FEEDING OF HORSES. 62 ft 



sometimes stabled; but one that is destined to be a hunter, a 

 hackney or an agricultural horse, should merely have a square rick 

 from which to feed, under the leeward side of which he may shelter 

 himself, or a shed in which he may find protection at night or from 

 the rain." 



Economy of Proper Manger-Feeding There are no 

 better directions of which w,e have any knowledge, concerning the 

 food to be given horses, than those laid down by the same eminent 

 author. Concerning manger-feeding, he very wisely says: There 

 are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion of their hay ; 

 and by some, the greater part of it is pulled down and trampled 

 under foot, in order to cull the best and sweetest locks, and which 

 could not be done while the hay was enclosed in the rack. A good 

 feeder will sometimes pick up much of that which was thrown 

 down; but some of it must be soiled and rendered disgusting, and 

 in many cases one-third of this division of their food is wasted. 

 Some of the oats and corn are imperfectly chewed by all horses and 

 scarcely at all by hungry and greedy ones. The appearance of the 

 excretions will sufficiently indicate this. 



Manger-Feeding The observation of this induced the 

 adoption of manger-feeding, or of mixing a portion of chaff with 

 the corn or oats. By this means the animal is compelled to chew 

 his food; he cannot to any great extent bolt the straw or hay, and 

 while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and corn are ground 

 with it, and thus yield great nourishment; the stomach is more 

 slowly filled and therefore acts better on its contents, and is not so 

 likely to be overloaded; and the increased quantity of saliva secreted 

 in the lengthened mastication of the food softens it and prepares it 

 more thoroughly for digestion and assimilation. The chaff to which 

 reference is made, may be composed of equal quantities of clover 

 or meadow hay and wheat, oat, or barley straw, cut into pieces an 

 inch and a half in length and mingled well together. The allow- 

 ance of oats or corn is afterwards added, mixed with the chaff. The 

 grain is better bruised, and the feed a little moistened. The quantity 

 of straw in the chaff will always counteract any supposed purgative 

 tendency in the bruised oats. 



Mixture of Food for Different Kinds of Horses 

 Horses of quicker draught or more active temperament, except 

 they are naturally inclined to scour, will thrive better with cracked 

 or bruised than with whole oats ; for a greater quantity of nutri- 

 ment will be extracted from the food, and it will always be found 

 easy to apportion the quantity of straw or hay to the disposition of 

 the bowels of the horse. The principal variation that should be 

 made in the food of the horse of harder or more rapid work, such 

 as the driving horse or stage horse, is to increase the quantity of 

 hay and diminish that of straw. Many have introduced this mode 

 of feeding into the stables of carriage and livery horses, with mani- 

 fest advantage. The result has shown no loss of condition or power. 



