horse for good hard work than oats. This can be readily explained.
First of all, it contains the essential flesh-forming, fat and
heat-producing elements in approximately their proper ratio. It also
supplies to the nervous system, as no other grain appears to do to
the same degree, the sustenance that gives life and ambition. In
addition to this, oats have a physical property that mechanically
fits them for ready digestion in a greater degree than any other
grain. This is due to the fact that the particles of the meal are
more loosely put together than in any other grain and that the hull
is coarser. On this account, when a masticated mass of oats enters
the stomach, owing to its looseness it is readily permeated by the
digestive fluid, so that digestion goes on readily and thoroughly.
Possibly the most indigestible of all grains, when fed by itself,
either ground or whole, is wheat, and this is due to its physical
character. A mass of wheat forms a tough, glue-like lump in the
stomach, so that it is comparatively impervious to the action of the
digestive fluid, and digestion goes on slowly and imperfectly, and
is apt to be arrested, causing serious indigestion. Peas and beans,
owing to their flinty nature, are also less digestible than oats.
Corn, when fed whole, is fairly easily digested, but when ground is
difficult of digestion, unless the cobs are also ground with it,
which renders it more pervious. Wheat, corn, pea and bean meal can
be rendered much more digestible by being fed thoroughly mixed with
a little chaffed hay. The chaffed hay, when consumed with the meal,
renders the meal more pervious to the action of the digestive fluid
and consequently more digestible. Where, from economy or convenience,
it is found desirable to use any of these grains for horses, it can
be done with comparative safety, if they are ground and fed with
chaffed hay. When meal is fed with chaff in this way, it is generally
quite thoroughly moistened, which is a mistake, as in this condition
it is apt to be too hastily eaten and too imperfectly mixed with
saliva to be thoroughly digested. One reason given for moistening
is that it makes the meal stick to the chaff and insures the two
being consumed together. There is something in this, but, as a rule,
if they are thoroughly mixed, there will be enough of the chaff
consumed to insure the digestibility of the meal. If moistening
is done at all, it should be done only slightly. A horse is so
constituted that the major portion of his feed should be fed to him
dry, as in this condition he will digest it more thoroughly and with
less liability to digestive troubles.
Of course, a certain amount of laxative food is necessary in order
to mildly stimulate the bowels and keep them sufficiently active.
Some horses cannot stand laxative food without their bowels becoming
unduly relaxed. To such it is better not to give any, particularly
if they are going to work the next day. It is an interesting point
to study, and one that throws some light on the peculiarities of the
digestive tract, to explain why bran mash, boiled feed and roots
act as laxatives. They do not possess any purgative principle, as
aloes does. If a dose of aloes is given to a horse, it is dissolved
in the stomach, taken up by the blood vessels, going the round of
the circulation, and is eventually eliminated by the glands of the
bowels, increasing their secretion very much and rousing the action
of the coats of the bowels, so that a large quantity of liquid
excrement is passed. An explanation sometimes given of the laxative
action of mash and the like, is that it is due to the increased
amount of liquid supplied by the moist food; but that is not a
satisfactory explanation, as there is not enough of it to make any
difference. The most reasonable explanation appears to be that it
acts as a laxative by virtue of its indigestibility. It apparently
acts in the way that oil does. Small quantities, as a couple of
ounces, of linseed oil, given three times a day to a horse, are
digested and cause the animal to accumulate fat; but if a pint or a
pint and a half is given, it will not be digested, but passes on into
the bowels and stimulates them, causing laxative action. It will be
noticed that it is the undigested portion of the oil that causes the
purging. So it is with boiled feed and mash. It is on account of a
considerable quantity not being digested, that passes into the bowels
and stimulates their action. This is beneficial up to a certain
point, but if the bowels are overstimulated, irritation is apt to
result and the system is robbed of some nutrition. Horses that are
not worked or worked very little, can stand, and, in fact, require
more laxative food than those more exerted. Active exertion of itself
has a naturally stimulating effect upon the bowels.
