FEED AND CARE OF HORSES 221 



possession of such knowledge unless he employs a rational and 

 intelligent system in the feeding of his animals. 



"Animals under domestication, such as the live stock of the 

 farm, and more particularly the work horses and mules, are 

 living under artificial conditions in respect to their feeding, and 

 are solely at the mercy of the intelligence, or otherwise, of their 

 owners for the manner, or system, in which their food is sup- 

 plied to them. 



"Under natural conditions, the horse, or mule, owing to the 

 anatomical arrangement of its digestive organs, and its physio- 

 logical requirements, feeds quite often, but partakes of little at 

 a time. The main reason for this is, the relatively small capacity 

 of its stomach — not more, perhaps, than from 14 to 17 quarts — 

 the short time it takes for the stomach to empty itself, and hence 

 the necessity for frequent replenishment. 



In order to obtain the most satisfactory results, under do- 

 mestication, or during work, it is reasonable to presume that 

 the animal's natural method of feeding should be approximated 

 as closely as practicable. During the working season on the 

 plantation or farm this would suggest that the day's ration, or 

 the amount of food required by the animal in twenty-four hours, 

 should be divided intO' at least three feeds. Some animals may, 

 and do, become habituated to a lesser number of feeds per day 

 with, apparently, satisfactory results. But it is a risky method, 

 because, instead of getting as close as practicable to the animal's 

 natural way of feeding, it is getting further away from it. 



"After an opportunity, during the past twenty years, of study- 

 ing and observing the conditions under which many of our work 

 animals are fed, we have no hesitancy in saying that lack of 

 system in feeding is responsible for the major portion of the loss 

 of valuable animals from colic, inflammation of the bowels, etc. 



"Many who lose valuable horses and mules on the plantations 

 and farms from digestive troubles are wont to place the blame on 

 the kind or class of feed the animals have been given; while, in 

 reality, the blame properly belongs to the unnatural and un- 

 intelligent manner in which they receive their feed. A properly- 

 balanced ration of the very best quality of oats, when fed in- 



