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FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



muscles and oblique pasterns. Endur- 

 ance in the horse is indicated by good 

 room for breathing and digestive func- 

 tions. The temperature of the horse in 

 health is 100 to 101° F., and the pulse 

 varies from 35 per minute in drafters, 

 to 45 in ponies. The pulse may be felt 

 at the jaw, inner side of the forearm or 

 fetlock joint. The most convenient point 

 is at the jaw. The external maxillary 

 artery runs from between the jaws along 

 the lower edge of the jawbone, and 

 thence on the outside of the jawbone to 

 the face. It is located most easily just 

 in front of the thick muscles of the 

 cheek. If the fingers are placed against 

 the artery on the inner surface of the 

 jaw at this point, the pulse can readily 

 be felt. The normal rate of respiration 

 in the adult horse is 10 to 12 per minute. 

 The usual period of pregnancy in the 

 mare is 11 months, but the first preg- 

 nancy may last a whole year. Cases are 

 known where colts were carried 400 days. 

 Some observers believe that in long 

 pregnancies, the colt is likely to be male. 



FEEDING HORSES 



Feeding experiments have been car- 

 ried out on an extensive scale with all 

 kinds of farm animals by experts in 

 animal industry, as well as by thou- 

 sands of feeders. It is often said that 

 less is known about the scientific feeding 

 of horses than about other animals. 

 Such, however, is not the case, for all 

 feeding stuffs which are available for 

 use on the farm have been tested in a 

 manner so that their feeding value is 

 known. We may best discuss the va- 

 rious feeding stuffs under the heads, 

 grains, coarse fodders, roots or succulent 

 feeds, and miscellaneous feeds. 



Oats — It is perhaps best to begin with 

 oats, not because it is universally con- 

 ceded to be the best horse feed, but for 

 the reason that it is considered the stand- 

 ard grain for the horse, and because it 

 is customary to compare other grains 

 with oats. It has long been considered 

 dangerous to feed oats in a fresh condi- 

 tion, and most feeders recommend that 

 oats should be allowed to remain in the 

 granary for at least two months. This 

 matter has been carefully investigated, 

 especially in France, with the result that 

 no objection can be found in using oats 

 in a perfectly fresh condition. The 

 common belief is that fresh oats are 

 heating and cause inflammatory condi- 

 tions of the skin, digestive derangements, 



nervousness and vertigo. A thorough 

 test by the French war department, how- 

 ever, showed conclusively that no harm 

 resulted from using fresh oats; on the 

 other hand, there seemed to be some ad- 

 vantage in the fresh oats over oats which 

 had been kept for two months or longer. 



In keeping oats for long periods, a 

 more or less pronounced change of color 

 takes place, white oats becoming yellow- 

 ish, and the natural lustre of all varie- 

 ties of oats gradually disappearing so 

 that they look dull and dead. In order 

 to make old oats look fresh, machines 

 have been devised for polishing them 

 with the aid of oils and camphor. As a 

 rule, oats over two years old should be 

 rejected for feeding purposes, for the 

 reason that they may have undergone 

 changes which reduce their nutritive 

 value. Oats which come from localities 

 with epizootic diseases are sometimes 

 put through a heating process in order 

 to disinfect them. They will stand a 

 temperature of 150° F. without being 

 greatly harmed. Too high temperatures, 

 however, will brown the hulls, render 

 them harder than in fresh oats and 

 somewhat less digestible. 



As already indicated, many feeders, es- 

 pecially in the northern states, believe 

 that oats are the only grain which can be 

 fed in long periods to horses with good 

 results. Oats are readily digested by 

 horses and furnish a comparatively large 

 amount of protein. The idea, however, 

 that oats must be used as the exclusive 

 grain for horses must be abandoned, for 

 Arabian horses and many other Asiatic 

 horses receive no other grain than barley. 

 Moreover, barley is extensively used as a 

 horse feed in California and in some 

 other western states. Again, in the 

 southern states, and in fact almost 

 throughout the corn belt, corn is fed in 

 much larger quantities than oats. Thou- 

 sands of horses in the United States 

 never get oats from one year's end to 

 another. 



It should be apparent, therefore, that 

 while oats may well be considered the 

 standard grain for horses, they may, 

 nevertheless, be replaced in the daily 

 ration with various other grains. In 

 making the substitutions, no check takes 

 place in the growth of the horses, no 

 diseased condition is likely to appear 

 and a great saving in feed bills is made 

 possible. Many writers have insisted 

 upon the presence of a peculiar princi- 

 ple in oats and have referred to it under 



