158 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



Ireland it is dried fish mainly ; in England hay, oats, 

 and beans comprise the food supply largely ; on the 

 continent of Europe, rye, barley and inferior wheat 

 make up the grain portion of the rations; while in 

 this country many feeding stuffs, covering a wide 

 range of roughage and grain, find their way into the 

 feed mangers and satisfactorily keep the horse stock 

 in health and vigor. 



It is not so much the kind of food, but the purity 

 and character, that count. Moldy hay and grain 

 cause many of the ills that the horse is heir to and 

 imperfect methods of preparation and curing have 

 cast an odor of unpopularity on many meritorious 

 feeds that, if properly handled, would be eagerly 

 sought because of their ease of production or rela- 

 tively less cost when compared with the standard 

 horse feeds of each particular section. 



Requirements for Work. Naturally the work de- 

 manded of a horse will influence the choice and 

 amount of food its caretaker gives it. The race 

 horse or the roadster, fed on coarse roughage and 

 little grain, will be greatly handicapped if in com- 

 petition with another that has been supplied with 

 nutritious and appetizing concentrates and little 

 rough fodder in the ration. In winter the draft horse 

 can subsist very nicely on hay or fodder and little 

 or no grain, providing the work is light and the 

 hours of labor few. But this same horse, when put 

 to hard labor in spring and summer, at plow, culti- 

 vator or harvester, will demand less hay and more 

 grain if the highest efficiency is to be had. 



