228 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



the work horse. The amount of feed necessary will depend on the size 

 of the horse and the nature and severity of the work. As a rule, from 

 10 to 18 lbs. of concentrates should be fed daily, the total allowance of 

 grain and hay ranging from 2 to 3 lbs. for each hundred pounds live 

 weight. The proportion of concentrates to roughage should depend on 

 the severity of the w'ork. The morning meal should be light, not over 

 one-third the daily concentrate allowance being given at this time, with 

 a small amount of hay. The mid-day meal is sometimes omitted, 

 especially with horses on the street all day, tho most horsemen believe 

 that some grain should be fed then. The heaviest allowance of the 

 concentrates and most of the roughage should be fed at night. The 

 concentrates may well be mixed with a peck of moistened chaffed hay, 

 and the rest of the hay fed long. To avoid digestive trouble it is highly 

 important that the allowance of concentrates be reduced on idle days. 

 It is also well to feed some bran at such times, either dry or as a bran 

 mash. 



On coming to the stable at noon, the work horse should have a drink 

 of fresh, cool water, care being taken, if he is warm, that he does not 

 drink too rapidly, or too much. Before going to work he should be 

 watered again. If possible, an hour should be given for the mid-day 

 meal and the harness removed. When the horse comes in after the 

 day's labor, give him a drink, unharness at once, and when the sweat 

 has dried brush him well. 



Wintering the farm horse. — The farm horse when idle during the 

 winter may be economically wintered wholly, or in part, on roughages. 

 Such feeds as the refuse stems from clover or alfalfa hay which has 

 been fed to dairy cattle or fattening cattle or sheep can often be fed 

 with advantage to such horses. It is preferable to turn idle horses out 

 daily into a lot, protected from the wind, rather than keep them closely 

 confined. At shedding time, feed some grain even to idle horses. 

 Light grain feeding should begin a few weeks before the spring work 

 starts, for horses are soft after a W'inter of idleness. 



The mule. — It is often stated that mules require less feed than horses 

 to do a given amount of work, but there appears to be no foundation 

 for this statement. At 3 years of age, when shedding his milk teeth, 

 the mule is especially susceptible to digestive disorders. At other times 

 he is an excellent feeder, as a rule being more sensible in eating and 

 less likely to gorge himself than the horse, and hence less subject to 

 colic or founder. The mule is not particular in his taste and consumes 

 roughages which the horse will refuse. He also endures hot weather 

 better, and because of the peculiar shape of the hoof and its thick, 

 strong wall and sole is less subject than the horse to lameness of the 

 foot. However, the lack of weight and the small size of his foot some- 



