HORSE FEEDING. 13 



represents about the averaji'e for fats and ♦>!> per cent foi- tho carbo- 

 hydrates (including- celhilose). 



The Avriter will endeavor to show that it is i)()ssi))le to substitute 

 other o-rains for oats and at the same time maintain horses of all kinds 

 in proper condition. 



It is frequently said that oats contain a stimulating principle, which 

 has been given the name "avenine," and the energy which race horses 

 manifest has been attributed to this. We do not believe in this theory, 

 and our attempts to discover this body have been fruitless. 



The oat kernel is surrounded by a tough hull, and owing to its 

 physical condition is, weight for weight, less nutritious than other 

 grains. The oat hull constitutes from 26 to 30 per cent of the total 

 weight of the grain, and is not very digestible or nutritious. A proof 

 of this is the fact that hulls are almost always recovered whole in the 

 feces. In the digestion experiments published in full in a previous 

 article, the weight of the hulls is noted, and it appears that only about 

 two-thirds of the total weight of the oats is digested. 



Formerly other grains were seldom substituted for oats, especially 

 in France, except when oats were very high in price. To-day such 

 sul)stitutions are much more common. 



Not onlv may single grains and other single foods be substituted for 

 oats, Init more or less complex mixtures may be used as well. We 

 believe that both from a hygienic and an economic standpoint our 

 experiments have settled this matter, which has provoked so much 

 discussion. An examination of the statistics we have gathered in the 

 last 35 years shows that although a great saving has l>een effected, it 

 has not been at the expense of the productive power of the horses. 

 The Germans have also begun to substitute diflerent feeding stuffs 

 for oats, and in some cases they have gone so far as to use mixtures 

 of peat and molasses. 



Boussingault was perhaps the lirst to suggest the idea of su])stitut- 

 ing other materials for oats in the ration of farm horses. With this 

 end in view he devised a table of nutritive equivalents, using hay as 

 a unit. However, since the composition of hay varies within such 

 wide limits, this method is hardly practicable. More recently tables 

 showing the average composition of feeding stuff's have been provided 

 from which the amounts of protein and carbohydrates in any given 

 ration can be calculated. Analyses of the locally grown feeding stuffs 

 are considered preferable. Other materials should be substituted for 

 hay or oats on the basis of their composition, otherwise too much 

 protein may be given, with injurious results, as, for instance, when 

 alfalfa is substituted for ordinary hay, pound for pound. 



The principal substitutes for oats are Indian corn or maize, barle}^ 

 horse beans or other beans, rye, and wheat. The special characters 

 of each deserve some attention. 



