186 STABLE ECONOMY. 



costive, the mash may be given, but the grain should be given 

 loo; not both together, for a bran-mash almost compels the 

 horse to swallow his corn without mastication. 



Many stablemen add bran to the boiled food. They seem 

 to think its use indispensable ; they talk as if the food could 

 not be eaten or not boiled without the addition of bran. This 

 is nonsense. The food may be of constipating quality, and 

 bran will be wanted to correct that ; or the horse's health or 

 his work may make bran a useful article in his food. But to 

 give bran as nourishment to a horse under ordinary circum- 

 stances, is to give him almost the dearest food he can live 

 upon even when his work does not absolutely demand stronger 

 food. A shilling's worth of oats is a great deal more nourish- 

 ing than a shilling's worth of bran. To the horse, bran is 

 just what gruel is to man ; but the relative cost of the two is 

 very different. 



Wheaten Bread, either brown or white, is much relished by 

 nearly all horses. Occasionally it may be given to a horse 

 that has been tired off his appetite, or to an invalid. It should 

 never be less than twenty-four hours' old, and it should be 

 given only in small quantity. Bakers sometimes give their 

 horses a good deal of it ; but it ought to be mixed with chaff. 

 Some will not eat it till it is mashed by pouring boiling water 

 over it. 



Buck-Wheat, or Brank, is hardly known in this country. 

 It is used on the Continent, and the horses are said to thrive 

 on it. Young says that a bushel goes farther than two of 

 oats, and that, mixed with at least four times as much bran, 

 one bushel will be full feed for any horse for a week. The 

 author of the Farmer's Calendar thinks he has seen it produce 

 a stupifying effect ; and Bracy Clarke says it appeared to him 

 to be very laxative. In Holland, and many parts of Germany 

 and Norway, it is made into a black bread, with which the 

 horses are fed. 



Maize, or Indian-Corn, is much used as a horse-food in 

 America, and in various parts of Europe. Cobbett recom- 

 mended its introduction, and among its other uses, spoke of 

 horse-feeding. I do not know that it has been tried sufficiently 

 to determine whether it might be used with advantage during 

 a scarcity of other grain. Probably it ought to be boiled and 

 mixed with chaff, but horses eat it greedily when raw. Bracy 

 Clarke says it is apt to clog the stomach and affect the feet 

 in such a singular way, that the hoofs frequently fall off when 

 the horse is on a journey. He allur! es to founder, but seems 



