Feed and Care of the Horse 189 



the graix ration 



Five products, for the most part, should provide the basis of 

 the grain ration — oats, com, wheat bran, oil meal and molasses. 

 Under most conditions, especially those that prevail on the average 

 farm, a mixture of these products is more desirable than any one 

 fed by itself. It is generally believed that so far as the concen- 

 trates are concerned, oats are best adapted to the feeding of 

 hoTses — not only on account of their chemical analysis, but be- 

 cause of their physical composition as well. The relative pro- 

 portions of carbohydrate and protein constitute a well-balanced 

 lation, and it seems that horses fed largely on oats, with an appro- 

 priate roughage, possess more mettle than individuals fed corn in 

 liberal amounts. The one objection to oats is their cost, and very 

 often unscrupulous feed dealers mix barley with the oats when the 

 price of barley will enable them to make this substitution with 

 profit. Such a mixture is less palatable and less nutritious than 

 oats fed alone. 



Corn is king in the com belt, not only for pigs but for horses 

 as well, and if alfalfa hay is used as a supplement very few ob- 

 jections can be made to this combination. However, the common 

 practice of feeding com and timothy hay in relatively large 

 amounts is objectionable for the simple reason tha4; there is a 

 lack of protein — blood- and muscle^making tissue — in such 

 a combination, and it predisposes the animal's digestive system 

 to improper functionating, and eventually the horse's wearing or 

 working qualities are pennanently impaired. 



Wheat bran or alfalfa hay should always parallel a ration of 

 corn ; or, if neither of these products are available, oil meal might 

 appropriately be substituted. Wheat bran is always indispensable 

 in a ration for growing animals. Its laxativeness coupled with its 

 ash content suggests itself on every occasion when irregularities 

 prevail ; and, if it is useful for sick animals, it is certainly a safe 

 feed for well ones. 



Oil meal is perhaps the best conditioner available for feeding 

 horses. The mere fact that perhaps 90 per cent of the con- 

 diment stock feeds that are on the market are oil meal is evidence 

 enough of the value of this by-product as a conditioner or tonic. 



Molasses has come into use within the last few years, chiefly 



