606 



THE .VJODERN SYSTEM 



ia a little wetted, it will not readily separate ; 

 or should a portion of it escape the grinders, 

 it will be partly prepared for digestion by the 

 act of bruising. The prejudice against bruis- 

 ins: the oats is, so far as the slow draught 

 Horse is concerned, quite unfounded. The 

 quantity of straw in the chaff will always be 

 sufficient to counteract any supposed purga- 

 tive quality in the bruised oats. Horses of 

 quicker draught, unless they are naturally 

 disposed to scour, will thrive better with 

 bruised than with whole oats ; inasmuch as a 

 greater quantity of nutriment will be extracted 

 from the food, and it will be easy to propor- 

 tion the quantity of straw or beans to the 

 effect of counteracting any mischievous con- 

 sequences to the bowels of the Horse. The 

 alteration requisite to be made in the diet of 

 the post, or stage-coach Horse, should be to 

 increase the quantity of hay, and diminish 

 that of the straw. Two trusses of hay may 

 be cut to one of straw. 



We do not consider, however, this system 

 to be adapted either to the hunter or the 

 race-horse; because their food must be in 

 smaller bulk, in order that the action of their 

 lungs be not impeded by the distension of the 

 stomach ; still many hunters have gone well 

 over the field, who have been manger-fed, 

 the proportion of corn, however, being mate- 

 rially increased. 



i'KOPORTIONS OF OATS AND BEANS TO THE 

 CHAFF, FOR DRAUGHT HORSES. 



For the agricultural and cart-horse, eight 

 pounds of oats and two of beans should be 

 added to every twenty pounds of chaff; and 

 thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the mixture 

 vrill be sufficient for any moderate-sized 

 llorse, even with hard work. The dray and 



very large waggon- horses may require some- 

 thing more. Hay in the rack at night is, in 

 this case, to bo omitted altogether. The 

 rack, however, may be useful to contain tares, 

 or other green meat, which may occasionally 

 be given. 



In order to prevent the Horses from turning 

 the chaff out of the manger in their search for 

 the oats, small iron bars may be placed at in- 

 tervals across it, and the provender may be 

 sprinkled with water ; but the water should 

 be applied only at the moment of feeding, as 

 the wetted mixture would soon become sour 

 and mouldy. 



Horses eat this provender very greedily ; 

 but we would, however, caution the owners 

 of them not to put damaged hay for the ma- 

 nufacture of chaff. The corn contained in the 

 chaff may tempt a Horse to eat, even if it 

 be not good. More injury is done by the eat- 

 ing of damaged hay or musty oats, than is 

 generally imagined. The advantage of this 

 system of manger-feeding, will be entirely 

 counteracted, if it be made the vehicle for the 

 consumption of unwholesome hay or musty 

 corn. 



The principal importance to be attached to 

 manger-feeding, arises from the Horse being 

 compelled in a very considerable degree, to 

 masticate and prepare his food more by this 

 mixture for his stomach, than he would if left 

 to eat his oats whole, which he might swal- 

 low, without deriving one half the benefit 

 he does from their being bruised. Another 

 most important advantage derived from it is, 

 that the Horse by this union of eating nutri- 

 tious matter with the more bulky material 

 (hay-chaff,) fills his stomach sooner, and has, 

 consequently, more time for rest, a very con- 

 siderable consequence to a Horse on the road. 



