FEEDING HORSES AND MULES 287 



to give carrots sliced longitudinally, so that they may not stick 

 in the animal's gullet and thus choke him " (Hayes). Roots, espe- 

 cially carrots, are greatly relished by horses, and are fed quite ex- 

 tensively in Europe. Sliced potatoes, 10 to 12 pounds as a maxi- 

 mum feed, may also be given, preferably mixed with cut hay or 

 straw. 



Concentrates. Among the concentrates oats are, in general, 

 considered of a higher value in feeding horses than any other grain 

 feed. They are eminently adapted for this purpose, and are relished 

 better by horses than other cereals. Oats can be fed safely to horses, 

 since the digestive tract of these animals does not hold a sufficient 

 quantity to produce serious disorders. Owing to the presence of 

 the hull, oats form a light and loose mass in the stomach, which 

 makes it easy for the digestive fluids to permeate the mass and 

 insures a more complete digestion. Oats should be fed whole to 

 horses, or, at least, crushed or rolled, except in the case of old 

 horses with poor teeth. If corn and oats are fed, as is a common 

 practice in the East and central States, the feed should be coarsely 

 ground, as it may otherwise give rise to colic and indigestion when 

 swallowed fast by hungry animals. While oats form the common 

 cereal fed to horses in most parts of the country, other grains are 

 used in different sections and countries : Indian corn largely in the 

 corn belt and the southern States, barley on the Pacific coast, in 

 European countries, and North Africa. Barley is the common horse 

 feed in Arabia, world-famous for its fine breed of horses. 



Corn is the main substitute for oats as a horse feed; a large 

 number of stations 13 have studied the question of the relative value 

 of the two grains for this purpose. The general result 6f this work is 

 to the effect that corn is a safe and satisfactory horse feed, and that 

 the best method of feeding is to give a mixture of the two grains. 

 This gives better results than corn alone and, in general, makes a 

 cheaper ration than oats as a sole concentrate. In discussing concen- 

 trates for horses, Gay says : 14 " When its general use in the corn belt 

 States is considered, much of the prejudice of the eastern feeders 

 loses weight. The average Iowa horse, for instance, is produced by 

 a dam which was raised on corn, and had no other grain during the 

 period of carrying and suckling her foal. The foal receives a little 

 cracked corn or even cob corn for his first bite, with the amount 



13 Ohio Bulletin 195; Kansas Bulletin 186; N. Dakota Bulletin 45; 

 Missouri Bulletin 114; also Exp. Sta. Rec., vol. 12, p. 4: E. Lavalard, 

 " Notes on Horse Feeding." 



14 " Productive Horse Husbandry," p. 235. 



