380 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



whole or half of the ration. The heating nature of corn 

 will cause horses to perspire more easily, and thus subject 

 them to the dangers of many diseases. This heating food 

 is also a fruitful cause of diseases of the feet, which soon 

 disable horses upon city pavements. The New York and 

 Brooklyn car companies say that the average usefulness 

 of a horse to them is four years. This is quite too short a 

 time, if all the proper conditions of food and care are 

 observed. These companies feed principally upon corn- 

 meal, and sometimes the year round wholly upon corn as 

 the grain food. There are other cities, employing 300 or 

 more car horses, that feed half oats and half corn, ground 

 together, upon 12 Ibs. of hay, the average usefulness of 

 whose horses is six years. It is also found that horses 

 which have been raised largely upon corn are too tender- 

 footed to stand city pavement. It is for this reason that 

 Canada horses are preferred for street-car service; they 

 having been raised upon grass, oats, roots and peas. Corn 

 is the standard food for beef raising; but not for build- 

 ing up the best horse muscle and bone in rearing colts, or 

 as an exclusive grain diet for hard work. Western horse 

 raisers should study this question of the effect of an exces- 

 sive corn ration upon the stamina of their young horses. 

 Oats and barley should furnish the grain food for their 

 colts. Corn may properly enter into every ration for work ; 

 and we shall soon consider the various combinations that 

 may be made with corn as the basis of the ration. 



As has been seen horses digest concentrated food, such 

 as grain, when that forms part of the ration, better than 

 coarse fodder, when that forms the whole ration. And it 

 is at this point that we wish to give a short discussion of 

 the necessity for 



BULKY FOOD 



as part of the ration for the horse. We have incidentally 

 referred to this before, but it requires a separate and special 



