190 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



Maintenance. — All that a mature horse needs when idle 

 is enough to maintain his body. This is called a main- 

 J;enanee ration. If the horse is poor when the fall work is 

 finished, he will need enough more than the maintenance 

 ration to en'able him to add to his weight the amount neces- 

 sary to put him in good condition. A young horse, three 

 to five years old, is still growing, and will need enough more 

 than a maintenance ration to supply his needs. 



There is always team work to do on the farm in the 

 winter; and if several horses are kept some of them may be 

 used for the winter's work and fed accordingly. The others 

 should be kept over as cheaply as possible. 



If kept comfortable, horses will do very well on just 

 hay, preferably clover, and cornstalks. If it is desired to 

 increase their weight, a little bundle corn may be fed in place 

 of the stalks. 



Ration of Bundle Corn and Clover. — Corn may be 

 grown, cut shocked and hauled in from the field for about 

 $14.75 per acre. If it yields 40 bushels per acre, there will 

 be 2,240 lbs. of corn and probably about 3,000 lbs. of corn- 

 stalks. These cornstalks are not the best kind of feed, as 

 they are too mature to be easily digested; but they add 

 bulk to a ration. Maintenance requirements for horses 

 have not been so carefully worked out as for cattle, and 

 standards vary from .06 to .07 lbs. of protein and .6 to .7 lbs, 

 of carbohydrates per 100 lbs. live weight of horse. A 1,200 

 lb. horse requires, when idle, about .8 lbs. of protein, 8 lbs. 

 carbohydrates and .1 lbs. of fat. The following combina- 

 tions of common farm feeds will be found to supply about 

 the nutrients needed. See table on page 175. 



Ration No. I 



Pro. C. H Fat 



Timothy hay 15 lbs. .450 6.320 .180 



Oats 4 lbs. .388 2.084 .152 



Total nutrients .838 8.404 .332 



Ration No. 11 



Pro. C. H. Fat 



Corn stover, high in water 15 lbs. .210 4.665 .096 



Clover hay, red...: 8 lbs. .60S 3.154 .144 



Total nutrients .818 7.819 .240 



