FOOD. 373 



If, when considerable provender was wasted, the horse maintained his condition, 

 and was able to do his work, it was evident that much might be saved to the farmer, 

 when he adopted a system by which tiie horse ate all that was set before him ; and 

 by degrrees it was found out that, even food somewhat less nutritious, but a great deal 

 cheaper, and which the horse either would not eat, or would not properly grind down 

 in its natural state, might be added, while the animal would be in quite as good plight, 

 and always ready ibr work. 



Chaff may be composed of equal quantities of clover or meadow hay, and wheaten, 

 oaten, or barley straw, cut into pieces of a quarter or half an incli in length, and 

 mingled well together ; the allowance of oats or beans is afterwards added, and mixed 

 with the chaff. Many farmers very properly bruise the oats or beans. The whole 

 oat is apt to slip out of the chaff and be lost ; but when it is bruised, and especially 

 if the chaff is a little wetted, it will not readily separate ; or, should a portion of it 

 escape the grinders, it will be partly prepared for digestion by the act of bruising. 

 The prejudice against bruising the oats is, so far as the farmer's horse, and the wagon 

 horse, and every horse of slow draught, are concerned, altogether unfounded. The 

 quantity of straw in the chaff will always counteract any suj)posed purgative quality 

 in the bruised oats. Horses of quicker draught, except they are naturally disposed to 

 scour, will thrive better with bruised than with whole oats ; for a greater quantity of 

 nutriment wall be extracted from the food, and it will always be easy to apportion the 

 quantity of straw or beans to the effect of the mixture on the bowels of the horse. 

 The principal alteration that should be made in the horse of harder and more rapid 

 work, such as the post-horse, and the stage-coach horse, is to increase the quantity 

 of hay, and diminish that of straw. Two trusses of hay may be cut with one of 

 straw. 



Some gentlemen, in defiance of the prejudice and opposition of the coachman or the 

 groom, have introduced tliis mode of feeding into the stables of their carriage-horses 

 and hackneys, and with manifest advantage. There has been no loss of condition or 

 power, and considerable saving of provender. This system is not, however, calculated 

 for the hunter or the race-horse. Their food must lie in smaller bulk, in order that 

 the action of the lungs may not be impeded by the distension of the stomach ; yet 

 many hunters have gone well over the field who have been manger-fed, the proportion 

 of corn, however, being materially increased. 



For the agricultural and cart horse, eight pounds of oats and two of beans should 

 be added to every twenty pounds of chaff. Thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the 

 mixture will be sufficient for any moderate-sized horse, with fair, or even hard work. 

 The dray and wagon horse may require forty pounds. Hay in the rack at nio-ht is, in 

 this case, supposed to be omitted altogether. The rack, however, may remain, as 

 occasionally useful for the sick horse, or to contain tares or other green meat. 



Horses are very fond of this provender. The majority of them, afterhaving been 

 accustomed to it, will leave the best oats given to them alone, for the sake of the 

 mingled chaff and corn. We would, however, caution the farmer not to set apart too 

 much damaged hay for the manufacture of the chaff. The horse may be thus induced 

 to eat that which he would otherwise refuse ; but if the nourishing property of the 

 hay has been impaired, or it has acquired an injurious principle, the animal will either 

 lose condition, or become diseased. Much more injury is done by eating damaged 

 hay or musty oats than is generally imagined. There will be sufficient saving inlhe 

 diminished cost of the provender by the introduction of the straw, and the improved 

 condition of the horse, without poisoning him with the refuse of the farm. For old 

 horses, and for those with defective teeth, chaff is peculiarly useful, and for them the 

 grain should be broken down as well as the fodder. 



While the mixture of chaff with the corn prevents it from being too rapidly de- 

 voured and a portion of it swallowed whole, and therefore the stomach is not too 

 loaded with that on which, as containing the most nutriment, its chief digestive powe- 

 should be exerted, yet, on the whole, a great deal of time is gained by this mode ot 

 feeding, and more is left for rest. When a horse comes in wearied at the close of 

 the day, it occupies, after he has eaten his corn, two or three hours to clear his rack. 

 On the system of manger-feeding, the chaff being already cut into small pieces, and 

 the beans and oats bruised, he is able fully to satisfy his appetite in an hour and a 

 half. Two additional hours are therefore devoted to rest. This is a circumstance 

 deserving of much consideration even in the farmer's stable, and of immense conse- 

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