I am convinced that the great majority of farmers do nor feed their horses enough forage. I know of farmers who do not feed hay at all when their horses are at work, which is more than half the year. Grain is fed exclusively. Yet they wonder why their horses lose flesh and have rough coats. Feeding a horse all grain is like feeding a man all meat. The food is so oily and difficult of digestion that it soon deranges the digestive organs. The horse should have all the hay he wishes to eat, at all seasons of the year. This brings me to another error in his treatment.
When at work the horse should have at least ninety minutes for each meal. My observation convinces me that a large number of farmers do not give him this much time. Their reason for neglecting to do so is, that it would be a loss of time. But the very opposite of this is the case. Time is gained. The horse has opportunity to eat slowly, which is essential to complete digestion; can eat all he wishes; and has time to rest after eating, giving the organs of digestion a chance to work. Give your horse an hour and a half to eat his noon-day meal, at least, and at the end of the season you will find that by so doing you have gained time. He may not have walked before the plow and harrow so many hours, but he has stepped faster and pulled more energetically.
Another error is the feeding of too much grain. Some farmers have grain in the feeding troughs all the time during the spring and summer. The horse is sated. This manner may do for a hog, whose only business is to lie around, grunt, and put on fat; but for a horse it will not do. A horse should never be given all the grain he will eat. At every meal he should clean out his box, and then be ready to eat hay for at least fifteen minutes.
Another error is in confining the grain feed almost altogether to corn. Corn is a heavy, gross diet. It contains a large proportion of oil, and tends to produce lymph and fat, which are inimical to health, and destructive of vigor and endurance. Oats is a much better food; yet it is very rarely fed in the South, and not half of the farmers of the North feed it. Corn heats the blood, and on this account should not be fed in hot weather. Oats is a lighter, easier diet, does not heat the blood, and makes muscle, rather than fat. All in all, oats is the most economical food, at least for horses at work in hot weather.
One more error which I shall notice in feeding is the giving of too much dry food. The horse does best upon moist food, or that which has a large percentage of water in its composition. Carrots, turnips, beets, pumpkins, etc., may be given in small quantities with decided advantage, especially in the winter. In summer the hay should be sprinkled with water, and the oats soaked. This will not only make the food more palatable and easily digested, but will obviate the necessity of watering after meals. Many object to watering after the horse has eaten, because the fluid carries the grain into the intestines where it can not be digested. But if grain and forage are dampened, the horse will not require watering after a meal. He will rarely drink if water is offered him, and the moisture will aid digestion. This is surely better and more humane than to give a horse dry food and then work him for six or seven hours in the hot sun, afterward, without any drink.
Of the quality of water given to the horse there is not much to condemn. He generally gets better water than the hog, or sheep, because he is very fastidious in this matter and will not drink foul water unless driven to do so by dire necessity. But I believe that three times is not often enough to water a horse at work in hot weather, though this is the common and time honored practice. The stomach of the horse is small—very small in proportion to the size of his body. When he has labored in summer for half a day his thirst is intense, and when he is permitted to slake it he drinks too much, producing really serious disorders. No valid objection can be urged against watering five times per day. The arguments are all in its favor.
The errors in stabling are fully as grievous as any we have noticed. I have lately written of the evils of lack of light and proper ventilation in these columns, and also discussed the problem of currying in various phases, so shall not repeat here what I have heretofore written. One of the other evils of stable management often allowed, is the accumulation of manure. It is not within the scope of this article to notice the evil the neglect to save manure works to the farm and the farmer. But that the accumulation of the manure in the stable is a hurt to the horse, no sensibly reasoning person can doubt. Its fermentation gives off obnoxious gases which pollute and poison the air the horse is compelled to breathe, and thus in turn poison the animal's blood. This is a more fruitful cause of disease than is generally supposed. The gases prove injurious to the eye, and when we consider the accumulation of manure and the exclusion of light, we are not apt to wonder much at the prevalence of blindness among horses. The manure should be cleaned out in the morning, at noon, and again at night. Use sawdust or straw liberally for bedding. It will absorb the urine, and as soon as foul, should be removed to the compost heap with the dung, where it will soon be converted into fine, excellent manure.
Another thing that deserves attention is the stable floor. I unhesitatingly say that a composition of clay and fine gravel is best. Pavement is the worst, and planks are next. The clay and gravel should be put in just moist enough to pack solidly. Stamp till very firm and then allow to dry and harden for a week. The stable floor should be kept perfectly level. Do not make the horse stand in a strained, unnatural position. The stall should be large enough for him to move around—at least six feet wide. Narrow stalls are a nuisance but very common.
John M. Stahl.