FARM ANIMALS 61 



RATIONS 



As is apparent from the foregoing discussion the 

 rations which are fed to horses on farms, will vary 

 greatly according to the supply of food stuffs on 

 hand. While considerable variation in the quanti- 

 ty of the food used and in the nature of the food 

 stuffs is actually observed on different farms never- 

 theless it is evident that some standard should 

 prevail in this matter. In other words the horse 

 in doing a certain amount of work should receive 

 a certain amount of food to do this work without 

 loss of weight. A few examples may be mentioned 

 of rations which have been found effective and 

 satisfactory for horses at hard work. In one case 

 horses hauling coal were kept in good condition on 

 a ration of ten pounds of oats and twenty-one 

 pounds of Italian rye grass hay. When the hay 

 in this ration was diminished by 2 pounds the 

 horses lost weight. This indicates quite closely 

 the feeding requirements of the horses in question. 

 In Kansas City draft horses are successfully kept 

 on a ration of twenty pounds of corn and twenty 

 pounds of hay. This ration, however, might 

 probably be somewhat reduced. In the same city 

 other companies keep their horses on a ration of 

 4^ Ibs. corn and 6^ Ibs. oats morning and noon 

 with 6 Ibs. of wheat bran at night and 20 Ibs. of 

 hay per day. In California horses are kept at 

 light work on a ration containing 9 to 15 Ibs. al- 

 falfa hay, 9 to 11 Ibs. wheat or barley, 6 to 7 Ibs. 

 corn. It is an evident fact that too little attention 

 is given to the proportioning of rations. This 

 matter requires as careful study as in the case of 

 dairy cows or other animals. The kind and 

 quality of foods should be noticed and the ration 



