232 now TO MAKE THE FARM PAT. 



cleaned, watered, and have their oats and hay without foil. Two 

 or three pecks of clean carrots, turnip^, beets, or potatoes, a few 

 at a time, will be grateful to them, and invaluable in regulating 

 the bowels and cooling the blood. A mash of stewed bran and 

 oats once a week is not too much to ask for such a faithful 

 slave and will tend to his health and usefulness. If he is to be 

 put to severe work, the amount of grain must be increased and 

 of hay diminished. 



The condition in which the hay and grain is given is another 

 important consideration. The natural food of the horse is soft 

 and j uicy ; hay, oats and corn are hard, harsh, and dry. One 

 third less fodder is necessary where it is moistened and softened. 

 All hay for the horse ought to be chopped and moistened an 

 hour before feeding. Oats should be ground and mixed with 

 the hay in the form of provender. Corn should never be given 

 whole, unless steamed or soaked, and the same with oats. We 

 repeat that this is economy, as two thirds of the amount will give 

 the horse as much or more sustenance than before, and the teeth 

 and digestive organs will last much longer. The best of the 

 grasses for the horse is timothy, then herds grass and clover. 

 The only grain suitable is the oat. Corn should always be 

 used sparingly, as it works many disorders in the system, as 

 do also rye, barley, wheat, and bran. If any of these are used, it 

 should be ground, with oats for chopped feed. Some attention 

 should be paid to the tastes of the horse. If, after long feeding 

 with one continual round of the same food, he loses his appetite, 

 make a change. Do not allow your horse to run down during 

 the cold weather, it is then that he needs the best of food and 

 shelter. If he works hard for you through the spring, summer, 

 and fall, you owe him a good winter's keep, and you lessen his 

 vigor, and shorten his term of usefulness, if you deny it to him. 

 The natural age of the horse is forty years, and at twenty a horse 



