion of bulky food, since time and energy are required for masti- 

 cation and digestion of rough food. 



In the choice of grains, their cost is given little or no consideration by 

 the average person. Thus oats are fed, although they constitute the most 

 expensive grain on the market and equally good results would be obtained 

 by feeding some cheaper grain, in part at least. 



Every feeder should make a careful study of the foods available and 

 choose those that best meet the conditions. 



Feeds for the work horse 



The ration for horses usually lacks variety. If rations of horses in 



a given locality are studied, they are found to be composed of one kind, or 



at most two kinds, of grain and one forage. The owner insists that this 



is the most practical and economical ration that he can feed with safety 



