170 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



June 



Kight Feed for "WorkiDg Teams. 



When liorses are turned out to grass in the 

 spring of the year, the succulent nature of the 

 food causes them to pmrge. often to a great extent ; 

 this is considered by many persons a most desira- 

 ble event — a great misconception. The herbage 

 is overcharged witli sap and moisture, of a crude, 

 acrimonious nature, to such an extent that all can- 

 not b« taken up by the organs destined for the se- 

 cretion of urine, or by the absorbent vesseis of the 

 body ; the superfluous fluid therefore passes off 

 through the intestines with the indigestible parti 

 cles of food, and thus the watery faeces are thrown 

 oiF. Flatulent colic or gripes is a frequent atten- 

 dant. The system is deranged ; but the mischief 

 does not terminate here. If the purging contin- 

 ues, a constitutional relaxation of tke bowels is 

 established, very debilitating to the animal, and 

 oftCH difficult to control. I am so decidedly op- 

 posed to an unrestricted allowance of luxuriant 

 grass to horses at any age, that nothing could in- 

 duce me to give it to them. I may not be able to 

 enlist all my readers as converts to the practice ; I 

 trust I may a great many of them. 



After the second year, hay should form a con- 

 siderable portion of the daily food, in summer, to 

 every animal intended for hunting or riding. If a 

 horse is supported entirely upon the grass which 

 he collects in a rich pasture field, or upon that 

 which may be cut and carried to him in his pad- 

 dock, he must consume a much greater bulk than 

 of hay in an equivalent time, to afford nourish- 

 ment 10 the system. Grass being very full of sap 

 and moisture, it is very rapidly digested, conse- 

 quently the horse must be continually eating it. 

 This distends the stomash and the bowels, and the 

 faculty of digestion is impaired ; for the digestive 

 powers require rest as well as other organs of the 

 body, if they are to be preserved in perfect condi- 

 tion. 



By the custom of grazing, the muscular system 

 is enfeebled, and fat is substituted. This may es- 

 cape the notice of superficial observers, who do 

 not mark the distinction between the appearanee 

 of a fat and muscular animal ; who conceive, so 

 that bones are covered, and the points are rounded, 

 all that is requisite has been attained. But that is 

 a very fallacious impression. Let any who is 

 skeptical on this point ride a horse in the summer 

 which has just been taken out of a grass field, 

 along with another kept on hay and corn, at the 

 moderate rate of sevan or eight miles in the hour ; 



the grass-fed horse will sweat profusely, while the 

 other will be perfetly cool and dry. This proves 

 that the system of the one eating grass over- 

 abounds with fat, and those postions of the blood 

 which are destined to form that deposit. Those 

 who advocate grazing, will no doubt exclaim : — 

 "Oh, this is a test of condition which is not re- 

 quired of young and growing animals." I beg to 

 state that it is highly important, if the acme of 

 condition is to be attained by animals of mature 

 age, and that the growth and gradual development 

 of their frames should be composed of those heal- 

 thy and vigorous elements upon which the struc- 

 ture of future condition can be raised. Animal 

 substances are to a very great extent subservien 

 to the nature and quality of the food with which 

 the individuals are nourished. I believe farmers 

 would find it much to thoir advantage if they were 

 to consider this subject with reference to feeding 

 cattle and sheep, so that they might select those 

 kinds of food which abound with properties more 

 conducive to the production of flesh than fat. 

 There is no kind of food which the horse consumes 

 that has not a tendency to deposit some portion of 

 fat. It is a substance which must exist to a cer- 

 tain extent ; but as it is muscular power, not a pre- 

 disposition to adipose rotundity, which enhances 

 the value of the animal, and reasons are obvious 

 what guide should be taken in the selaction of 

 food. 



I have, on a former occasion, hinted the propri- 

 ety of bruising the oats, and I will now state my 

 reasons for doing so. The first I will mention ii 

 economy. Three bushels of oats, which have un" 

 dergone that process, are equivalent to four which 

 have not, and the animals which consume them 

 derive greater benefit. Various means are adopt- 

 ed to induce horses to masticate their corn, all of 

 which are ineffectual. Scattering them thinly over 

 the surface of a spacious manger, mixing a hand- 

 ful of cut hay or straw with each feed, and sueh 

 like devices, will not cajole the animal to the per- 

 formance of mastication. A horse that is disposed 

 to bolt his corH, however carefully it may be 

 spread along his manger, will soon learn to drive it 

 into a heap with his nose, and collect as much with 

 his lips as he thinks fit before ho begias to masti- 

 cate. Whatever food enters the stomach of any 

 animal, and passes away in an undigested form, 

 may be considered as so much dross or extraneous 

 matter, which, not having afforded nutriment, is 

 prejudicial to the creature wkich consumed it. 



A mistaken notion of economy is often the in- 

 centive to turning horses out in the summer, to be 

 entirely dependent upon grass for their support. 

 A few remarks will surely dispel that error, Twen- 



