FEEDING HORSES. 375 



food, and when grain was also fed, the largest amount of 

 dry matter was 25 Ibs. 



The experiments upon this one horse would indicate 

 that 20 to 25 Ibs. of dry matter is a full ration for a horse 

 of 1,200 Ibs- weight. Dr. Wolff found, during these experi- 

 ments, that sheep consumed, per 1,000 Ibs. live weight, 

 31.25 Ibs. of hay, having 27.2 Ibs. of dry matter. Some 

 have interpreted this to mean that ruminants consume 

 much more per weight than non-ruminants as the sheep 

 have consumed 30.7 per cent, more, per weight, than the 

 horse but this is probably an erroneous conclusion, for a 

 proper consideration of the difference in the size of the 

 animals may account for a large part of this greater con- 

 sumption by the sheep. It would take six large or eight 

 moderate-sized sheep to equal this horse in weight. Ex- 

 periment has very clearly shown that large animals eat less, 

 per weight, than smaller ones of the same species; that is, 

 a horse weighing 1,600 Ibs. will eat less than two horses of 

 800 Ibs. weight; or two cow of 1,200 Ibs. weight, each will 

 eat less than three of 800 Ibs. weight each. This is 

 accounted for by greater surface for radiation of heat in 

 the smaller animals, causing a greater consumption of 

 respiratory food. But it is also probable that this horse 

 was individually peculiar in the small consumption of food. 

 And the following table, containing a summary of these 

 experiments, shows that this horse often took insufficient 

 nutrition to keep his normal weight. This table is instruc- 

 tive, as showing the amount of food digested, the work 

 performed, and the changes in live weight. The work per- 

 formed by the horse is represented in kilogramme-metres; 

 an ordinary day's work being estimated at 1,500,000 

 kilogramme-metres. 



