HORSES 111 



Horses should always have salt before them, and, if they 

 will eat it, bone meal and finely ground limestone. Hardwood 

 ashes may also be offered. 



Water. One of the most important parts of the ration for 

 the horse as well as for other animals is water. The manner 

 in which water is given, however, is not always given due 

 importance. 



Water should be taken when the feed is in the stomach to 

 aid digestion. It should also be used for heat regulation, etc. 

 Horses should not, however, be allowed to drink when they 

 are very warm as when coming in from hard work. This 

 may cause various disorders. 



After horses come in from work if they are "warm" they 

 should be allowed to cool off and then be watered before they 

 are fed. They should again be watered after eating and 

 before they go out to work. It has recently also been found 

 to be good practice to water them the last thing at night before 

 going to bed. 



Manner of Feeding. Roughages are cheaper feeds than 

 concentrates, as has been shown, and should, therefore, be 

 used as largely as possible. No greater mistake, however, is 

 made in horse feeding than to give the horses all the hay they 

 will eat. Many farmers keep their horse manger crammed 

 with hay all the time. The horses in turn keep their stomachs 

 and bowels crammed likewise. This makes horses look like 

 stuffed toads, and very materially lessens the value of the 

 animals, and wastes hay. 



Horses should be fed definite amounts of hay as well as 

 of grains. For ordinary purposes, 1 pound of hay and 1 pound 

 of grain for each 100 pounds of live weight is considered to be 

 about right. For driving horses or draft horses at hard work, 

 more grain and less hay should be used. When horses are 

 not working so hard more hay and less grain should be used. 

 In winter horses can be well maintained on hay alone. Many 

 horses are also "wintered over" on straw with just a little 

 grain. 



The horse is primarily a work animal and uses its feed for 

 developing energy. Therefore, the amount of feed should be 

 apportioned according to the amount of work done. A com- 



