. FEEDING AND CARE OF HORSES 229 



what unfit the mule for heavy draft in the city, as he does not get a good 

 hold on the pavements. 



Tho the mule will endure more neglect than the horse, good care and 

 feed will prove profitable. For feeding the mule the same feeds are 

 available as for the horse, and the same principles apply in suiting the 

 feed to the size of the animal and the severity of the work performed. 



Fattening horses. — As the markets demand draft horses in high flesh, 

 in certain districts their fattening has become an important industry. 

 The horses are usually purchased in the fall after farm work is over 

 and gradually accustomed to a heavy grain ration, getting all they will 

 clean up when on full feed. At this time some of the heaviest feeders 

 will consume nearly twice as much as when at hard work, or about 

 2 lbs. of grain for every 100 lbs. live weight. The chief concentrates 

 used are corn and oats, often with moderate allowances of such protein- 

 rich feeds as wheat bran, linseed meal, or cottonseed meal added to 

 balance the ration. Clover or alfalfa hay is commonly fed, for these 

 hays are much superior to timothy hay. In addition, silage of good 

 quality may be advantageously fed. At the Illinois Station ^ a ration 

 of 8.6 lbs. corn, 8.6 lbs. oats, 2.4 lbs. wheat bran, 0.4 lb. oil meal, and 

 13.7 lbs. clover hay gave excellent results iii fattening horses. A most 

 successful ration for 1,450-lb. horses at the Pennsylvania Station - was 

 12.3 lbs. shelled corn, 1,4 lbs. cottonseed meal, 16.9 lbs. corn silage, 

 and 10.5 lbs. mixed hay. Horses thus fattened require about the same 

 amount of feed as fattening cattle for 100 lbs. gain in weight. 



Formerly the horses were usually allowed no exercise, great care then 

 being necessary to avoid digestive troubles and to keep their legs from 

 becoming stocked. Now many feeders allow the horses to run in pad- 

 docks. Due to the forced feeding, surprising gains are often secured. 

 Instances are reported where horses have gained 4 lbs. or even more 

 per head daily for periods of about 2 months. While at present horses 

 must be thus fattened to bring top prices, such rapid and excessive 

 fattening is of little benefit and may even be injurious. When put to 

 hard w^ork, the horse quickly loses much of the soft flesh gained by such 

 forcing. 



Feeding the carriage and saddle horse. — Style and action are of the 

 greatest importance with these horses, economy of feeding standing 

 second. Good drivers in this country still assert that the oat-fed horse 

 exhibits mettle as from no other feed. Tho oats easily excel any other 

 single grain or concentrate, there are numerous instances in which a 

 properly combined concentrate mixture has given just as good results, 

 as is shown in the following chapter. From 8 to 10 lbs. of oats or 



lObrecht, 111. Bui. 141. 2 Cocliel, Penn. Bui. 117. 



