ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Crushed 



rice. 



Boiled 



rice. 



Amount. 



extremely indigestible for animals unaccustomed to its use, for those 

 constantly fed upon it, it is a serviceable grain and keeps them in good 

 working condition ; it is improved by being crushed and may also be 

 given boiled, but should not be fed without the husk, as the removal of 

 this renders it unsuitable for horses owing to its want of woody fibre. 

 The amount necessary for a full ration is rather greater than of oats. 



Little 

 used in 

 England. 



Amount 



given. 

 Flour. 



Dryness 

 essential. 



An emer- 

 gency 

 ration. 



Quality. 



Varieties. 



Wheat. 



Although in England wheat is looked upon as a most unsuitable food 

 for horses, it is undoubted that at any rate part of this prejudice is due to 

 want of experience in its use, owing to its value as a food for ourselves ; 

 because it can be fed to animals without exciting those alarming 

 symptoms generally supposed to be produced by it, and especially should 

 this be borne in mind on service when it may be necessary to turn every 

 possible eatable thing to account. It is stated to have been given whole 

 up to 7| pounds daily without ill effects ; flour {attd) is constantly given 

 in India as a nourishing food to animals which are underg-oing severe 

 exertion ; and damaged flour as a supplementary horse food has been 

 used with advantage on service on more than one occasion. It is essential 

 that the grain should be quite dry as it is otherwise extremely indigestible ; 

 it should if possible be crushed or parched and mixed with some other 

 forage in order to ensure thorough mastication. It is only mentioned 

 here as an emergency ration to be utilised when no other offers, or to 

 supplement short supplies. 



Bran. 



The quality of bran as a food depends almost entirely on the amount 

 of flour it contains. In countries where milling is scientifically carried 

 out this is of course reduced to a minimum, and its value as a nourishing 

 food is correspondingly reduced ; in England therefore as an article of 

 horse diet it is generally given in order to make the animal chew his 

 food thoroughly, to add bulk or to regulate the bowels, and as a bran 

 mash it is a pretty constant item of the Saturday night ration. Two 

 varieties are distinguished as "broad" or "fine"; in "broad" bran 

 the wheat husk is more or less whole and gives the article a flaky 

 appearance. Another distinction frequently made is between " London " 

 and " Country," the latter containing perhaps rather more flour and 

 being slightly superior. Where bran is produced by hand it necessarily 

 contains a much larger proportion of flour than is the case with the 

 machine-made product, and hence its feeding quality is very much 



