182 STABLE ECONOMY. 



respect ; others allege that it is too laxative ; others that it 

 is heating ; some that it is cooling ; and some that it is 

 flatulent. In Spain, and in some other places, horses and 

 mules receive no grain but barley ; in this country it is very 

 often boiled and given once a day, and sometimes a little is 

 given raw with every ration of oats ; and one or two pro- 

 prietors have used, and perhaps still use it to the entire ex- 

 clusion of oats. I can not, from personal observation, tell 

 what are its effects when given habitually without mixture. 

 But when given along with a few oats or beans, so as to form 

 only a part of the feed, I know that barley has none of the 

 evil properties ascribed to it. I am daily among a large 

 number of horses, both fast and slow-workers, who receive a 

 considerable quantity in the course of the twenty-four hours. 

 At first, it relaxes the bowels a little, and unless it be min- 

 gled with chaff the horses swallow the grain whole. They 

 seem to swallow it more readily than oats. After a week or 

 two the bowels return to their ordinary state. The skin and 

 the coat are almost invariably improved by barley, particularly 

 when boiled and given warm. Like every other kind of 

 grain, it is somewhat indigestible, until the stomach becomes 

 accustomed to it. If much be given at first, the horse is 

 likely to take colic. But by gradually increasing the quan- 

 tity from day to day, deducting the oats in proportion, the 

 horse may be safely inured to barley without any other grain. 



White tells us of a Southampton postmaster, who fed his 

 horses entirely on barley and cut straw. They were given to- 

 gether, and the barley was steeped in water twelve hours before 

 it was given. Two pecks of barley and one bushel of straw 

 formed the daily allowance. It is said that, upon this, " the 

 horses did more work, and were in better condition, than 

 others at the same task upon the ordinary feeding." This 

 is the usual story whenever any new mode or article is rec- 

 ommended. But nevertheless, it seems sufficiently clear 

 that barley is not much, if at all inferior to oats. The price 

 should influence the choice. Spotted or dark-colored barley, 

 though rejected for malting, may be quite good enough for 

 food, and it is often to be bought at the price of oats. It 

 weighs about fifty pounds the bushel. Giving weight for 

 weight of oats, at forty pounds the bushel, there are only ten 

 feeds, while barley gives twelve and one half. 



Boiled Barley is used chiefly among stage, cart, and road 

 horses. It is rarely given to the racer or to the hunter, ex 



