18 THE HORSE. 



should be cut up into chaff in the chaff-cutter. Straw is, as a 

 rule, chaffed, though it may be fed in a long state to young 

 horses running in straw yards. Chaffed hay and chaffed straw, 

 or a mixture of the two, are very generally termed " chop." 

 The flavour and palatability of " straw chop " can be very 

 greatly improved by mixing it with sliced or pulped roots, the 

 mixture being left lying in a heap for about twenty-four hours, 

 when the juice of the roots will soak into the '*' chop," and the 

 whole mass will develop an agreeable flavour. If it is neces- 

 sary to feed hay which has turned very brown, and which is 

 in consequence not relished by the horses, it should be cut up 

 into " chop," and it may then either be mixed with the corn in 

 a dry state, or it can be treated in the same way as that just 

 recommended for '' straw chop." 



Green Fora.g:e Crops. — When frreen-soilino: horses 

 with green forage crops, these can be fed in a long state. Some 

 farmers make a practice of cutting up the green forage in the 

 chaff-cutter, and mixing some " straw chop " witli it, but this 

 is not necessary, as a rule, and involves unnecessary trouble 

 and labour, though tlie plan is greatly to be recommended 

 when green-soiling is first made a start with in the spring, as 

 it helps to accustom the horses to the change from a diet of 

 diy fodder to one of green food in a gradual manner. 



Bran Mash. — The preparation or a bran mash is as fol- 

 lows : About three pounds of bran are jDlaced in a bucket and 

 sufficient boiling water poured into it to tlioroughly wet all of 

 the bran. The bucket is then covered over with a sack, and the 

 mash is left to steam for two or three hours. Before feeding 

 it some cold water should be added, so a.s to bring the mash 

 to a lukewarm temperature, and to give it a fairly sloppy 

 consistency. A little salt can be added, if desired. A linseed- 

 nieal-and-bran mash is prepared in the same way, the linseed 

 meal and bran being mixed together before the water is added. 



Roots. — Mangels and swedes fed to horses should be cut 

 into four or five pieces, or they may be prepared by putting 



