CARE OF LIGHT HORSES. 253 



may prove to be very injurious to the animal. With a long 

 lot the animal will have a chance to extend itself, and when 

 near the end of the lot will stop with its feet under it, which 

 is not so liable to injure it as if running in a circle. This 

 is an important feature of the exercising lot. 



The ration of the driving horse should be different from 

 that of the average work horse. This is due in a large meas- 

 ure to the peculiar demands of such an animal. They should 

 be fed much less roughage in proportion to their size than 

 horses at ordinary work. The roughage should also be of a 

 different nature. The driving or saddle horse must have 

 plenty of endurance, thus must be fed roughage which will 

 not in any way cause looseness of the digestive system, or 

 "washiness," as it is generally known. In this respect timo- 

 thy hay seems to be the very best kind of roughness for the 

 driving horse. Mixed hay does fairly well where animals 

 have very light work. Clover hay, when dusty, is very liable 

 to cause wind trouble. When good pure clover hay is fed, 

 it is too loosening, thus animals fed on this kind of a ration 

 are soft and "washy." Millet may be fed in very small 

 quantities. Good pure oat or barley straw may oftentimes 

 be used in small quantities. 



For grain nothing is equal to good clean heavy oats. 

 Other feed stuffs may be equal as heat and flesh producers, 

 but they do not possess the stimulating qualities which are 

 found in oats. This is supposed to be due to a specific albu- 

 minoid which is found only in the oat grain. It gives the 

 horse his fire and snap which is so desirable in the saddle 

 or driving animal. Oats should form the major part of the 

 ration. Some other feed stuffs can usually be added to the 

 oat ration and by so doing reduce the cost of the grain ration. 

 Some bran, shorts, corn, gluten feed, barley, wheat and a 

 great variety of other feed stuffs might be mentioned in this 

 connection. Oats should always constitute at least one-half 

 and better still two-thirds of the ration fed. For instance, 

 a ration of three parts oats, two parts corn and one part of 

 either bran, shorts or gluten feed will give good results. 

 Regarding the amount of roughness and grain to be fed, it 

 will vary some, depending on the amount of labor to be per- 

 formed. It is not best to feed over ten or twelve pounds 

 of hay and from twelve to fifteen pounds of grain to a horse 

 which has regular work. 



