340 MANAGEMENT AND BREEDING OF HORSES 



Feed another quarter of the daily allowance, and if con- 

 venient remove the harness so he can eat in quiet and 

 comfort, and thus gain a few minutes of much-needed 

 rest. Allow one hour to consume the midday meal. 

 After being watered, he is ready for the second half of 

 his day's labor. When worked five hours he should be 

 given the evening meal. As he comes to the stable in 

 the evening, he should, first of all, be given a drink, 

 exercising care as before to see that he does not drink 

 too rapidly. The horse is now ready for the remainder 

 of his day's allowance. Unharness at once and when 

 the sweat has dried give him a thorough brushing. 

 Blanket him for the night. If convenient, he should be 

 given a drink in two hours after feeding, when he may 

 be bedded down and left for the night. 

 ' If, for some reason, the horse is forced to stand idle 

 in the stable for a few days, the grain ration should be 

 reduced. Otherwise, he will become stocky and his legs 

 become swollen and stiff. Many horsemen give a bran 

 mash Saturday evening and reduce the grain on Sunday. 



Individuality in feeding. — While we can estimate 

 closely the amount of food to be given a large number 

 of horses, yet the individual ration should be modified to 

 meet the needs of each animal. Possibly one horse 

 should have a little more than the regular allowance, and 

 the next a little less, because some horses are more dif- 

 ficult to keep in condition than others doing the same 

 work and under similar conditions. The object sought 

 is to keep each in the desired condition. 



Cost of the ration. — In formulating a ration for the 

 work horse, due consideration should be given the cost, 

 which will vary with the size of the animal, the nature of 

 the work performed and the cost of the food. Hays are 

 ordinarily much cheaper than grains, especially on farms, 

 but a hard-working horse is unable economically to dis- 

 pose of a large proportion of bulky food. It requires 

 time and energy to masticate and digest rough food, which 



