Feeds for the Horse. 297 



Shepperd concludes: "The horses did nicely on the ration 

 consisting of two parts ground wheat and one part bran with 

 prairie hay. Wheat is a concentrated food and needs this amount 

 of bran to make it loose and cooling enough for the digestive sys- 

 tem of the horse." 



466. Boiled rye as a substitute for oats. It having been stated 

 that rye, boiled till the grain bursts, may be used as a substitute 

 for an equal volume of oats in the keep of a horse, Boussingault 1 

 tested the matter with two horses which had been previously fed 

 a ration consisting of 22 pounds of hay and 5.5 pounds of oats. 

 The same volume of boiled rye, containing 4.15 pounds of un- 

 cooked grain, was then substituted for the oats. Average weight 

 of horses: first weighing, 1,004.5 pounds second weighing, 963 

 pounds,* loss per head during 11 days, 41.5 pounds. 



Boussingault writes: " In fact with such a ration as this, in 

 which water was made to replace solid corn, no other result could 

 reasonably be expected. " (177) 



467. Indian corn. Next to oats, corn is the common grain for 

 horses in America, being used most largely in the southern por- 

 tion of the corn belt and southward in the cotton states. While 

 conceding that corn is not the equal of oats as a grain for the horse, 

 nevertheless, because of its low cost and the high feeding value it 

 possesses, this grain will be extensively used where large numbers 

 of horses must be economically maintained. Corn may be fed whole 

 to horses, but generally it is made fine by grinding and mixed 

 with various other concentrates. (158) Corn and cob meal is 

 preferable to pure corn meal. Corn meal alone is a sodden sub- 

 stance in the animal's stomach, and should be diluted or extended 

 with something of light character. Bran serves well for this pur- 

 pose because of its lightness and cooling effect as well as the protein 

 and mineral matter it furnishes. (451) Corn is best suited to 

 animals at plain, steady work. Its supply should be limited with 

 colts and growing horses because of its lack of ash and protein. 

 Wolff 2 quotes Lehmann in the following statement: "Maize 

 contains a high proportion of digestible carbohydrates, and tends 



1 Rural Economy. 



2 Farm Foods, Eng. ed., p. 246. 



