40 THE HORSE 



with hay cut by a hay cutter. This method of feeding, 

 that is, giving cut hay and cornmeal, or a mixture of 

 corn and oats ground together, called "provender," 

 was formerly a common practice in New England and 

 a very good one. Mixing hay with the grain tends to 

 make the horse chew the whole thoroughly, and it is 

 probably better than the feeding of hay and grain 

 separately. Cut feed is always given to work-horses 

 in England. So far as I know there is only one large 

 stable of truck horses in Boston that now receives "cut 

 feed," but these horses are among the very best in the 

 city in point of condition and roundness and sleekness 

 of appearance. 



Oats should be plump, hard and dry, with thin 

 husks. Some oats are very deceptive, being apparently 

 large, but their size is due to the thickness of the husks. 

 New oats have an earthy odor; they should look bright 

 and rattle like peas. Old oats should be almost with- 

 out odor or taste. Oats are often adulterated with 

 barley, and with rape seed. "Nothing is more 

 extravagant," says T. F. Dale — and a hundred other 

 authorities might be cited to the same point — "than 

 inferior oats or hay." 



Oats should never be fed until they are two or three 

 months old. New oats are extremely likely to cause 

 indigestion and colic. Kiln-dried oats are safe, but 

 sometimes, in order to remove the deep yellow tinge 

 of kiln-dried oats, they are treated with sulphur, which 

 is injurious to the horse — ^except when he needs sulphur 

 as a medicine. The sulphur can be tasted by chewing 

 the oats. 



