HORSES AND MULES 



315 



pounds of corn is equal in feeding value 

 to 100 pounds of oats. On this basis, 

 when oats are worth 50 cents per bushel, 

 corn would be worth 87 cents. Burkett 

 in North Carolina found that for horses 

 and mules, corn and cob meal was just 

 as valuable as shelled corn. All of these 

 tests showed a slight difference in favor 

 of ground corn as compared with whole 

 corn. Stewart accumulated some inter- 

 esting data regarding corn as a horse 

 feed, which may be summarized in the 

 following paragraph. 



Corn meal has long been fed to horses 

 in the United States and is now pur- 

 chased in increasing quantities in Eng- 

 land and continental Europe for the 

 same purpose. Finely ground corn meal, 

 when masticated by the horse, forms a 

 somewhat pasty mass, which does not 

 allow the ready penetration of the di- 

 gestive juices. If, therefore, corn is fed 

 in large quantities, it may occasionally 

 cause colic. For this reason the use 

 of whole or coarsely ground corn helps 

 to avoid the possible danger of colic. 

 But if the corn meal is mixed with 

 cut hay, the digestive juices readily 

 come in contact with all parts of it, 

 and the hay is more thoroughly masti- 

 cated. Street car companies have found 

 it desirable to mix the corn with some 

 coarse fodder. Stewart reports the 

 death of 12 or more horses from eating 

 corn meal. In these cases the meal was 

 fed sometimes wet and sometimes dry. 

 Corn meal fed alone is, in Stewart's opin- 

 ion, the cause of more cases of colic 

 than any other feed. But on the 

 basis of 30 years' experience he consid- 

 ers corn meal perfectly safe if fed mixed 

 with cut hay or straw. The same prac- 

 tice is recommended in feeding all 

 meals to all horses of whatever age. 



The following rations containing corn 

 are recommended on account of the 

 good results from them in practical ex- 

 perience : Timothy hay, 12 pounds ; corn 

 meal, 11 pounds ; malt sprouts, 5 pounds ; 

 Red clover, 8 pounds; oat straw, 6 

 pounds; corn meal, 12 pounds; wheat 

 middlings, 6 pounds; Alsike clover, 8 

 pounds; corn fodder, 6 pounds; corn 

 meal, 10 pounds ; rye bran, 6 pounds ; 

 linseed meal, 2 pounds. Blue grass hay, 

 12 pounds; corn meal, 8 pounds; linseed 

 meal, 3 pounds; wheat middlings, 6 

 pounds. Meadow hay, 6 pounds; wheat 

 straw, 8 pounds ; corn meal, 8 pounds ; pea 

 meal, 6 pounds ;cottonseed meal, 2 pounds. 

 A common and very effective horse 

 ration contains 16 pounds of a mixture 



of equal parts corn and oats ground to- 

 gether. "A still better ration is 950 

 pounds of oats, 950 pounds of corn and 

 100 pounds of flaxseed, all ground to- 

 gether. We have fed this for long pe- 

 riods — sometimes two years continuously 

 — and have found no ration that sur- 

 passes it. It is well balanced as a working 

 ration, and just laxative enough for 

 health " A good ration for stage horses 

 has been found in a mixture of 1 pound 

 corn meal and 2 pounds of hay. Horses 

 at such work keep in good condition 

 when fed on cut hay and corn meal 

 alone, but leguminous hays give the 

 best results. 



Dechambre and Curot, as the result of 

 long continued observations on corn feed- 

 ing, came to the conclusion that corn is 

 the only grain which can be used to re- 

 place oats without necessitating a more 

 or less complicated mixture in the ra- 

 tion. According to the calculations of 

 these authors, corn furnishes 9.08 per 

 cent of digestive protein, while oats yield 

 9.48 per cent. Attention is also called 

 to the fact that when 4 pounds of oats 

 were replaced by an equal weight of corn 

 for cavalry horses, the horses which re- 

 ceived corn maintained their weight 

 better and withstood fatigue better than 

 those which were fed oats. Corn is 

 easily preserved for long periods, but 

 also undergoes various changes as a re- 

 sult of moisture and molds. Fermented 

 corn may produce a disease similar to 

 pellagra in man. The nutritive value 

 of corn may also be somewhat affected 

 by smut, ergot, and by various insects. 

 Maize cake has been thoroughly tested 

 by Grandeau and others. It was found 

 that from maize cake horses digest 

 about the same amount of carbohydrates 

 and two or three times as much protein 

 as from oats and rather less protein than 

 from a ration of horse beans. Maize 

 cake, however, does not produce gains 

 like a ration of corn and beans. 



In Maryland, a comparison was made 

 between shelled corn and corn meal. 

 The whole corn was aW fed on 

 the cob, as well as shelled. The 

 results obtained from this test show a 

 decided advantage in favor of the corn 

 meal. The horses had a better appetite 

 when fed meal and digested the material 

 more completely; this was especially true 

 of old horses. A comparison of the di- 

 gestibility of corn by horses and cattle 

 showed that cattle digest both the corn 

 and corn meal more completely than do 

 horses. 



