CHAPTER XVIII 

 FEEDING THE HORSE 



The use of the horse, in spite of the automobile, is very 

 general in both town and country. He is suited to do many 

 things for which the motor is not fitted. He is a more 

 economical producer of power in short hauls than is the 

 motor, and he is as necessary as ever on the hill farms and 

 where small areas are cultivated. According to the 1920 

 census we had in the United States some 20 million horses 

 and over 5 million mules. These horses had a farm value 

 of $2,000,000,000, and the mules were valued at half a billion 

 dollars, so we may see that the production of the horse in 

 America is a great industry. Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Kan- 

 sas, and Texas in 1920 were the leading horse-producing 

 states, and in the order given, with Iowa having about a 

 million and a third. Texas is the leading mule-producing 

 state, with Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee ranking after. 

 The use of the mule is steadily growing in favor in the 

 United States. The feeding of so many horses and mules 

 involves great expense, and, to be intelligently done, requires 

 careful study of the requirements of each animal. 



The work of the horse and what he can accomplish de- 

 pends upon his weight, his muscular development, and his 

 endurance. What is known as horse-power, is the power 

 necessary to raise 33,000 pounds at the rate of one foot a 

 minute against gravity. The real measure of horse-power 

 is based on the unit of a foot-pound, shown in the power 

 manifested in raising a pound one foot. The horse works 

 in different ways, no matter what his type, weight or size. 

 These various forms of work are well expressed as follows 

 by Henry and Morrison:* 



*Feeds and Feeding, 1917. 



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