32 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



beans, concerning the feeding of them. Peas 

 must be light in colour, hard and sound. They 

 are liable to become wet at harvest, whereupon 

 they become darker in colour. 



119. Linseed. — Linseed is one of the most 

 valuable conditioning foods we have ; it contains 

 a high percentage of fat-producing elements. 

 Linseed cake is excellent for horses ; it is made 

 of residue linseed from which the oil has been 

 expressed. Linseed grains must be plump and 

 well filled, free from dirt and bright in colour. 

 The extremely tough husk of linseed prevents it 

 from being fed whole ; it is therefore ground or 

 boiled. Even when ground, very little of the 

 husk is digested. 



Boiled linseed is made by boiling the whole 

 grain slowly for six to twelve hours, with re- 

 peated stirring ; or the whole grain may be 

 soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours. In 

 both cases a jelly will be formed which horses 

 readily eat, and which is an excellent food for 

 fattening purposes. Half a pound a day is suflS- 

 cient for an ordinary-sized horse. Linseed cake 

 may be given broken up in the manger, about 

 half a pound a day. 



120. Linseed mash is made by boiling one and 

 a half pounds of linseed in water for eight hours, 

 not very thick in consistency ; two pounds of 

 bran and one ounce of common salt are then 

 added and stirred in. The whole is covered and 

 allowed to cool sufficiently so that it can be 

 eaten. Linseed oil, given two ounces a day in 

 the food, is an excellent substitute for linseed. 



Linseed tea is particularly good for soothing 

 mucous membranes and the urinary organs. It 

 is made by boiling one pound of linseed in one 

 gallon of water and allowing it to simmer for 

 twelve hours. About a teacupful should be 

 poured on the food at night. 



121. Bran. — Bran, which is the husk of wheat 

 after the kernel has been ground to flour, owes 

 its nutritive value to the amount of flour left 

 with it. Therefore bran from modern mills has 

 not much nourishment ; it is, however, useful, 

 as it increases bulk and regulates the action of 

 the bowels and prevents horses from bolting 

 their food. It is an excellent food if given in the 

 form of a hot mash to a sick horse. Bran is also 

 advantageously used when mixed with heating 

 foods, such as beans and peas. With most horses 

 dry bran tends to cause slight constipation, whilst 

 bran mashes are laxative in their action. 



A bran mash is made by scalding two or three 

 pounds of bran in a bucket of water, adding one 

 ounce of common salt, covering and allowing it 

 to stand until cool enough to eat. A mash must 

 be stirred with a clean stick, and not with one's 

 hand ; cleanliness is of the utmost importance in 

 feeding as in all other stable duties. Bran must 

 be quite dry (moisture will immediately make it 

 sour and lumpy), sweet, flaky, free from lumps 

 and of a yellowish-red colour; the colour varies 



considerably according to the wheat. The hand, 

 if plunged in and drawn out, should be covered 

 considerably with flour ; and if the bran is 

 chewed it should not feel gritty nor taste sour. 

 Sand may have been added to increase its 

 weight ; to test for this some of the bran should 

 be thrown into a glass jug of water — any sand 

 present will sink to the bottom. 



122. Carrots. — Both red and white carrots are 

 liked by all horses, and should be fed, especially 

 in the spring ; about one to two pounds a day in 

 lieu of some roots. Carrots should be mashed 

 or cut lengthways, never crossways, as they may 

 cause choking. 



Other Roots. — Potatoes are used considerably 

 in Ireland. They should be cooked before use, as 

 raw potatoes are indigestible. If used to them, 

 horses can do hard work on boiled potatoes. 



Turnips and other roots can be boiled into a 

 mash or chopped up into small pieces and mixed 

 with the rest of the feed. These pieces must 

 never be more than an inch in diameter. Turnip 

 mashes are commonly used in England on farms. 



123. Rice. — Unhusked rice is fed considerably 

 in India, but the husks are very indigestible to 

 animals who are not accustomed to them. If 

 crushed or boiled it makes a fairly good food ; it 

 should be fed in larger quantities than oats. 

 Without the husk rice is unsuitable to horses, 

 because it does not contain any woody fibre. 



124. Sugar. — Until lately the value of sugar 

 has not been sufficiently realised, but now sugar 

 is very commonly used in England with excellent 

 results, under the name of molassine, which is 

 composed of refuse sugar and peat moss. 

 Molasses is also fed with good results in South 

 Africa and India. Some of the horses in the 

 long-distance rides in Europe have been fed 

 entirely on molasses. Raw sugar should not be 

 fed except as an occasional tit-bit, because it up- 

 sets the system. But a considerable amount of 

 sugar-cane or treacle can be added to the food. 

 Sugar is sustaining and fattening, and especially 

 suitable during exposure to hardship or cold. 



125. Oatmeal. — Oatmeal gruel is an excellent 

 food to give a horse after a good day's work. 

 Gruels may be made of other meals, such as 

 maize or bean meal, and should be quite liquid 

 in consistency. Warm gruel is made by pouring 

 warm water on a little oatmeal in a bucket, stir- 

 ring, covering and allowing to cool sufficiently. 

 Then one ounce of common salt should be added. 

 A cold gruel can be made by stirring a few hand- 

 fuls of the meal into a bucket of water. 



Compressed rations are issued on active ser- 

 vice and consist of various mixtures. They 

 should be well broken up and damped before 

 use. Grain is often steamed, which generally 

 means being soaked for an hour or so in hot 

 water ; this is good for sick horses or those that 

 are off their feed. 



126. Rock Sail.— The horse's food contains 



