56 DISEASES OF THE HOESE. 



Potatoes. — These are used as an article of feed for the horse in 

 many sections. If fed raw and in. large quantities they often produce 

 indigestion. Their digestibility is increased by steaming or boiling. 

 They possess, in common with other roots, slight laxative properties. 



Beets. — These are not much used as feed for horses. 



Carrots. — These make a most excellent feed, particularly during 

 sickness. They improve the appetite and slightly increase the action 

 of the bowels and kidneys. They possess also certain alterative prop- 

 erties, making the coat smooth and glossy. Some veterinary writers 

 assert that chronic cough is cured by giving carrots for some time. 

 The roots may be considered, then, as an adjunct to the regular 

 regimen, and if fed in small quantities are highly beneficial. 



Grasses. — Grass is the natural food of horses. It is composed of 

 a great variety of plants, differing widely as to the amount of nour- 

 ishment contained, some being almost entirely without value and 

 only eaten when nothing else is obtainable, while others are posi- 

 tively injurious, or even poisonous. None of the grasses are suffi- 

 cient to keep the horse in condition for work. Horses thus fed are 

 " soft," sweat easily, purge, and soon tire on the road or when at 

 hard work. Grass is indispensable to growing stock, and there is 

 little or no doubt that it acts as an alterative when given to horses 

 accustomed to grain and hay. It must be given to such horses in 

 small quantities at first. The stomach and intestines undergo rest, 

 and recuperate if the horse is turned to grass for a time each year. 

 It is also certain that during febrile diseases grass acts almost as a 

 medicine, lessening the fever and favoring recovery. Wounds heal 

 more rapidly than when the horse is on grain, and some chronic dis- 

 orders (chronic cough, for instance) disappear entirely when at grass. 

 In my experience, grass does more good when the horse crops it him- 

 self. This may be due to the sense of freedom he enjoys at pasture, 

 to the rest to his feet and limbs, and for many other similar reasons. 

 When cut for him it should be fed fresh or when but slightly wilted. 



Silage. — Regarding silage as a feed for horses, Rommel in Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin 578 writes as follows : 



Silage has not been generally fed to horses, partly on account of a certain 

 amount of danger which attends its use for this purpose, but still more, per- 

 haps, on account of prejudice. In many cases horses have been killed by 

 eating moldy silage, and the careless person who fed it at once blamed the 

 silage itself, rather than his own carelessness and the mold which really was 

 the cause of the trouble. Horses are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of 

 molds, and under certain conditions certain molds grow on silage which are 

 deadly poisons to both horses and mules. Molds must have air to grow, and 

 therefore silage which is packed air-tight and fed out rapidly will not become 

 moldy. If the feeder watches the silage carefully as the weather warms up 

 he can soon detect the presence of mold. When mold appears, feeding to 

 horses or mules should stop immediately. 



