FEEDING AND STABLE MANAGEMENT. 257 



of horses could be seen immediately there would, undoubtedly, 

 be more thought given to the matter. 



A French investigator, by an elaborate test, found that oats 

 were especially good for horses. By an electrical apparatus he 

 found an excitable principle in oats which he called a nervine, 

 and he discovered that crushed oats were more active and not 

 as enduring as the whole grain, used as horse food. 



It is understood by the practical horseman that oats favor 

 more speed and endurance in. the horse than any other food. 

 Experience has proved, beyond a doubt, that as a grain food 

 for horses, few, if any, feeds are superior to oats. Many 

 farmers and teamsters, however, by experimenting, have 

 decided that other grains may be cheaper and answer nearly 

 as well. 



As to the cheapness of feeding horses with grain, as far as 

 the cost of the grain itself is concerned, there is no doubt that 

 ground grain mixed with cut hay, or hay and straAV, is the 

 most economical ; but in this manner of feeding we must have 

 the conveniences not otherwise required in feeding whole grain, 

 and the extra time it takes to cut and grind the food should 

 also be included in the expense account. 



"When corn is worth less than a cent a pound, the feeding 

 value is, no doubt, in favor of corn, but corn being very hearty 

 great care must needs be exercised in dealing it out. Constant 

 feeding of corn for two or three months often deranges the en- 

 tire system, requiring a' complete change of diet, and often 

 necessitating the services of a veterinary. 



The thick hull covering the oat kernel prevents fast eating ; 

 consequently, more saliva is formed, which aids digestion, yet 

 some horses eat so voraciously that some kernels are swallowed 

 whole. In such cases either have the grain ground and fed dry 

 or place several stones two inches in diameter in the feed-box. 

 These will prevent the grabbing of a full mouthful of grain at 

 once, and thus cause twice the time spent in eating a given 

 quantity. There is a vast amount of ignorance exhibited in 

 17 



