V 



CHAP. vii. 



THE FEEDING OF FARM-HORSES. 



443 



CHAPTER VII. 



THB MAINTENANCE AND LABOUR OF FARM-HORSES. 



f I1HE support of horse-teams forms so material a portion of farming 

 J_ expenditure, that, although not immediately connected with 

 grazing, a few observations on the subject will not prove uninteresting 

 or useless. 



No precise formulae can be laid down, as so much will necessarily 

 depend upon the kinds of food the farmer has at his disposal, and the 

 amount of work he requires from his horses. 



To feed economically and yet efficiently is the great desideratum. 

 It is a well-known fact, that two well-fed horses will do the work of 

 three if not four that are badly kept ; hence it will be evident that to 

 maintain a small number of horses, and to keep them well, is more 

 advantageous than to have a larger number, and so under feed them 

 that they are never capable of doing a hard day's work. There are, no 

 doubt, many persons who keep their teams expensively, for the mere 

 vanity of having them in good condition ; while there are others who 

 obtain continuous service from their farm-horses under a very different 

 regimen. 



Mr. Head, in his essay on the " Management of Farm Horses," 

 gives the following formulae as guides for winter feeding. Whilst the 

 quantities remain the same, allowance must be made for fluctuations in 

 prices. No. 1 is for a moderate-sized farm-horse, and No. 2 for a 

 larger animal, per week : 



No. i. 



7 pecks of oats (70 Ib.) 



8 pecks of chaff . 

 2 pecks of bran . 



120 Ib. of hay . 

 7 Ib. of beans 



s. d. 

 3 6 

 1 



8 6 



No. 2. 



7 pecks of oats (70 Ib.) 



1 peck of beans, crushed 



8 pecks of chaff . 



2 pecks of bran . 

 140 Ib. of hay . 



10 O l 



In order to reduce still further the expense of horse-keeping, various 

 trials have been made of the nutritive powers of potatoes, Swedish 

 turnips, carrots, and other esculent roots, all of which have been found 

 sufficient for the support of the animals during moderate work, and 

 when given with plenty of hay. They have even been found to answer 

 the purpose when given with straw only ; but in that case the work 

 must have been very light, for horses should have food of a quality 

 proportioned to their work, and, if that is considerable, some corn is 

 absolutely necessary. In fact potatoes and roots, especially when 

 given with corn bruised, or barley-meal, are better adapted for bringing 

 horses intended for sale into condition than for maintaining them in 

 working order. The quantity of nitrogenous food commonly given 

 may, indeed, be diminished with the aid of roots, and straw may be 



1 Veterinarian, 1849, p. 388. 