The lesson we learn from all this, is that moist food for horses
should be given with care and judgment. Given too frequently or in
too large quantities at a time, it is apt to cause indigestion and
undue relaxation of the bowels. Most horses that are doing little
work, such as those in moderate exercise, are benefited by a little
boiled oats and barley, given every evening. This is a very good
plan, particularly for sale horses. It is a good rule to follow with
hard-worked horses, that if they happen to stand in for a day, a mash
should be substituted for their evening meal of grain. With horses
that work hard and regularly six days in the week, the general custom
of giving the mash on Saturday evening is a good one; but in the case
of horses that may be left in for the day at irregular intervals, it
is usually the best plan to give simply a mash for the evening meal
instead of grain.
Veterinarians meet with a frequently fatal disease called by them
azoturia, which in almost all cases is a preventable disease, due
to an error in feeding. It usually occurs in horses used to regular
work and good feed being kept idle for a few days and getting as much
feed as when they are working. It has been found in large stables
that with the carrying out of the rule that if a horse does not go
out during the day he shall have no grain in the evening, but only a
mash, there will be very few, if any, of these cases.
Indiscretion in watering horses sometimes leads to derangement of the
digestive organs. The chief trouble arises from allowing too long
intervals to elapse in watering. Under normal conditions water may be
given as often as it will be taken, and it is rare that a horse will
take too much, unless he is very warm. Even when he is quite warm, a
quart or two may be given with impunity. The proper plan is to water
before feeding, as the water is then rapidly absorbed and does not
interfere with digestion. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get many
horses to drink, particularly in cool weather, before feeding, and
they have to be watered afterwards; it is, however, wise to allow
an hour to elapse before doing so. If a horse takes a full feed of
grain and a drink shortly afterwards and is then put to any violent
exertion, he is very apt to suffer from digestive derangement. If
a horse is suffering from diarrhœa, or is purging from a dose of
physic, water must be restricted and slightly chilled; otherwise,
superpurgation and death may result.
An irrational plan of salting horses sometimes causes trouble. That
horses require salt is generally recognized, but a great many follow
the plan of giving it at intervals of a week or more, when they
become very ravenous for it and eat a great deal of it, which makes
them so thirsty that they will drink immoderately, and this will
sometimes cause digestive derangement. Horses should have access to
salt constantly; they then get the most benefit from it.
Before leaving the subject of feeding, it should have been stated
that care should be taken in making changes of diet, which should
not be done too abruptly, particularly changes to food which, if
eaten hurriedly or in considerable quantities, is apt to cause
indigestion. Good examples of such food are roots, boiled grain and
grass. An attack of indigestion in a horse that is a good feeder may
almost certainly be caused by giving too large a feed of roots or
boiled grain or by turning him into a fresh clover field that has
a luxurious growth of herbage. If the grass is short, and he has
to work hard for his feed, he can be safely turned into a pasture
field; but where there is luxuriant growth, there should be several
days’ restricted feeding before it is safe to allow some horses,
particularly greedy feeders, liberty to eat at will.
In all horses in which the excrement from the bowels shows evidence
of imperfect mastication, the cause should be sought for, and removed
if possible. Greedy feeders bolt their grain, not taking time for
perfect mastication. This not only results in waste, but is apt
to cause irritation also. Bolting the grain may be prevented in a
variety of ways. Numbers of feed boxes have been invented to overcome
this trouble, some of which are fairly effectual. The old-fashioned
plan of putting a number of stones amongst the grain works very well.
The addition of an equal quantity of bran to the grain is also an
assistance, but really the most effectual plan, where practicable, is
to mix two or three pounds of chaffed hay with the grain. In the case
of horses which do not bolt their grain, where there is evidence of
imperfect mastication, the grinders should be thoroughly examined.
This should be done by a qualified and reputable veterinarian. The
wandering, self-styled horse dentist should be carefully avoided,
as he is apt to injure the teeth by the over-use of the forceps and
tooth-rasp. Many horses’ lives are shortened by allowing unprincipled
and ignorant men to ill-treat the teeth.
