64 



THE ECONOMICS OF FEEDING HORSES 



be taken : A number of harness-cobs about 14 hands 

 high, and averaging twenty to twenty-five miles a day, 

 receive a ration consisting of hay 14 lbs., split beans 

 7 lbs., divided into four feeds a day. Here the work 

 must be considered moderate, and, assuming the average 

 weight of the cobs to be 700 lbs., the standard require- 

 ments are ^^ths of those for a 1,000-lbs. horse — i.e, 

 about fths of 13 lbs. starch equivalent, or 10 J lbs. The 

 work being fast, the " nitrogenous ratio " should 

 approximate to 1:6. 



By calculation from Tables III. and VIII., we see 

 that — 



with a nitrogenous ratio of ^7^3, or q;^- 



In this ration calculation reveals at once that the 

 total food supplied is somewhat below the requirements, 

 and that the proportion of nitrogenous matter is 

 unnecessarily high. 



It may be urged in extenuation that the amount of 

 food mixture given daily is not rigidly fixed, but is 

 varied according to the severity of the work, but 

 obviously this can only be done where the number of 

 horses is small, and the owner able to supervise their 



