COST ACCOUNTING 265 



ment expense. It is that the horse labor figures should 

 be calculated, and the amounts posted to the several ledger 

 accounts before any attempt is made to calculate even 

 the total of equipment expense. This is because all of the 

 expenses in connection with equipment are not in the 

 Equipment Expense account until the cost of horse labor on 

 equipment has been posted from the horse labor summary. 



When all the necessary charges for the year have been 

 made in the Equipment Expense account, then the dis- 

 tribution of such expense is made over the several farm 

 elements as indicated in Illustration 53 and as described 

 above. After the distribution is made in the Horse Labor 

 Summary, the items are posted to the accounts affected. 



The method of calculating, recording and distributing 

 Equipment Expense as described above includes all ex- 

 penses in connection with equipment, both that drawn by 

 horses and that used entirely by hand. In other words 

 it includes hand tools. Theoretically it should not. Prac- 

 tically, however, distributing expenses of hand tools on a 

 basis of horse hours is justified very largely because such 

 tools are used for repairing horse drawn equipment. Any 

 expense on tools not so used is so small that the distribu- 

 tion explained above may be used for all equipment ex- 

 pense without fear of distorting the results. Its simplicity 

 warrants its use without modification. 



Work Horses and Other Horses. A distinction is some- 

 times made between the cost of keeping Work Horses and 

 the cost of keeping Other Horses. Such distinction is not 

 necessary on the average farm where only enough colts 

 are raised or extra horses kept to insure the keeping of 

 work up to a general standard, without unwarranted delay 

 during rush seasons of the year. 



Work Horses are kept for the purpose of assisting in 

 the general farming operations. Work Horses account is 

 charged with the cost of keeping horses that do farm work 



