144 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



It is said that heavy horses will not look well on less 

 than 29 lbs. of food daily. A certain amount of hay 

 appears essential, concentrated foods, such as have been 

 suggested for army horses, can only be a make-shift ration. 



If a horse be allowed an unlimited amount of grain the 

 hay consumed becomes reduced in amount ; but unlimited 

 corn and no hay very soon shows itself. 



Though the food under favourable conditions only 

 remains in the stomach a few hours, on the contrary it 

 remains in the intestines for several days ; practically never 

 less than four, and often a day or two longer. During the 

 greater part of this time it is lying in the large intestines, 

 for the passage through the small bowels only occupies a 

 few hours. 



Horses at work the greater part of the day are fed as 

 opportunity offers, little and often is the secret of keeping 

 them in condition. This is perfectly understood by the 

 carman and cabman, who never hesitate to put on the 

 nosebag as opportunity occurs. 



Hard-working animals must be saved as much time as 

 possible in mastication ; this apart from its economical 

 advantage is one reason for the use of chaff. No person who 

 is not wealthy can afford to feed his horses on long hay, 

 owing to the waste. Every commercial firm in the kingdom 

 uses chaff instead of long hay, and they reap a triple 

 advantage, they save one-quarter of their hay, they ensure 

 the thorough mastication of the grain ration, and save their 

 horses time and energy in consuming it. 



Zuntz and Lehmann found with horses that 11-2 per 

 cent, of the energy obtainable from hay was expended in 

 masticating it, while only 2-8 per cent, was expended in 

 masticating oats.* This argues not only in favour of chaf! 

 but of it being cut short. 



The length of time it takes a horse to consume its daily 



diet is a question which seldom strikes anyone to enquire 



into, yet it is of the utmost importance, especially for horses 



employed in commerce and military life. It takes a horse 



* Wolff, op. cit. 



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