FACTORS INFLUENCING THE WORK OF THE HORSE 297 



463. Grinding grain. Whether or not it pays to grind or crush oats 

 for horses is a question often discussed. In trials during 2 summers 

 Morrison, Fuller, and Bohstedt found at the Wisconsin Station 24 that 

 crushing oats for horses at hard work resulted in a saving of slightly 

 over 5 per ct In these trials about 94 Ibs. of crushed oats were equal to 

 100 Ibs. of whole oats, where the teeth of the horses were kept in good 

 condition. From this one can readily determine whether it will pay to 

 crush or grind oats with oats at the local price. 



Where whole oats are mixed with cut or chaffed straw or hay, the percent- 

 age of kernels which are not masticated and which pass thru the diges- 

 tive tract is still smaller than where the oats are fed separately. Lava- 

 lard 25 concluded from his extensive trials with cab, omnibus, and army 

 horses in France that grinding oats did not pay when the oats were 

 mixed with such cut roughage. As shown later (475), thruout the corn 

 belt corn is usually fed on the cob or as shelled corn, tho some authorities 

 recommend the use of corn-and-cob meal or coarsely ground corn meal. 

 It is reasonable to hold that when horses are hard worked and have but 

 little time in the stable, or when their teeth are poor, it is well to grind 

 their grain. All small, hard grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, and kafir, 

 should always be ground or, better, rolled. 



464. Watering horses. On theoretical grounds various authorities 

 have advised watering the horse before giving him grain, to prevent pos- 

 sible flushing of the grain out of the stomach into the small intestine. 

 Extensive tests 26 have shown, however, that horses may be watered before, 

 after, or during a meal without interfering with the digestion or absorp- 

 tion of the food eaten. Therefore, individual circumstances and con- 

 venience should determine the time of watering, but when a system is 

 once adopted it should be rigidly adhered to, for a change from one 

 system to another lessens the appetite. A horse long deprived of water 

 or having undergone severe exertion should be watered before being fed, 

 but it is dangerous to allow a horse much water when very warm. A 

 moderate drink taken slowly will refresh him and do no harm. 



About 10 to 12 gallons, or 100 Ibs., of water should be provided daily 

 for each horse. In warm weather and when at hard work, horses will 

 drink more water than at other times, owing to the greater evaporation 

 of water from the body. The nature of the feed also affects the quan- 

 tity of water drunk. When fed protein-rich feeds, and especially alfalfa 

 hay, horses drink more water than when fed carbonaceous feeds. 



465. Salt. The horse shows great fondness for salt and thrives best 

 when regularly supplied with it. A reasonable allowance is two ounces 

 per head daily. Horses at hard work require somewhat more salt than 

 those laboring less severely, for a considerable amount of salt is excreted 

 in the perspiration. 



^Wis. Bui. 302, pp. 63-4. 



M Expt Sta. Rec. 12, p. 12. 



2 "Tangl, Landw. Vers. Stat. 57, 1902, p. 329. 



