224 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



stances necessitate the use of musty hay, it should be 

 opened out, and dried, well beaten and shaken to get rid of 

 the spores, and dressed with a solution of common salt. 

 Its action should be carefully watched. 



The Amount of Hay given to horses varies with the nature 

 of their work and the other food they are obtaining. It is 

 found when horses are allowed an unlimited amount of 

 corn they only consume a small amount of hay. Eace- 

 horses, for instance, will not take more than five or six 

 pounds daily. 



Large draught horses may consume as much as eighteen 

 or twenty pounds a day ; horses of average size and at 

 ordinary work consume about twelve pounds a day. 



The faster the work the more corn and less hay required, 

 for the physiological reason that the action of the lungs 

 and diaphragm must not be interfered with. 



Where a small amount of hay is consumed it may be 

 given long, but as a general rule it may be stated that all 

 hay should as a measure of economy be chaffed, and mixed 

 with the grain. In this way the saving of waste is con- 

 siderable. 



For horses intended for fast work no hay should be given 

 before going out, the mixing of chaffed hay with their corn, 

 excepting in the form of a double handful to ensure masti- 

 cation, would under these circumstances be wrong. For 

 slow working horses every ' feed ' should be a mixed one of 

 corn and hay chaff. 



When long hay is used it should be given after work, and 

 the bulk of it at night so as to ensure occupation for the 

 horses. 



Artificial Grasses. 



These constitute a large and important class of feeding 

 material, all belonging to the natural order Leguminosce, 

 and therefore not grasses though commonly spoken of as 

 such. 



The following list comprises those used for feeding pur- 

 poses : — 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



