20 



the crop, and many other circumstances ; but it is well known that in 

 order to preserve the color and aroma of hay it should be turned or 

 tedded frequently and cured as quicMy as possible. On the other hand, 

 hay spoils in the mow if harvested too green or when not sufficiently 

 dried. Mow-burnt hay produces disorder of the kidneys and bowels 

 and causes the horse to fall off in condition. Musty or moldy hay has 

 often been said to produce that j>eculiar disease known variously as 

 cerebro-spinal meningitis, putrid sore throat, or choking distemper. 



The average horse, getting grain, should be allowed from 10 to 12 

 pounds of good hay a day. It is a mistake of many to think that horses 

 at light work can be kept entirely on hay. Such horses soon become 

 pot-bellied, fall off in flesh, and do not thrive. The same is true of 

 colts; unless the latter are fed with some grain they grow up to be 

 long, lean, gawky creatures, and never make as good horses as those 

 accustomed to grain, with or in addition to their hay. 



Stratc. — The straws are not extensively fed in this country, and when 

 used at all they should be cut and mixed with hay and ground or 

 crushed grains. Wheat, rye, and oats straw are the ones most used, 

 and of these oats straw is most easily digested and contains the most 

 nourishment. Pea and bean straw are occasionally fed to horses, the 

 pea being preferable according to most writers. 



Chaff. — Wheat and rye chaif should never be used as a food for 

 horses. The beards frequently become lodged in the mouth or throat 

 and are productive of more or less serious trouble. In the stomach and 

 intestines they often serve as the nucleus of the "soft concretions" 

 which are to be described when treating of obstructions of the digestive 

 tract. 



Oat chaff", if fed in small quantities and mixed with cut hay or corn- 

 fodder, is very much relished by horses. It is not to be given in large 

 quantities, as I have repeatedly witnessed a troublesome and sometimes 

 fatal diarrhea to follow the practice of allowing horses or cattle free ac- 

 cess to a pile of oat chaff". 



Grains. — Oats take jjrecedence of all grains as a food for horses, as 

 the ingredients necessary for the complete nutrition of the body exist 

 in them in the best proportions. Oats are besides more easily digested 

 and a larger proportion absorbed and converted into the various tissues 

 of the body. Care must be taken in selecting oats. According to Stew- 

 art the best oats are one year old, plump, short, hard, clean, bright, and 

 sweet. New oats are indigestible. Kiln-dried oats are to be refused 

 as a rule, for even though originally good this drying process injures 

 them. Oats that have sprouted or fermented are injurious and should 

 never be fed. Oats are to be given either whole or crushed 5 whole in 

 the majority of instances, Crushed to old horses and those having de- 

 fective teeth. Horses, also, that bolt their feed are best fed upon 

 crushed oats and out of a manger large enough to permit of spreading 

 the grain in a thin layer. 



