IV] 



FEEDING, EXERCISE AND TRANSPORT 



35 



silver weed, sedges and rushes, dandelions, 

 buttercups, marguerites, nettles, etc. 



Herbage consists of clover, trefoil, vetch, sain- 

 foin and alfalfa, or lucerne. 



136. Clover hay makes excellent food for 

 horses that are not doing very hard work. It is 

 a change, and horses like it. Any hay containing 

 a fair amount of clover is increased in value. 

 There are several varieties of clover. At present 

 farmers are unable to grow clover in Western 

 Canada, but the Experimental Farms have got 

 a special hardened variety, and it is hoped that 

 in a few years they will be able to put it on the 

 market. This variety withstands the severe 

 winters of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. 



137. Lucerne (called alfalfa in North America) 

 is a most valuable green food ; it is most 

 nutritious, and several crops can be cut off the 

 same roots in the same season. It is practically 

 perennial, and is a tall, green plant with a small 

 purple flower. It roots deeply, and can, there- 

 fore, be grown on dry soils, such as those in 

 India. It does best in countries with hot sum- 

 mers. It is brittle, and consequently dusty, 

 which is a drawback. 



Sainfoin makes an excellent hay. The plant 

 is large, coarse-stemmed, thin-leaved, with a 

 pinkish flower. It is specially suitable for 

 heavy horses. Its coarseness of stalk does not 

 lower its value unless the stalk is tough. It is 

 very nutritious and is liked by horses. Two 

 crops a year may be cut, but the plant is only 

 biennial. It is usually cut for hay before it 

 flowers. 



Appetite 



138. The appetite is a fairly good indicator 

 of the kind and amount of food required by the 

 system. The reliability of this indicator is much 

 increased when the horse is at hard work. In 

 nature the horse is not idle, nor does he eat 

 threshed oats, so that for this reason the appetite 

 of a hard-working horse, fed on such palatable 

 foods, will over-indicate the amount of food 

 required. When the system requires nourish- 

 ment, which means an empty stomach and small 

 intestinal tract, it excites the nervous system and 

 produces a sensation of hunger (appetite). 

 Experiment has shown that this sensation ceases 

 if food is artificially introduced into these empty 

 organs through the rectum, or through an arti- 

 ficial opening which may have to be made in 

 certain diseases of the throat, etc. This sensa- 

 tion is also produced by external impressions, 

 e.g. by the sense of smell, taste, feeling, seeing 

 and hearing. The stimulus, whatever it may be, 

 excites the whole digestive apparatus and pre- 

 pares it for the reception of food. 



When a horse is sick or much fatigued, it 

 would do no good, but considerable harm, to 

 stimulate this sensation by showing him oats 



or other palatable foods, as his system will 

 require all its energy to throw off the illness 

 without exerting itself in this other direction. 

 Hence, a very easily digestible mash or gruel 

 should be given, which would not excite the 

 appetite too much. Severe work lowers the 

 activity of the appetite and digestion, and is seen 

 in racehorses that are over-trained. 



To force a horse which is off its feed to eat 

 and to give it stimulants will do harm. He 

 should be given plenty of water and a little 

 green feed or a mash. Only a very little at a 

 time should be given, and repeated when neces- 

 sary ; the digestive organs will thus be able to 

 recuperate. 



139. As the appetite under the conditions of 

 civilisation will over-indicate the amount of food 

 required, we must make horses eat slowly. 

 When a horse is hungry he eats, but to eat as 

 long as he is hungry will probably mean to 

 over-eat, because it takes time for the stomach 

 and intestines, when suflBciently supplied, to 

 communicate this fact to the nervous system, 

 and thence to the nerves that cause the sensa- 

 tion of appetite. Thus, when he thinks he has 

 had enough, he has really had too much, and 

 every particle taken in excess will do no good, 

 but harm ; this risk will be lessened if the 

 animal eats slowly. The same principle applies 

 to ourselves. 



140. Cleaning Mangers. — Great care must be 

 taken before every meal to see that the manger 

 is absolutely clean and that it contains no sour 

 odour. Before a horse is taken out it should 

 be ascertained whether he has finished his last 

 meal. The crevices and corners of the manger 

 are usually neglected by grooms, and soon 

 become sour, causing a dainty horse to lose its 

 appetite. A dirty manger is a sure sign of bad 

 horsekeeping. 



141. A horse requires bulk. However high 

 may be the nutrient properties of concentrated 

 foods, without bulk they will never cause a horse 

 to be in good condition. A horse of the stamp 

 of the cavalry troop horse, doing moderate work, 

 requires twenty-five to thirty pounds of food a 

 day. About half of this should be oats, the 

 remainder hay ; two pounds of the hay should 

 be cut up into chaff, and mixed with the oats. 

 The digestive system can scarcely consume too 

 many oats a day if the horse is working hard, 

 but if oats are given alone, i.e. without being 

 mixed with chaff or bran, it will not be able to 

 consume sufficient, as a great deal of the oats 

 will pass unconsumed. Hence the importance 

 of adding bulk to the oats ration. A heavy 

 draught horse should have as much as three 

 times the above quantity of oats and nearly 

 double the hay. 



The best method of feeding horses is to give 

 only a handful of hay in the morning, with about 

 one-third of the oats ; to repeat this amount 



