28 FARM ANIMALS 



food for human beings in nearly all parts of the 

 world. They are, therefore, available for horses 

 wherever horsemen feel under the necessity of 

 using them. In many localities, however, they 

 are quite expensive when compared with other 

 grains which may be obtained more cheaply. As 

 a rule, oats are the grain for horses in the north- 

 eastern quarter of the United States. Many 

 years ago a chemist reported the discovery of a 

 peculiar substance in oats under the name of 

 avenine. This substance was supposed to contain 

 a life-giving principle, characteristic of oats. The 

 discovery was supposed to be substantiated by 

 other investigations, but recent chemical work has 

 failed to show the presence of any such principle in 

 oats. One of the great advantages of oats, as 

 compared with other grains, is that they may be fed 

 in large quantities without causing indigestion or 

 other serious troubles in the horse. Again oats 

 may be fed, without any previous treatment such 

 as steaming or grinding, to all horses so long as 

 the teeth are in a suitable condition. They may be 

 fed in rations of from 8 to 20 pounds per day 

 according to the size of the animal and amount of 

 work to be performed. Wherever oats are too 

 expensive they should be replaced by some other 

 grain as indicated in the following paragraphs : 



When oats were compared with mixed grain 

 composed of gluten meal, middlings, and linseed 

 meal in Maine the best results were obtained and 

 at the least cost from the mixed grains. In 

 another test, oats produced less growth in colts 

 than an equal weight of a mixture of peas and 

 middlings, the ratio being 100:111. teas are 

 somewhat costly, however. In the test with the 

 mixture of middlings, gluten meal, and linseed 



