238 THE HORSE IN SERVICE 



suits that it is now generally recommended as a complete or 

 partial substitute for oats, in combination with corn, to cheapen 

 the ration. No bad results are repoi-ted from feeding two pounds 

 per day. It is not palatable and its taste should be obscured in 

 the mixture with other feeds. 



Molasses. — Little was said of molasses as a horse feed, al- 

 though it had been fed to a limited extent as a conditioner, until 

 about 1900, w^hen a United States Army veterinarian, Doctor 

 Griffin, reported its exclusive use with hay by the native Cubans, 

 their hardy ponies doing remarkably well. This report was pub- 

 lished in the American Veteriyiary Review and engaged the at- 

 tention of Doctor Geo. L. Bems, of Brooklyn, New York, who 

 gave it a thorough trial in some of the large stables of draft 

 horses under his supen'ision. The results were such as to thor- 

 oughly convince him that molasses deserved a place in the dietary 

 of all work horses, not alone for the sake of economy but because 

 it has a most beneficial effect upon the digestive system. Dr. 

 Berns still holds to this opinion, which has been quite generally 

 confirmed by otbers who have made observations along this line. 

 Remarkable results have been secured by a liberal feeding of 

 molasses in bringing back to condition horses either convalescent 

 from sickness or those in very poor flesh. It is a valuable 

 " coaxer '' to shy feeders. Its laxative effect must be guarded 

 against to a certain extent. Molasses is usually fed in quanti- 

 ties of from one pint to one quart, per feed, diluted with at least 

 an equal quantity of water and preferably mixed with other 

 feeds. Reports are made of feeding as much as ten pounds per 

 day to mules in Louisiana. There are about twelve pounds to 

 the gallon. It is especially well adapted to the coarse, mixed 

 ration in which cut hay or straw forms the base. 



Whatever the ration, its palatability as well as its nutritive 

 value is increased by the addition of molasses. It is a constit- 

 uent of many proprietary feeds, serving to disguise and render 

 more edible the fraudulent ones. The black strap cane molasses, 

 not the beet-sugar product, is the kind fed. Undiluted molasses 

 is unsatisfactory, as it smears the muzzle, and from it the sides 

 of the horse, and is especially objectionable in fly time. 



Wheat and rye both make acceptable horse feeds provided 



