122 THE RURAL EFFICIENCY GUIDE STOCK 



cheapest in buying, breeding and raising a work horse. If one does not feel con- 

 fident to judge a work horse, it will pay to hire an expert and get the benefit of his 

 judgment. 



Be careful to consider and secure suitable age, sound, serviceable feet, limbs 

 and body, a well balanced straightforward action, a good disposition and a good 

 feeder. 



Feeding and Watering the Work Horse. The character and amount of 

 work a horse is required to do should determine largely the kind and amount of 

 the ration. The system of feeding has more to do in determining one's success in 

 feeding the work horse, than the feed itself. Especially should one bear in mind 

 that the horse is not like the cow or steer and that he performs a different service. 

 The stomach of the horse is not adapted to carrying large quantities of roughage 

 and at the same time permitting the horse to work with ease. The practice should 

 be then to feed grain and a small amount of hay in the morning, grain and very 

 little hay if any at noon, and grain and a liberal amount of hay in the evening when 

 there is opportunity for the horse to eat and digest at his leisure. 



Amount of Hay to Feed. One pound to one and one-fourth. pounds of 

 hay per 100 Ibs. of body weight may be considered an approximate amount of hay 

 necessary to feed the work horse daily. The hay should be bright, clean 

 quality. While timothy may be regarded the standard roughage for horses, es- 

 pecially in sections where it is commonly grown, it is not necessarily the only 

 good roughage. Prairie hays and hays made from cereal crops like oats, barley 

 and wheat, cut in the milk stage, and southern hays like Johnson grass and les- 

 pedeza properly cured, may be regarded satisfactory roughages. Thickly grown 

 corn fodder and corn stover well cured and free from mold, provide excellent 

 roughage for horses in winter, and may be used to advantage. It is always best, 

 however, for the work horse to have well cured hay if it is possible to secure it. 

 Straw that is bright and clean may be used to good advantage in winter and will 

 save the hay for later use or for other classes of stock. 



Clover and Alfalfa Hay for Horses. Many condemn the feeding of clover 

 and alfalfa hay to horses. For work horses, however, these hays may be fed to 

 advantage if the amount is limited and the horse is not allowed to eat too much. 

 Horses like these feeds better than other kinds of hay and will be sure to eat more 

 than is good for them if judgment is not used in supplying them proper amounts. 

 A somewhat less amount than 1 pound per 100 Ibs. of live weight may be safely 

 fed. Timothy or prairie hay fed in combination with legume hay, make a fine 

 combination. 



Silage for Horses. The following summary statement by E. A. Trow- 

 bridge, of the Missouri Experiment Station, indicates the possibility of utilizing 

 silage where careful judgment is used in feeding it: 



Corn silage is now being fed with success by a large number of horsemen 

 and farmers to all classes of horses and mules. Horses at hard work need 

 a concentrated ration and should not be expected to eat large quantities of silage. 



Corn silage should always be fed in combination with other feeds. 



Within the limits of usefulness, it is a cheap substitute for hay and adds 

 variety and succulence to the ration. 



