BOW TO FEED A HORSE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1411, 19 November 1886, Page 3

BOW TO FEED A HORSE.

It is about as difficult, as we understand It, for a men to find out just how to feed a horse to the beet advantage, all things considered, as I- is to find out how to feed himself. How many men know just what, to eat, and how much 1 How many are el careful about their feed as they know c ow to be ? Their own feelings may ba a warning someiimes, or the appetite may Indicate a need In feeding the horre we bve no such remainders. It is a'l judgment, and half of that is guess work. Oara are the natural grain food. This is the popular verdict. But does not the horse need tomtthiug else 1 Yes, he wants a reasonable allowance of good hay, clover, or timothy or the two < ombined Oat straw 1- good when the oats ere cut before the has lost all of its green hue. Wheat would be found a nourlf hing food for the horse, and not so dear as some would at first think But it is very concentrated food and all such must be fed with great eare, and in connection with coarser food of some kind. If oats are crushed, or just c.arse ground, they will prove more nourishing. In England they are passed between rollers. Bet if a horse's teeth are good it will generally grind Its oats pretty well. There Is a great difference in horses, however, In this respect, ju tas there is in men Some bolt their food much more rapidly and less masticated ban others. Bat whatever grain yon feed, do not let the horse drink immediately. If we do, much of the food will be washed out of the stomach without being digested. See that the horse is properly watered a little while before eatinv its grain Corn is not the best food for the horse. It is too carbonaceous, ■r heating and fattening. Not everyone wants a fat horse. Eat is not a sign of the best of health in either man or horse. I< is better to sell the corn and buy »ata with the money received t r r it. Corn is apt to make a horse stiff and logy. It is very concentrated food, as well as fastening- All dry feed is net the best for the horse’s health. It needs a few roots, apples, carrots, and potatoes, «r other succulent food, as a relish and a regulator of the bowels. Nor is all grass good fo? the horse, If it is do any work as most people know, we to presume. A moderate ration of grass, followed with diy hay, and always accompanied with oats, will do a horse good. The horse, like man and other animals, relishes a littb’ variety, and it does him good.— Live Stock JouTi\al