FEEDING AND WATEEING. 35 



the remainder of the hay at night. This will be found amply suffi- 

 cient to keep the horse in good working condition, when no extra- 

 ordinary labor — that is to say, not to exceed from ten to twenty 

 miles per diem — ^is expected of him, and neither extraordinary 

 turns of speed nor feats of endurance. Half a bushel of nicely- 

 washed carrots, given, a few at a time, every week, wUl be found 

 to improve the coat, to be particularly beneficial to the stomach and 

 wind, and to be very grateful to the animal ; and, in weather and 

 in places where they can be easily provided, a few handf uls of clover, 

 fine meadow grass, or com stalks and leaves, wUl cool the blood, 

 give a kindly alterative to the system, keep the bowels moderately 

 open, and please the appetite of the animal. They should not, how- 

 ever, be given too freely, when the horse is at hard work, as they 

 ■wUl, perhaps, produce laxity and scouring." 



Mr. Lyman F. Abbott, of Maine, gives the following as the 

 result of long practical experience : 



" How much will a horse of 1,000 pounds weight require for a 

 daily ration of hay and grain ? We give our experience in feeding 

 a family horse which has been kept in stable now for eight years, 

 not having been turned to grass over an hour at a time during the 

 whole period, and in the past five years has not been at grass at all. 

 This horse wiU weigh some 975 pounds," and has been fifteen years 

 old for a number of years ; is harnessed daily, and but few days in 

 the year pass without its being driven five miles, and frequently 

 two or three times that distance. The past winter its measured and 

 weighed rations have been as follows : Morning, at six o'clock, one 

 quart of cracked com, half-pound new process linseed meal, one 

 quart bran, good EngUsh hay, four pounds. Noon, one quart of 

 cracked com, and one quart of bran. Night ration same as morn- 

 ing, at same hour. For summer feed, oats are substituted for the 

 main part of the corn, and the night ration of linseed meal discon- 

 tinued, and one quart of bran, or one pint of middUngs added. This 

 feed keeps the animal in fine condition and good spirits. A young 

 horse would probably keep in as good condition with one-third less 

 hay, with the same grain. But the horse which works upon the 

 farm, may be kept economically and in good condition on a different 

 combination of foods. 



" If we use com as the larger portion of the grain food, early cut 

 clover hay is a good fodder to feed with it, as clover is more nitro- 

 genous than com, and forms a good combination. Com, on a basis 

 of 75 cents per hundred pounds, and clover hay at 60 cents per 

 hundred pounds, vrith oats at 45 cents a bushel, would combine a 



