FOOD AND FEEDING 81 



743 parts out of 1,000 of nutritive macter, and should 

 be old, heavy, dry, and sweet. There is no kind of 

 food that can be safely substituted for good oats, as 

 they have an inherent strengthening power which is 

 not possessed by any other kinds of food. 



For a weary horse a pint of oatmeal thrown into 

 a pail of water is an admirable drink. It forms, too, 

 an excellent gruel for a sick horse, which may be 

 left for him to drink as he likes. 



Grains 



Grains, fresh from the mash-tub, either alone or 

 mixed with oats or chaff, or both, may be occa- 

 sionally given to draught - horses. They would, 

 however, afford insufficient nourishment for such as 

 are employed in quicker or harder work. 



Wheat 



Wheat is more rarely given in Great Britain than 

 barley. It contains 955 parts of nutritive matter. 

 When farmers have a damaged or unmarketable 

 sample, they sometimes give it to their horses, and 

 being given at first in small quantities, they become 

 accustomed to it, and thrive and work well. It 

 must, however, always be crushed well and mixed 

 with chaff. Wheaten-nour boiled in water to the 

 thickness of starch is given with good effect in 

 over-purging, and especially if combined with chalk 

 and opium. 



Beans 



Beans contain only 570 parts of nutritive matter, 

 yet they add very materially to the strength of the 

 horse. There are many horses who will not stand 

 hard work without beans being added to their food. 



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