24 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDfA. 



horses, but an excellent food may be made by mixing 

 it with equal quantities of bran and gram. 



Owing to its hardness it requires the addition of bran, 

 chaff, or chopped hay to make the animal chew it pro- 

 perly. When given alone, it is very apt to cause colic. 



It should be given raw, and in a roughly broken state. 



Owing to its cheapness, it was very generally used, 

 in England and Ireland, diring the years 1876 and 1877. 



Hiram Woodruff, the celebrated American trainer, 

 thus writes : " The grain should be oats of good qua- 

 lity. I do not let colts have corn at all when young ; 

 and even to old horses I think it should be fed very 



sparingly Above all, avoid Indian corn in all 



shapes for young colts Keep the corn for the 



bullocks and hogs, and give oats to the horses." 



Wheat. This grain is difficult of digestion, probably 

 owing to the viscid nature of the gluten, which it 

 contains, preventing the different digestive fluids 

 saliva, gastric juice, pancreatic juice. &c. from permeat- 

 ing through its substance. This objection might be 

 removed by the process of parching. 



Raw wheat is very apt to gripe the horse. 



That most reliable authority, Mr. Stewart (Stable 

 Economy), mentions that a quantity of wheat, not ex- 

 ceeding 4 Ibs., may be substituted for the same, or 

 a slightly larger amount of oats ; that it should always 

 be given mixed with bran or chafi ; and that it should 

 be bruised in the same manner as oats. For instances 

 of its combinations, see Chapter VI. 



A couple of pounds of boiled wheat, mixed with a 



