Forage 



peas, beans, linseed, and carrots, depends upon the 

 age, constitution, and health of the horse. The 

 other necessary article for a stable of hard-working 

 horses is bran. I am very fond of bran, both wet 

 in the form of mashes and dry mixed with the 

 food. But it has become less valuable of late, 

 because the nutritive qualities are extracted so 

 thoroughly nowadays, and the price has gone up, 

 so that bran is a serious item in a small stable. 

 Nevertheless, so far as I know, there is no alterna- 

 tive to its use. We must comfort ourselves as 

 best we may with the reflection that bran, given 

 judiciously, saves much physic, and is a preventive 

 of many minor ailments. Nothing else is suitable 

 for the all-important weekly mash. Given dry 

 it prevents the horse from bolting his food and 

 assists the digestion. A horse that has bran mixed 

 with his oats will not pass undigested grains. If, 

 however, the bran bill is too heavy then we must 

 use chop, i.e. clover hay passed through a chaff 

 cutter. Carrots in small quantities are always use- 

 ful, but are not always procurable. I never could 

 succeed in buying many in the Midlands. They are, 

 however, an easy crop to grow, and it is no bad 

 plan to give up a section of the kitchen garden to 

 them. 



There are besides these beans, which are used 



in many stables. Beans are useful but should be 



used very sparingly. Of year old English beans 



not more than 2 lbs. a day may be given to old 



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