332 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



meal, at the rate of 1 pound a day, in 

 addition to a ration of molasses, say 10 

 to 15 pounds daily. In fattening draft 

 horses, Coverdale recommends bran for 

 foals and mares, and in putting on the 

 proper market finish for mature horses, 

 10 to 12 pounds of a mixture of equal 

 parts bran, oats and corn; or of three 

 parts oats and two parts bran; or equal 

 parts of bran, wheat and shorts. An- 

 other effective fattening ration consists 

 of 18 ears of corn, twice a day, 15 

 quarts of oats and bran mixed, and 10 

 pounds of hay. 



While it has come to be a recognized 

 market requirement, that horses must be 

 fat in order to obtain the top price, it 

 is also well known among people who 

 are familiar with horses, that animals 

 treated in this manner are exceedingly 

 soft, short-winded and sweat profusely. 

 In fact, when an animal is bought with 

 a layer of soft fat underneath the skin, 

 as required by modern markets, it is 

 well understood that at first he is of 

 little use as a work animal and must 

 be trained down to a proper form be- 

 fore he can render the best service of 

 which he is capable. 



Narrow versus wide ration — The 

 question is often asked whether the 

 proper ration for horses is balanced in 

 the same manner as that recommended 

 for beef cattle, sheep and hogs, or 

 whether a considerably wider ration 

 may not yield satisfactory results. In 

 Utah, it was found in one set of ex- 

 periments, that horses on corn and 

 timothy did as well as those on oats, 

 clover and timothy. In this experiment, 

 it appeared that the value of food for 

 the horse sometimes depends upon the 

 heat units which it furnishes. The 

 amount of protein in the corn and 

 timothy ration which proved successful 

 in the experiment thus mentioned 

 was considerably lower than that which 

 is ordinarily recommended. In subse- 

 quent experiments in Utah, corn meal 

 and timothy did not sustain work horses 

 as well as oats, wheat and clover hay 

 and the narrow ration appeared to be 

 much more effective and desirable for 

 horses in summer than a wide nutritive 

 ratio. In winter it is believed that a 

 somewhat wider ration should be used 

 than in summer. 



Exclusive grain ration — No farmer 

 would think of trying to keep his horse 

 on a grain ration without any coarse 

 forage or other feed. As it is a matter 



of some interest, however, to determine 

 whether such a thing be possible or not, 

 the question has been tested in a num- 

 ber of places with negative results. 



Maintenance ration — The use of a 

 maintenance ration is perhaps more 

 common with horses than with other 

 farm animals, since there are often pe- 

 riods when there is no work for farm 

 horses to do and during this time they 

 need not receive any more feed than is 

 necessary to keep them in good 

 condition. In Wyoming, from 13V2 

 to 15 pounds of alfalfa hay in addition 

 to the straw has been found a 

 good maintenance ration. It is gen- 

 erally known among farmers that horses 

 may be kept in fairly good condition 

 during a period of rest, without the use 

 of grain. If the coarse forage is not 

 good, however, a small grain feed should 

 always be added; otherwise the horses 

 will lose in weight and condition. 

 Where horses have access to straw 

 stacks, as is frequently the case on the 

 farm, from 12 to 14 pounds of good al- 

 falfa, clover or cowpea hay is sufficient 

 to maintain them without the addition 

 of grain to the ration. 



Loss of appetite— It is a quite se- 

 rious matter with any domestic animal 

 when he gets off feed or loses his appe- 

 tite. Such occurrences, however, are 

 quite common, especially where a care- 

 less system of feeding prevails. The 

 cause of the loss of the appetite may be 

 overwork or the opposite condition of too 

 little exercise. Loss of appetite may also 

 be due to improper food, unbalanced ra- 

 tions or faulty management in general. 

 In order to prevent horses from getting 

 off feed, it is desirable not only to give 

 considerable variety in the daily ration, 

 but to change the ration from time to 

 time, as decidedly as can be done with 

 convenience and with available feeds. 

 As already indicated, many companies 

 which employ large numbers of horses 

 have found that the percentage of loss 

 of appetite and other diseases among 

 horses have decreased greatly when a 

 good system of feeding has been adopted. 

 This will be found to be true on the or- 

 dinary farm. 



At times, however, the horse refuses 

 his food for no apparent reason, and 

 the average feeder, if he does not think 

 of any cause which seems to fit the case, 

 usually resorts to some form of condi- 

 mental feed or tonic. In cases where 

 the appetite becomes faulty without the 



