THE FEEDING OF HORSES 241 



ablj by those who have fed them as a part of the roughage. Like 

 corn stover they are available to feed only on the farms where 

 grown. 



Corn Stover. — In the early winter, before the leeching and 

 blowing away of its most nutritive and palatable parts has been 

 accomplished, corn stover is one of the best kinds of roughage 

 for horses, eitlier at rest or at work. It has a nutritive value 

 about equal to timotliy hay, from which it affords a change. 

 Horses do not fill to excess on it as they do on hay, and it is posi- 

 tively beneficial to horses which have mild cases of heaves 

 aggravated by the feeding of hay of even good quality. Horses 

 eat the leaves and pick at tlie stalks readily without shredding. 

 In fact, they seem to prefer stripping the leaves from the stalks 

 rather than seeking out tlie finer parts from among the sections 

 of stalk, in the cut or shredded stover. Idle horses will strip 

 and eat quite a large portion of the stalk itself, if not over-sup- 

 plied with the finer parts. More com stover will be eaten if hay 

 is not furnished at the same time. 



In many parts of tlie Soutli the tops and leaves are pulled 

 from the corn plants, cured, and done up in bundles for horse 

 feed. Pulled com and sheaf oats are highly esteemed for the 

 purpose of bringing back a stale show or race horse or to start 

 one already in poor condition. 



Oat straw, if bright, well cleaned, and not too Hpe, does 

 well for horses not at hard work. Its feeding condition is im- 

 proved by chaffing and moistening with diluted molasses. 



Sheaf Oats. — ^\^len available, sheaf oats are excellent for 

 horses with am]^le time in which to feed. 



Cereal Hay. — The cereals, especially barley and oats, either 

 or both in combination with field peas, make excellent hay for 

 horses if cut in the dough stage. Their use, like that of sheaf 

 oats and pulled corn, would he resorted to in order to meet special 

 requirements or secure unusual results, rather than in the eco- 

 nomic maintenance of horse power. 



SUCCULENCE 



Succulence is most essential to horses which do not have the 

 stimulating effect of tlieir ration offset by an abundance of ex- 

 16 



