FEEDING THE HORSE 



205 



three to six years old of draft type, are bought and fattened 

 by men who make a specialty of that business. Large num- 

 bers of such horses have been fed in northern Ohio, and then 

 shipped to New York, Boston, and other eastern markets. 

 These horses are usually placed in common stalls in the fall, 

 and fed for about 100 days for the spring market. They 

 are usually fed corn and oats heavily. They will often con- 

 sume 2 pounds of grain for each 100 pounds live weight. 

 When first put on feed fattened horses are given bran for a 

 few days to cool them off and clean them out, after which 

 they are put on a fattening ration of corn, oats, and bran 

 and clover hay. When on full feed, a big draft horse will 

 eat 10 or 12 good-sized ears of corn 3 times a day, 3 quarts 

 of oats each morning and night, and 2 or 3 pounds of bran 

 at noon. Horses thus fed are given very little if any exer- 

 cise, and gain in weight about 3 pounds a day. 



Watering the horse may be done at any time when he 

 is not too warm, and even then a small amount may be 



Figure 72. The noonday drink. From a Scotch photograph. 



