52 THE ECONOMICS OF FEEDING HORSES 



work-producing portions, must contain this minimum 

 amount of protein. For certain kinds of work this wide 

 ratio of 1 : 10 provides insufficient protein for the best 

 results. If a horse is required to work at a high speed, 

 the proportion of nitrogenous matter in the food should 

 be increased so as to bring the ratio to 1:8, or at the 

 severest kinds of work to 1 : 5*5 or 6. Beyond this any 

 increase in the proportion of protein is simply extra- 

 vagant, adding to the cost of the ration without serving 

 any useful purpose. 



Taking the maintenance and working requirements 

 together, we arrive at the complete ration for a working 

 horse. In an animal weighing 1,000 lbs. this should 

 contain — 



For maintenance 6'5 lbs. digestible starch with 0*65 lb. protein. 

 For work produc- ( 8-5 lbs. digestible starch with ) Q.g^ j^^ protein 

 tion 1 not less than ] ' ^ 



Total 15-0 lbs. 1-5 lbs. 



In other words, the whole ration must contain the 

 equivalent of 15 lbs. of digestible starch, of which for slow, 

 but hard work, at least 1*5 lbs. should be protein, whilst 

 for very severe or very fast work the protein may well be 

 as much as 2*5 lbs. to 3*0 lbs. For light work, the starch 

 equivalent of the ration must be reduced, or the animal 

 will put on fat, and the cost of feeding will be high in 

 relation to the work done. Applied to a number of horses, 

 the above standard ration can be tested by observing the 

 changes, if any, in the average weights of the animals over 

 a period of three or six months. If the horses were fat 

 and had been overfed at the commencement of the test, 

 they will lose weight, and, for working condition, be 

 the better for it. If overworked, or fed on an insufficient 



