CHAPTER Y 

 Food 



Oats 



Long- experience and analysis have proved oats 

 to be the best grain for horses, as, indeed, thei? 

 are for many other animals, including man, the 

 reason being that the chemical elements of oats 

 are such as are best suited to repair the waste 

 caused by long-continued exertion. Animals do- 

 ing hard and fast work require food containing a 

 large proportion both of nitrogenous and non- 

 nitrogenous principles. If the former elements 

 are wanting in sufficient quantities in the diet, the 

 animal will become deficient in muscle ; if the lat- 

 ter are lacking, the animal will become thin. 

 Thus a good deal depends on the class and qual- 

 ity of oat supplied to working horses, and every 

 horse-owner should make himself acquainted with 

 the characteristics which distinguish them. 



Good oats are plump, clean, hard, and sweet, 

 with the appearance of almost bursting out of 

 104 



