82 THE HORSE 



are an uncertain crop, while barley does well and 

 I have found the latter, fed in proper quantities, 

 an excellent substitute for oats — though nothing, 

 in my opinion, is quite as good as oats for hard 

 work, whether fast or slow. On the other hand 

 oats, splendid feed as they are, are not as good as 

 corn and bran for horses that are little used. In 

 fact, conditions must always be considered in 

 feeding. It may be of help to the reader, how- 

 ever, to know the feeds that I have found the best 

 under these conditions which more ordinarily 

 obtain. 



(1) If a horse is doing excessively hard work, 

 whether fast or slow, feed a heavy ration of oats 

 and no other grain. There is little danger of 

 feeding too much. If he can rest on Sunday, give 

 him, on Saturday evening, a bran-mash instead of 

 his oats. 



(2) If a horse is standing idle a great deal of 

 the time, feed him little or no oats or whole corn, 

 but feed bran, with a little corn-meal mixed with 

 it — one part of corn-meal to two or three parts 

 of bran, according to conditions. 



(3) For old horses, especially if out of condi- 

 tion, feed a mixture of one quart each of corn- 

 meal, bran, and molasses. This ration may be fed 

 at night and at morning and if the horse is work- 

 ing, feed oats at noon. It is best to begin with a 



