HORSES AND MULES 



317 



results obtained from the use of rye as 

 a horse feed in the hands of different 

 feeders. As a rule, when rye is cooked 

 before feeding it gives satisfactory re- 

 sults. It may be fed to horses with oats 

 in the proportion of 1 to 2, or 1 to 4. In 

 feeding rye, it should be remembered 

 that it has a constipating effect and, for 

 this reason, it may be mixed with new 

 corn for the purpose of preventing 

 scouring in horses. In Germany, rye 

 screenings containing much cockle seed 

 were fed to horses for long periods, in 

 rations of 2 pounds per day, without 

 causing any bad effect. 



Wheat — In North Dakota, whole, hard 

 wheat was fed to horses for one month, 

 for the purpose of noting its effect. The 

 horses easily got off feed and in some 

 cases the digestion was much deranged 

 when wheat was fed as the only grain 

 ration. A considerable percentage of 

 the kernels passed through the digestive 

 tract unbroken, and, of course, undi- 

 gested. The wheat appeared to exercise 

 a strongly laxative effect upon mules 

 fed at the same time. The animals 

 maintained their weight, however, on a 

 comparatively small amount of wheat. 

 This test demonstrates clearly, however, 

 that it is not advisable to feed wheat 

 alone to horses. "Wheat mixed with bran 

 appeared to be more effective for horses 

 than whole oats. In fact, horses kept 

 on a ration of two parts ground wheat 

 and one part bran, did hard work with- 

 out losing weight. 



"Wheat is ordinarily too expensive for 

 use as a horse feed, but fortunately, dam- 

 aged wheat if not moldy, is as good 

 for horses as high-grade wheat, as it 

 usually contains more protein. It of- 

 ten happens that frosted wheat can be 

 obtained in large quantities at a very 

 small price, and also wheat slightly 

 scorched in elevator fires. As is well 

 known, many horse raisers use a mix- 

 ture of oats and wheat for stallions, 

 when umisual service is required of 

 them. Wheat has been found, however, 

 in many cases, to produce an irritation 

 or itching of the skin, somewhat similar 

 to the effect caused by buckwheat, 



In Sweden, experiments have shown 

 that wheat is considerably superior to 

 rye. During a period of hard work, 10 

 pounds a day may be given with oats. 

 It has been found to have a beneficial 

 effect in building up the muscles of 

 horses. When fed in large quantities, 

 however, it may cause digestive disturb- 

 ances and other troubles, as already in- 



dicated. Experiments with wheat in 

 Denmark have also shown that it is pref- 

 erable to rye as a horse feed, when 

 mixed with oats. 



Bran — Bran nearly always constitutes 

 a part of horse rations, being fed in 

 regular quantities daily, or at short 

 intervals in the form of a mash. Not 

 infrequently, oats are high priced when 

 bran is cheap. Thus the Canadian ex- 

 periment station reports that oats are 

 sometimes as high as $26 a ton, when 

 bran is only $15. Under such condition 

 there is an evident economy in sub- 

 stituting bran for at least a part of the 

 oats. A number of experiments were 

 made in Canada in which various mix- 

 tures of oats and bran were fed for the 

 purpose of determining the relative cost 

 of different rations. It was found that 

 when the grain ration consisted of two 

 parts bran and one part oats, a sav- 

 ing of $19.50 was made in the ration of 

 each horse per year; while when linseed 

 meal was fed at the rate of one part to 

 ten parts of oats, the cost was greater 

 than on an exclusive ration of oats. 



In New Hampshire, a ration, contain- 

 ing 7 pounds of bran was most relished 

 by the horses. Feeding too large a quan- 

 tity of bran, however, seemed to make 

 the animals soft and inclined to perspire 

 freely. The weight of the horses was 

 maintained uniformly on rations con- 

 taining bran, and these rations proved 

 wholesome, palatable, and moderate in 

 cost. As a result of numerous experi- 

 ments with bran, it has been conclusively 

 shown that bran may be substituted for 

 oats in the horses' rations, either in sum- 

 mer or winter. Some of the most exten- 

 sive experiments with bran have been 

 made in North Dakota. 



In a test in which oats were compared 

 with bran, prairie hay was fed as a rough 

 forage. The horses which received bran 

 and shorts worked longer hours than 

 those which were fed on oats. The oat- 

 fed lot consumed 420 pounds of grain 

 per head, while the horses maintained on 

 bran and shorts received only 372 pounds 

 of grain per head, in a feeding period of 

 one month. The comparison of these 

 grain feeds was continued, reversing the 

 rations in the two lots of horses. The 

 summary of the results obtained from 

 these experiments shows little difference 

 in the two rations. 



Horse bread—Bread is fed to horses 

 prepared from rye, wheat and buck- 

 wheat flour, and corn meal and other 



