504 THE MANAGEMENT OF FARM HORSES 



most appreciated. Timothy-grass hay gives excellent results 

 in either part of the kingdom, but the natural meadow or bog- 

 hay of Scotland is, as a rule, too soft in texture to be 

 suitable for horses doing hard work. Hay is dusty if much 

 heated in the stack, and then it injures a horse's wind. 

 Heated oats are liable to produce a similar result, and con- 

 currently to injure the kidneys, and, moreover, horses do not 

 care for them. 



For one horse, when clover hay is given ad lib., 2 to 2\ 

 bushels of oats, or an equivalent of the mixture, is considered 

 to be enough concentrated food per week. The hay of 

 crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum, from which ripe seed 

 has been removed, is dangerous to feed to horses, as it has 

 been known to produce balls in the stomach, as a result of 

 its hairy and indigestible condition, and to cause death from 

 acute peritonitis, resulting from the balls passing into the 

 intestines. New oats are not good for horses, and should 

 not be used as horse-food till after the year expires in which 

 they were grown. A supply of old oats should consequently 

 be preserved until after the New Year. New or green oats 

 make impure blood and induce liability to grease. Straw 

 (usually oat-, but at times wheat- or bean-straw) is often 

 given during winter, and hay in spring when hard work 

 begins ; but the best results are obtained by using a chaffed 

 mixture of hay and straw throughout the winter season. 



Chaffed straw should be allowed to lie for some time 

 before it is fed to horses, as recently chaffed straw is liable 

 to produce internal irritation, which may result in diarrhoea. 



A successful daily ration for full-sized Clydesdale or Shire 

 horses at general farmwork is: 12 Ibs. oats, 3^ Ibs. beans or 

 white peas, \\ Ib. linseed, 12 Ibs. chaffed fodder (i Ib. hay to 

 3 Ibs. straw), and 3 Ibs. of long hay at night ; or a total of 

 32 Ibs. of dry food. The average cost per week may be 

 stated in round figures at ios., as follows: 84 Ibs. oats, 45.; 

 24 Ibs. beans, is. 4d. ; loj Ibs. linseed, 9d. ; bruising, 4d. ; 

 84 Ibs. chaff, 2s. ; 21 Ibs. hay, /d. 



Another good weekly allowance for a large horse at full 

 work would be : 3 bushels of oats (40 Ibs. to the bushel), i 

 pint of linseed ground into meal, 4 bushels of chaff, J bushel 

 of bran, i truss of straw (36 Ibs.), and 2 trusses of hay. A pint 

 of sunflower seeds gives a horse a glossy skin, but at i6s. per 



