506 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



The necessity for exercise is greatest when animals are 

 young and decreases with advancing age. It is based on the 

 relation that obtains between exercise and the removal of 

 waste matter that would otherwise accumulate in the system, 

 and also between exercise and the firming of the muscles, 

 to enable them to fulfill effectively the respective functions 

 required of them. It stimulates the circulatory blood flow and 

 quickens all the vital processes. The necessity for taking 

 it is indicated in the eagerness with which young animals 

 exercise, and the amount of it which they take when the 

 opportunity for the same is furnished. Young animals, 

 therefore, should in no instances be closely confined unless 

 they are to be slaughtered at an early age. 



The importance of exercise is greatest in the horse. 

 This arises in part from the fact that he is kept for pur- 

 poses of labor and travel. The measure of the ability for 

 both has been found to co-ordinate in a marked degree with 

 the amount of exercise taken during development and also 

 subsequently. Exercise for sheep comes next in importance, 

 as a result of inherent original endowment. The sheep by 

 nature is much inclined to travel while grazing. Swine can 

 be reared with less exercise relatively than cattle, but they 

 also must be given large liberty to exercise if they are to 

 maintain sufficient health and vigor. 



Animals kept primarily for labor require the largest 

 amount of exercise. Those kept primarily for breeding 

 come next, and those that are being fattened call for the 

 least. The necessity for proper exercise with horses is only 

 second in importance to the necessity for proper food. Ex- 

 perience has invariably shown that the larger the amount 

 of exercise taken by breeding animals up to that point at 

 which exercise would begin to draw on the energies of the 

 system, the more valuable are they as breeders, and the 

 more successfully do they breed. With animals that are 

 being fattened, exercise beyond a limited amount would 

 draw on the energies of the system, and as a result there 

 would be antagonism between exercise beyond this point 

 and the most abundant laying on of flesh. 



