CHAPTER XVIII. 



FEEDS FOE THE HOKSE. 

 I. Concentrated Feeding Stuffs. 



409. Oats. — No other grain is so keenly relished by the horse 

 and so prized by horsemen as the oat, which serves as the standard 

 of excellence for nourishing this animal. Not only are oats palatable, 

 but the nutrients they contain are in such proportion that this grain 

 alone forms almost a balanced ration. Tho the oat hull has little 

 nutritive value, it lightens up the feed, giving bulk and lessening pos- 

 sible errors in administering the ration too liberally. The digestive 

 tract cannot hold such a quantity of oats as will ordinarily produce 

 serious troubles from gorging. Because of their universal favor and 

 the wide demand for them, oats are rarely an economical grain, but 

 where expense is not a prime factor they easily hold first place. Only 

 hard-worked horses and those with poor teeth need have their oats 

 ground. New and musty oats should be avoided. A safe rule is 1 

 quart or pound of oats for each 100 lbs. of horse — more for the hard- 

 worked and less for the idle. (168) 



410. Substitutes for oats. — While oats are easily the best single 

 concentrate, there are many other grains and by-products from the 

 grains which can be successfully and economically employed in nur- 

 turing the horse. On this point Lavalard,^ the great French author- 

 ity on the alimentation of the horse, writes: "Not only may single 

 grains and other single foods be substituted for oats, but more or 

 less complex mixtures may be used as well. AVe believe that both 

 from a hygienic and an economical standpoint our experiments have 

 settled this matter which has provoked so much discussion. An ex- 

 amination of the statistics we have gathered in the last 35 years 

 shows that altho a great saving has been effected, it has not been at 

 the expense of the productive power of the horses." With this view 

 in mind, the several articles which follow will present many grains 

 and by-products that may be successfully fed to the horse. 



411. Indian corn. — Next to oats, Indian corn (maize) is the com- 

 mon grain for horses in America, being most largely used in the 

 middle and southern portions of the corn belt and southward in the 



^ Expt. Sta. Eec, 12, p. 4. 