Horses are more liable than almost any other species, to irregular
growths of the grinders, owing to their peculiar anatomical
arrangement. The two rows of grinders in the upper jaw are further
apart than those in the lower, and consequently overlap them on
either side. The grinding surface is beveled, and in the upper jaw
slants from within outwards, forming a ridge on the outside of each
row. The arrangement in the lower jaw is just the opposite, the
ridge coming on the inside. In order that grinding of the food may
take place in a perfect manner, the teeth must come into perfect
apposition. If the grinders do not come into perfect contact in the
process of grinding, the food is not only imperfectly masticated,
but the teeth wear irregularly. Nature’s method of keeping the
teeth of normal dimensions is by the wear they experience during
grinding. If from any cause this wear does not take place throughout
all the grinding surface, irregular projections form, and are most
apt to be found on the outer ridge of the upper rows of grinders
and on the inner of the lower ones. These projections are liable to
interfere with mastication to a degree proportionate to their size,
and sometimes cut and abrade the cheeks and tongue. When the mouth is
in such a condition, it will be much benefited by proper attention.
The owner, however, should not be misled by traveling dentists into
thinking that all horses’ teeth require attention. The dentist points
out the projecting ridges on the outside of the upper rows and on the
inside of the lower ones, and makes the owner believe this to be an
abnormal condition. Some owners seem to think, or are made to think,
that the grinding surfaces should be level from side to side, instead
of beveled, as nature made them.
In addition to the tendency to injurious projections on the grinders,
as already described, we not infrequently find on the front part
of the first upper grinders and on the back part of the last lower
ones, prominences of considerable size. These are found generally in
horses with “parrot mouths,” or what are sometimes called “overshot
mouths.” This is a deformity, as the upper jaw is placed a little
too far forward with respect to the lower one, so that a portion
of the first upper grinders and of the last lower ones do not
come in contact with opposing teeth. These are not kept of normal
dimensions by wear; consequently, projections are formed, which
seriously interfere with mastication, and otherwise injure the mouth.
Occasionally a broken or decayed tooth is found, which also gravely
interferes with the grinding of the food. If from any cause the power
of mastication is impaired, it results not only in waste, but the
imperfectly prepared food is liable to cause digestive derangement.
If a horse is found to slobber at the mouth and to have difficulty in
eating, the teeth should always be carefully examined by an expert.
THE USE OF BURRS ON HORSES’ BITS
Every now and then one hears of the A. S. P. C. A. making a crusade
against the use of burrs on horses’ bits, and it is one of the
practices that their agents are always on the alert to detect. They
assume that the use of a burr is such a very evident act of cruelty,
that they would have no difficulty in securing a conviction, which
would redound to their credit as assiduous and vigilant officials.
Owners of horses appear to be afraid to take a chance of defending
such a suit. Why? Is it because they are averse to spending the time,
experiencing the incidental worry, and standing the expense, or is it
the fear of being convicted of cruelty to an animal? It seems to the
writer that the latter is the chief reason, and from which one would
naturally shrink; otherwise it appears difficult to understand why
horsemen allow men who, as a rule, have very limited or no knowledge
of horse management, to dictate to them as to what equipment they
should use in driving their horses.
To one who knows the use of a burr, it seems incredible to think
that, with a fair trial and a proper presentation of a defense, a
conviction could be obtained against a driver of a horse for using a
burr on a properly selected subject.
Numberless experts could be obtained as witnesses to show that the
use of a burr is no cruelty in properly selected cases, and such
experts could be obtained amongst horsemen of undoubted standing who
would shrink from anything that savored of cruelty to animals.
Still further, it could be demonstrated, as it has been to the
writer many times, that it is positively inhumane not to use a burr
on some horses. One comes in contact with nervous, fretful pullers,
that wear themselves out, lose their appetites, and become wrecks,
that by the use of a burr often cease pulling, in a large measure,
drive comfortably, and regain condition. People are heard to speak
of burrs as if they are instruments of torture, placed on a horse’s
bit to irritate him. Some suppose that they are used to give a
horse a stylish carriage and promote action. As there is so much
misconception with regard to the object of their use, it will be well
to explain what is intended to be accomplished by them.
A burr is made of a piece of thick leather, studded with bristles
on one side, about half an inch long. It has a hole in the centre,
so that it can be fitted on the mouth-piece of the bit, and a slit
running from the circumference to this hole, so that it can be taken
off or put on, as occasion requires.
When it is put on it is placed on one end of the mouth-piece of
the bit, right up against the cheek-piece of it, with the bristled
surface towards the horse’s mouth. If the mouth-piece of the bit is
of proper width, the bristles do not prick the skin of the horse’s
lips, unless he voluntarily presses on them. After he has pressed on
them a few times, finding they are uncomfortable, he usually stops
doing it; then they don’t hurt him.
