FEA THER — FEEDING 



Feather. — See Hair. 



Feather-edged Shoe. — A shoe, one side of which is 

 thinner than the other. Some people recommend these for 

 horses which brush or cut themselves, but they are not good 

 shoes to use, as they bring the foot off the level and cause 

 strain upon the muscles. (See Shoes.) 



Febrifuge. — A medicine which reduces fever, such as 

 ammonia or nitre. (See Medicines, Prescriptions^ 



Feeding. — The proper feeding of their horses should 

 be an important consideration for owners, as upon the correct- 

 ness of the system adopted the health and utility of the 

 animals will largely depend. Unfortunately, however, in 

 horses, as in mankind, individual animals differ widely in 

 constitution, and hence the difficulty that exists in applying 

 a general rule that will meet all cases. It may, nevertheless, 

 be laid down that the staple foods for healthy horses in work 

 are grain, hay, chaff, bran, roots, and green meat, such as 

 grass, tares, vetches, or sanfoin. Regarding the corn, there 

 can be no doubt that oats form the best form of food, though 

 maize or Indian corn is used largely in some stables, partly 

 from motives of economy and partly because it is more 

 fattening and so makes some naturally light-fleshed horses 

 look better. Long hay is not to be recommended for 

 general use, as the horses pull it out of their racks and waste 

 it, and therefore it is best given in the form of chaff with 

 the corn. This arrangement is all the more desirable as 

 it prevents a greedy horse from bolting his corn without 

 masticating it properly, in which case some of it will pass 

 through him undigested and without doing him any good. 

 Bran is useful as a mild form of laxative, and is often mixed 

 with the corn and chaff; whilst sliced roots and green food 

 are useful in the summer for keeping the blood cool. 



Without attempting to enter into any scientific details 

 regarding the nutritive properties of the various forms of 



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