CHAPTER VIII 

 HAY AND GRASS 



npHE best way to feed hay is on the floor of the 

 -^ stall, whether it is a box stall or a straight stall. 

 This is the natural way for the horse to eat, and 

 consequently the easiest and most comfortable way. 

 Moreover, with his head down, a horse will secrete 

 more saliva in eating, and will therefore digest better 

 than if he is forced to hold his head up. The next 

 best way is to have it in a deep manger, and the worst 

 way is to have it in an old-fashioned hay rack so placed 

 that the horse has to stretch up his neck in an unnatural 

 position, and is also likely to have hay seed fall into 

 his eyes. Horses should receive the greater part of 

 their hay at night, and if the horse is w^orked all day, 

 it would be better to give him very little hay at noon. 

 If, however, the horse is used but little so that he is 

 in the stall a good part of the time, and receiving very 

 little grain, then it is best to give him an ordinary feed 

 of hay In the middle of the day; for If the horse receives 

 only a small amount of grain and no hay In the middle 

 of the day, he Is apt to get hungry and restless an hour 

 or two later, and may take up some bad habit, such as 

 cribbing or weaving. 



It Is a mistake to give a horse more hay than he will 

 eat up clean, and worse yet to have hay always before 

 him. Roughly speaking, horses should have at night 



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