Feeding Horses.

The research article discusses the importance of appropriate feeding, grooming, and stabling of horses for their health and performance. It particularly emphasizes how quality nutritious food plays a pivotal role in sustaining their energy levels while undergoing hard work and preventing any potential harm to their system.

Overview of Horse Care and Nutrition

• The article starts by emphasizing three primary necessities for maintaining a horse’s health and performance: food, grooming, and good stabling. The author, M. J. Storer, presented this information to an audience of English farmers.
• Storer underscores the importance of the right kind and amount of food for horses. He mentions that compared to other animals, the horse has the smallest stomach relative to its size, making it essential for their food to be as nutrient-dense as feasible, primarily when the horse is subjected to hard work.

Specific Food and Nutritional Needs

• The author mentions hay and oats as the ideal food for horses. These two feeding substances contain a larger degree of nutrition than other commonly used feeding stuff and have been proven beneficial over time.
• A special note is made about bruised oats, which are suitable for old horses and horses that eat their food quickly. However, outside of these specific circumstances, bruised oats have no additional benefits.
• Storer also lists out the average quantity of oats that a horse needs to maintain good condition while undergoing hard work, stating that it generally falls at about 20 pounds per day, though the amount can vary per horse given their appetite and workloads.

The Consequences of Overfeeding and Food Alternatives

• A point is made on the detrimental effects of overfeeding and overworking horses, which can lead to premature death in some animals.
• The author additionally mentions potential food alternatives, such as Indian corn and beans. While these might benefit horses in terms of availability and content of nutritive material, they come with caveats such as causing torpidity of bowels (for Indian corn) or having a heating tendency (for beans).
• Storer suggests remedies for these detriments, such as combining Indian corn with bran to counteract bowel torpidity.

Mandatory Inclusion of Hay or Straw in Diet

• Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of including hay or straw in a horse’s diet. A horse’s stomach requires a certain amount of mechanical distension, achievable by adding hay or straw to the diet.
• The recommended allowance for this is approximately 20 pounds per day.