FOOD AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 411 



allowed to remain out in the storm and weather, there to rot 

 and spoil, without serious consequences to the animal's 

 health. Weather-beaten, moldy, and mow-burnt hay and 

 fodder are the sure instigators of disease; and in a large 

 majority of the cases of urinary affections among horses, the 

 trouble may be distinctly traced back to their use. 



GRAIN. 



It is necessary to feed the horse a proportion of grain. As 

 a general rule, one-half the food given him should be of this 

 character, but to this there are exceptions, of course. When 

 the horse is in low condition or bad health, or when he is 

 allowed but little exercise, the quantity of grain should be 

 reduced ; and, on the other hand, if his labor is severe and 

 continuous, he will need a larger proportion of it than that 

 here indicated. 



There is even more difference in the quality and value of 

 grains as food for the horse than in the various grasses, and 

 the same is true in regard to the manner in which they are 

 fed. There are but two kinds of grain that are used to any 

 considerable extent in our country as food for the horse, and 

 these are oats and corn. The former is fed principally in 

 the l^orthern States, while in most of the Southern States 

 corn alone is employed. Both are well known to every 

 American farmer, and together they form the great staples 

 of the land for feeding stock of all kinds. 



For the horse, oats are much preferable to corn, under all 

 circumstances. They are a milder, lighter diet, not so heat- 

 ing to the blood, and much more easily digested. They are 

 generally not much more than half as heavy as corn, and 

 possess less concentrated nutrition and substance. Although 

 they can be fed with impunity, in their natural unbroken 

 state, they are much better when ground into meal and used 

 as provender. In this way, too, they can be used much more 

 economically, one-third less sufficing to meet the wants of 

 the horse. When the oats are fed whole, one-half of them 

 are generally but imperfectly masticated in the mouth or 



