CHAPTER XXXII 

 PRINCIPLES OF HORSE FEEDING 



To become skilled in horse feeding we should have a 

 knowledge of the principles of feeding. The broader our 

 understanding of the composition of the animal body, the 

 composition of food, its use and digestibility, and the 

 more familiar we are with the function of the various 

 food materials, the more intelligently can we choose the 

 foods that the body needs for maintenance and energy. 



The animal body. — The body of the animal is com- 

 posed of water and dry matter. Approximately one-halt 

 of the body weight consists of water, which the animal 

 obtains largely from the water it drinks, though a por- 

 tion may come from the food, particularly when the 

 animal is given succulent food, as grass, carrots, and the 

 like. The water of the body serves a number of pur- 

 poses, chief of which are the conveying of the food from 

 the digestive tract to those parts of the body where it is 

 used, the removing of the waste of the body and equaliz- 

 ing body temperature. 



Dry matter of the body. — To gain a clear conception of 

 the relation of the food to the body, the dry matter may 

 be divided in four groups of substances, as follows: Ash, 

 nitrogenous materials, carbohydrates and fats. The ash 

 is the mineral part of the body,, and constitutes from 2 to 

 5% of the live weight. It occurs mostly in the bones. 

 The nitrogenous materials are known by a variety of 

 names, the most common being protein, which is char- 

 acterized by the nitrogen it contains. These materials 

 occur mostly in the lean meat, skin, hoofs and hair. The 

 protein of the body is built up entirely from the protein 

 of the food. 



Very little carbohydrate material exists in the body, 

 except in the blood. The liver acts as a kind of store- 



