3IO MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY 



SECTION II.— FEEDIxNG. 



Hay and oats being the chief food of horses, it is 

 highly necessary that the owner should be, at least, 

 a tolerable judge of their quality. The best kind of 

 hay for horses is that which grows on upland 

 meadows. It should be bright in its appearance, of 

 a greenish cast, possessing a fragrant smell, and not 

 too dry ; for when it is so, and crackles w^hen squeezed 

 in the hand, it is a sure sign that its nutritive 

 qualities have been dissipated by too long exposure 

 to the sun and air after it has been cut. It would, 

 however, be proper occasionally to vary the quality 

 of hay by giving white clover and also rye-grass in 

 limited quantities. Care must be taken that it is not 

 too new, as in that state it is apt to produce acidity 

 and flatulence. Twelve pounds of hay is sufficient 

 for any ordinary-sized horse per day, with eight 

 pounds of oats and two of beans. The cart or 

 agricultural horse will require about twelve pounds 

 of oats, with two of beans, added to eighteen pounds 

 of chaff or hay, but where the hours are long and the 

 loads heavy, a larger quantity of grain will be 

 required to keep the animal in fair condition. The 

 horse having consumed the above quantity of food, 

 requires none during the night, and it would be 

 proper to keep his rack without hay, but where the 

 animal has long hours of work during the day he 

 must have a quantity of long hay to eat during the 

 night. 



Some horses which are greedy feeders swallow 

 their pease and oats without being properly chewed, 

 and much of both pass through the stomach and 

 intestines without undergoing much change ; indeed, 

 this is the case to a certain extent with all horses ; 