This is the object of a burr, namely, to keep a horse from pressing
on one side of the bit. A horse that presses forcibly on one side of
the bit, which habit is usually called side-lining, is very difficult
to guide, as he takes an unyielding grip of the bit, usually holds
his head to one side, and pulls to an extent most uncomfortable to
his driver, and most wearing to himself. Anxious, ambitious, free,
high-strung horses are apt to get into this habit, unless their
mouths are properly educated to the bit, and their general handling
and management good.
Not the least important amongst the exciting causes is insufficient
and irregular work, causing a horse to get what is often called
“above himself.” Under such circumstances, if he is a free horse,
he will go up firmly against the bit, and may bruise or injure
his mouth in some way, producing soreness and irritability of the
gums where the bit presses. This causes him to pull more, and some
horses brace themselves against the cheek-piece of the bit, which
enables them to pull to an extent most trying to the driver, and
most wearing to themselves. The farther they go the more they pull
and the more excited, fretful and heated they become. The constant
repetition of this causes them to get “run down” in condition, and
the unnecessarily violent exertion they make in performing their work
is very hard on their legs and feet.
If by the simple expedient of using a burr on a puller’s bit, this
habit of pulling can be lessened, and practically overcome in some
cases, is it not justifiable to take the risk of subjecting a
horse’s lips to a few pricks with bristles in order to attain such
desirable results? A fretful puller suffers infinitely more, by the
over-exertion to which he subjects himself, and by working himself up
into an excited and heated state, than by the use of burrs.
As for the driver, it becomes absolutely painful to him to drive a
side-lining puller, and it is not without danger, especially where
there is crowded traffic, as in cities, on account of the difficulty
of guiding and controlling a horse with such a disagreeable fault. To
a driver who has had his arms pulled out, the use of a burr does not
seem by any means too drastic a remedy.
It may be asked: Is there not some other means of a less heroic
nature, that may be resorted to, to overcome this disagreeable
habit? There is no doubt that thoughtless, careless, ignorant and
unintelligent handling and management of horses, especially of young
ones, makes many pullers. Sensitive, nervous, courageous horses are
predisposed to this fault, and there are some in which it is almost
impossible to prevent the development of it.
Some horses, whose mouths have become irritable from pulling, will be
very much benefited by “turning out” for two or three months. Keeping
the bit out of the mouth for a length of time allows that organ to
heal and freshen up, until it may regain something like its normal
condition; but much care must be exercised when they are again put
to work, otherwise they will soon relapse into their former habit of
pulling. No matter how much care is exercised with some horses, that
may almost be called natural pullers, they will develop the fault,
and any measures adopted to overcome it are fruitless, and all that
can be done is to seek measures of control, such as proper bitting
and the use of burrs. Many pullers are quite valuable horses, and
their owners are loth to lose their service, or even to part with
them for a good price, on account of the good qualities they possess.
The use of burrs, like everything else in the management and control
of horses, should be done with discretion. Bits and bearing reins can
be made instruments of torture, just as much and more than burrs, if
not intelligently used. The apparently simple matter of placing the
bit in the proper position in a horse’s mouth is one subject to great
abuse, and is the cause of much suffering. It is no exaggeration to
state that fully one-third of the horses one sees on the streets
in New York City have not got their bits in the proper position in
their mouths. How frequently one sees horses with their mouths partly
open, tongues dry and projecting more or less from their mouths, due
entirely to bits being placed too high in them. Much of the pulling
is due to this error in bitting, as is also the unsightly fault of
tongue-lolling.
No practical person advocates not using bits, although on account of
the ignorance and lack of intelligence and skill in the manner in
which they are used, they are the cause of more suffering than all
other causes combined.
There are some pullers that burrs do not benefit much, and they are
sometimes used on horses unnecessarily. They are occasionally used
on horses that do not pull, but have acquired the habit of pulling
out in double harness. A much more rational and effectual way of
overcoming this fault is to drive the horse on the other side.
Transcriber’s Note:
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Misplaced hyphens were removed; one final stop missing at the
end of a sentence was added. “It it” change to “It is.”