FEEDING HORSES AND MULES 289 



ration of timothy hay and oats, while the others received shredded 

 cornstalks, oat straw and hay for roughage, and ear corn, oats, and 

 a mixture of dried beet pulp, bran, and oil cake in the proportion 

 of 4 : 1 : 1 ; 8 pounds of carrots were also fed to the horses receiving 

 this ration, which was composed of these various feeds in order to 

 furnish a variety to the animals and insure a good appetite through- 

 out the feeding trial. The cost of the two rations, based on average 

 prices, was 19.4 cents per head daily for the regular ration and 

 12.3 cents for the cheaper ration. The horses fed the latter gained, 

 on the average, 14 pounds during the ten weeks of the trial, while 

 those fed the regular ration, doing about 8 per cent more work, lost, 

 on an average, 11 pounds in weight. It is recommended to use a 

 small part of the corn field to raise a supply of corn fodder for 

 wintering horses, " planting the corn in drills thick enough to 



FIG. 69. Horses on the western range. (Pacific Rural Press.) 



produce moderate-sized stalks, an abundance of leaves, and from 

 one-half to two-thirds of a crop of ear corn, the whole to be in 

 bundle form." 



Horses that have been idle or doing but little work during the 

 winter should be started on a small grain ration with light work 

 about six weeks before spring work commences, so as to be put in 

 condition for this work; the grain is increased gradually in order 

 to avoid digestive disorders (Fig. 69). 



Fleshing Horses for Market. Horses are collected from all 

 over the country in small numbers every fall, and are fattened 

 during the winter months and shipped to the large markets to be 

 sold. This business is one of considerable magnitude in the middle 

 West. The gains made and the profit secured depend on a number 

 of factors, similar to those that condition the profitableness of 

 steer fattening (p. 261). The Illinois station conducted two ex- 

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