A SUITABLE RATION 59 



The ** fatty ratio," in which the total digestible fat is 

 compared with the total digestible protein, is of little 

 practical importance. A very large proportion of fat in 

 a ration is unsuitable for horses, because it lowers the 

 digestibility of the other nutrients, and it is found that 

 the maximum quantity of digestible fat which can be 

 fed without this ill-effect is about 1 lb. per 1,000 lbs. 

 weight of the horse. Now, the total amount of digestible 

 protein in a ration for a horse of 1,000 lbs. weight at 

 severe work need never exceed 3 lbs., and, in fact, is 

 usually nearer 2 lbs. Thus the fatty ratio should be 

 within the limits 1 : 2 and 1 : 3, and should not he narrower 

 than 1 : 2. There is, however, no objection whatever to 

 the ratio being ivider than this— i.e., to the amount of fat 

 being much lower than the maximum of 1 lb. — for, as 

 stated elsewhere (p. 37), digestible carbo-hydrates can 

 replace fat in the ration without any loss of efi&ciency. 

 As a matter of fact, the foodstuffs fed to horses contain 

 comparatively small amounts of fat, and the total 

 amount in a ration rarely, if ever, exceeds the maximum 

 suggested above. Thus, provided the " nitrogenous 

 ratio " is suitable, and the total amount of nutrients 

 sufficient, the " fatty ratio " may usually be neglected in 

 estimating the value or suitability of a ration. 



And now it is necessary to warn the reader against 

 the very real danger of thinking that two foodstuffs of 

 equal nutritive value may always be substituted, the one 

 for the other, in a ration for horses, and be equally suit- 

 able. This is emphatically not the case. On inspecting 

 Table III. (p. 42) it will be noticed that at average 

 prices maize provides the most nutriment at the lowest 

 cost, and, further, it is the most digestible of foods. The 

 question may be asked, and that with reason, " Why 



