IV] 



FEEDING, EXERCISE AND TRANSPORT 



31 



flat, but the kernels merely split ; too much 

 crushing will lose some of the flour. Crushing 

 is more essential with hard, small, foreign oats 

 than with the English and Canadian oats, which 

 are the best oats we get. Oats can also be 

 steamed or boiled. 



Every horse should have a hot feed in the 

 form of boiled oats or a mash on Saturday night, 

 or on the night previous to his day of rest or his 

 easiest day. 



113. Measuring Oats. Oats as a rule are sold 

 in small quantities by the bushel ; in large, by 

 the quarter or by the load. A bushel is taken at 

 a fixed weight ; thirty-five pounds in some coun- 

 tries, forty in others, and so on. The total 

 weight of oats is obtained, then, if this weight 

 is divided by the thirty-five or the forty, as the 

 case may be, the quotient gives the number of 

 bushels that the purchaser has to pay for. Thus 

 if the oats are lighter than thirty-five to the 

 bushel the purchaser will really get more bushels 

 than he pays for. 



Dry measure (by which oats are measured) : 



The grain bushel must be "struck" so that its 

 top is level with the sides of the measure. The 

 standard bushel contains 2,218-192 cubic inches 

 (or nearly 2,218},). It measures 19 inches in 

 diameter, and 8J inches in depth. 



114. Maize. Maize is called corn on the 

 American continent and mealies in South Africa. 

 It is unsuitable for young stock on account of its 

 high percentage of minerals, but it is an excellent 

 food for hard-working horses. Maize should be 

 dry, bright in colour, hard, free from dirt, have 

 a sweet taste if crushed in the teeth, and have no 

 distinct odour. Maize is bought by the quarter, 

 and weighs sixty pounds to the bushel. The 

 best variety of maize is the North American corn, 

 which is almost triangular in shape, large and 

 rather flat. It is eaten enormously by human 

 beings. It soon deteriorates if kept in bulk, and 

 if allowed to become at all damp is very liable 

 to become heated. When heated, maize is 

 darker, softer, and has a peculiar pungent odour. 

 It may also become musty or mouldy. 



Maize as a rule is fed mixed with other grains. 

 If fed alone it should be mixed with chaff ; it is 

 sometimes fed on the cob. It is more important 

 to crush maize than oats, as the former is much 

 harder. As maize takes a long time to digest, 

 water must not be given in any quantity for 



nearly two hours after feeding it. Maize may 

 be soaked for several hours, which will assist 

 greedy horses, or horses with bad teeth. The 

 daily ration of maize if fed alone is the same as 

 that of oats. 



The daily ration of the London Road Gar 

 Company, for their omnibus horses, was : Maize, 

 16 Ib. ; oats, 1 Ib. ; peas, l Ib. ; hay (chopped), 

 12 Ib., making a total weight of 31 Ib. of food 

 per diem. 



115. Barley. Barley is not generally fed in 

 England, but is fed a great deal in some coun- 

 tries. It should be plump, short, hard, with a 

 thin wrinkled husk, of a pale golden colour and 

 without a distinct odour. It is sold by the 

 quarter, at fifty-four pounds to the bushel. On 

 account of the indigestibility of the husk, barley 

 should be fed crushed, parched or boiled. It 

 requires far more power to crush barley than 

 oats. Barley is parched by throwing a little 

 together with a little sand (heated to almost red 

 heat) and stirring until it is seen that the husks 

 are split. The sand is then sifted off with a fine 

 mesh sieve. This sand, of course, can be re- 

 heated and used again. 



116. Rye. Rye is a poor food for horses, and 

 is therefore unsuitable if fed alone. It is fed in 

 some countries coarsely ground and cooked. It 

 rapidly ferments after cooking. Small quantities 

 may even cause diarrhoea. Ergot fungus is very 

 often found amongst rye. 



117. Wheat. Wheat is a useful food if nothing 

 better can be obtained. It can be fed crushed, 

 or parched, or mixed with other grain or chaff. 

 It is not easily masticated if fed whole alone. It 

 must be dry to be easily digested. It has been 

 fed whole up to seven pounds per day with good 

 results. The flour of wheat is often fed with 

 splendid results. 



118. Beans. Beans and peas are the most 

 nutritious form of grain fed to horses, as they 

 contain a very high percentage of flesh-produc- 

 ing elements. They are therefore very " heat- 

 ing," and can only be used when horses are 

 doing hard work or being exposed to severe cold, 

 and then four pounds a day can be given quite 

 safely. Horses turned out to pasture in winter 

 can be fed six to eight pounds a day. Under 

 ordinary conditions only one pound should be 

 given to horses. 



Beans should be hard and dry, light brown in 

 colour and sweet to the taste. They are sold at 

 sixty- four pounds to the bushel. English beans 

 are the best, and are smaller, rounder, plumper, 

 and thinner skinned. Beans less than a year old 

 are indigestible, and if very old become deterior- 

 ated and dark in colour. Heavy horses doing 

 hard work should not be fed over five pounds a 

 day. Beans should be split on account of their 

 tough husks. Good beans must be free from 

 weevil. 



Peas. The same remarks apply to peas as to 



