FEEDING HORSES AND MULES 283 



meals. The daily grain feed is given about one-third each meal. 

 Whatever system is followed, it is important to adopt a regular 

 routine of feeding so that the horse may get his feed when he ex- 

 pects it and in the manner to which he is accustomed. 



Colin has shown that the stomach of the horse will fill and empty 

 itself two or three times during a meal; the portion of the feed 

 first eaten will remain only a short time in the stomach, subject to 

 the action of the gastric juice, being pushed into the intestines by 

 the feed that follows. It has also been shown that if a horse is fed 

 grain and then watered, much of the grain will be carried along 

 into the intestines and will, therefore, not be fully digested; hence 

 it would seem that the logical order of feeding is, hay and then 

 grain; but horses are most anxious to get their grain and will be 

 nervous and excited if it. is withheld until the end of the meal. 

 Farmers generally, therefore, feed their horses grain first and put 

 hay before them to be eaten after the grain. 



Watering. Experiments by Sanborn 4 indicate that the best 

 plan of watering horses is to water both before and after feeding. 

 Tangl, however, who conducted elaborate experiments on this 

 point, 5 concluded that it is of no great moment whether horses are 

 watered before, during, or after meals, as it has no influence on the 

 digestion or the absorption of the feed which they eat. It is im- 

 portant, however, to adopt a reasonable, convenient system of water- 

 ing as of feeding, and then adhere rigidly to it, for regularity in the 

 handling of horses has an important influence on their general 

 health and condition. A moderate drink of water may be given 

 horses at any time, even when hot and tired. They appreciate a good 

 drink after meals, and especially after the evening meal is eaten, 

 before lying down, but often do not get it. A horse will drink from 

 50 to 75 pounds of water a day, on warm days even 100 pounds or 

 more. Rations of narrow nutritive ratios, like alfalfa rations, re- 

 quire larger amounts of water than those low in protein; this is, 

 however, a matter of physiological interest mainly, and of but little 

 practical importance. 



Allowance of Roughage. Owing to the relatively small ca- 

 pacity of the digestive apparatus of the horse (p. 30), his feed 

 must be given to a large extent in concentrated form. Idle horses 

 may be fed more roughage than those at work, and the latter should 

 have their main allowance of coarse feed at night, when they have 

 time to thoroughly masticate it and can rest after the meal. It is 



4 Utah Bulletin 9. 



B Landw. Vers. Stat., 1902, p. 329. 



