136 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



for horses, to discuss the various suitable foods 

 and the particular form in which these should be fed. 



Hay and Straw. Horses much prefer the stronger 

 stemmed grasses (rye grasses and timothy, etc.), and 

 clovers when made into hay, than the softer meadow 

 hay. Old meadow hay, however, is preferred by some 

 for hunters. 



New hay which is heating (i.e. in the sweat) should 

 not be fed to horses at all, if it can be avoided, other- 

 wise it is almost sure to cause their legs to swell. Hay 

 which has been heavily manured with nitrate of soda 

 adversely affects the kidneys. 



Horses receiving straw as well as hay are con- 

 sidered to " keep better in their wind," and stand hard 

 work better than those fed on hay alone. The cost of 

 long food can therefore be somewhat cheapened by 

 including straw. 



If the hay and straw are chaffed and mixed with 

 meals, they can be made to go further, partly because 

 less is wasted. Inferior hay may be spiced, so as to 

 get the horses to eat it readily. 



Oats. New oats should be carefully fed, as they 

 have a tendency to make horses' legs swell. Young 

 horses and " bolters " should have oats crushed or rolled, 

 in order that they may digest them better. The 

 former have difficulty in grinding whole oats during 

 the time their teething changes are taking place. 

 Bruised oats are more economical to feed than whole 

 oats, due partly to men feeding them chiefly by 

 measure. It is a very wasteful plan to give a horse 

 more than it can clean up each time. The feed of 

 oats should not be given immediately before watering, 

 otherwise the coarse hulls may be washed into the 

 bowels, thus causing irritation and colic. 



