FEEDS AND FEEDING 



393 



but for fattening mature sheep the ration may be con- 

 siderably wider. 



Sheep will consume hay and fodder of almost all 

 kinds, but thrive and produce the best gains on the 

 legumes, such as clover, alfalfa, pea straw, and bean 

 straw. Corn is the standard feed for fattening sheep, 

 but variety and palatability are given by mixing with it 

 oats, bran, and linseed meal. When screenings can be 

 obtained cheaply, thousands of sheep and lambs are 

 fitted for the market at feeding stations near the large 

 flour mills. The green pea pods obtained from pea- 

 canning factories are put into silos and furnish a cheap 

 feed for fattening sheep and lambs. 



In Colorado many sheep and lambs are fed on beet 

 pulp, a refuse of the beet sugar factories. 



Feeding Horses. --The digestive apparatus of a 

 horse, unlike that of cattle, is not adapted to the con- 

 sumption of large amounts of coarse foods. From the 

 table in the Appendix it will be noticed that a horse at 

 heavy work requires 1.7 pounds of digestible dry matter* 

 for each 100 pounds of weight, or 17 pounds for a 1000- 

 pound horse. To get this amount of nutriment from 

 hay only, he would need to consume more than 40 

 pounds daily. This would be an impossibility and 

 shows the necessity of giving the nutriment in a more 

 concentrated form. Ten to twelve pounds of hay is all 

 that a working horse should consume each day. 



The most common ration for horses is made up of 

 timothy hay and oats. Experience has shown this to 

 be a good combination for horses. Good timothy hay 

 is usually without dust and is relished by the horse. 

 Oats, besides furnishing the protein necessary, act as 

 a tonic to horses and seem to give them spirit and 



