VOL. LIX.
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 11, 1904.
NO 24.
HOW TO TREAT THE   WORK HORSES DUR-
ING THE   BUSY SEASON.
Give Plenty of Freih Water.
lst Premium.—Horses that have been
well cared for during th» winter months
will be more able to stand the work of
the busy season than those which have
had to rough it. When the early spring
work begins horses. should be especially
well cared for, both in grooming and
feed, for it is the change from complete
idleness to constant and hard toil that
starts them downward and gives them
that tired, dejected look we so often see.
They should always be taken out of the
barn to be curried, and should be watered
before feeding. This latter is for a
two-fold purpose; first, to wash out tha
mouth, throat and stomach, laird second,
to keep from washing the feed out of the
stomach before it has time to digest. During the busy season horses should have
fresh water given them every time, and
that often. If man were compelled to
work in the heat and dust from morn till
noon, or from nocn till night, without
lunch or even ia drink, methinks he would
rebel. So would old Dobbin, if he only
could. If horses arei not watered freely,
■ tiiey should at least have their mouths
washed out with fresh water. This, of
course, takes time, but it is time gained
in the long run.
Horses should not be kept on one diet
all the time, but should be given a variety
of feeds. Change is good for a horse's
stomach, just as much as it is good for
a man's soul. Take an hour or two
of rest at noon, and see if the horses do
not work better in the afternoon. A
good plan is to work early and late, but
rest in the heat of the day. Harness
should .be well looked after, and especially sweat pads, collars, traces, etc. It
is always best to have several pads for
each   horse. Never   change   from   one
horse to another, as they adjust themselves afterhavingbeenwornanddonot fit
Bny other horse snugly, and would therefore cause them to rub and make sore
shoulders. If one is not able financially to have extras, then there is always an
abnmlJance of water, and they could be
cleaned and dried before using again, doing away with that roughness and making
them soft and pliable. It is the continued sweating and rough collars and pads
that cause so many sore shoulders and
so much loss of time. If horses are
groomed at night, as well as in the morning, it is no trouble to keep thom clean,
and they should always, when worked
bard in the dust, have their shoulders
and backs well washed with warm (not
hot) water, then thoroughly dried. Their
feet aud legs should be well brushed land,
in fact, they should be well brushed all
over and this too before washing. Then
in the morning the animal will be refreshed by a good night's rest, whicb is impossible to man or beast while in an untidy,
sweaty condition. So many people have
preferences for one certain horse, and
work that horse, regardless of how worn
ont it may be, rather than change for one
not so trusty or tired. This should not
be.
Every horse knows his friends, and will
repay every kind deed. As the bulk of
man's work depends on the faithfulness
and trustiness of his horses, then may he
well look to their welfare. Horses that
are worked hard should not be put on
pasture (alone. Grass is too washy to
Keep up their vitality.    But they should
be allowed some run on pasture to tone
up tho system. Too many people feed
too much hay, thus filling tliem over full
of dry feed, and causing them to be short
of breath, and cannot go to do any good.
If horses are given plenty of good, clean
wlater, all they will drink, and often, they
will not require nor will they eat so much
hay, and are much better off. Horses
form habits like children, and if you feed
all the time will eat all the time, whether
they need it or not. They love little
knickknacks, the same as children, too,
and if given these little dainties occasionally will be much more gentle and obed-
ient.        They  should  be  salted   at  least
want your horse over-fat. Ho should
havo his muscles well developed, ami
enough fat to round him out well. Fat
on the horse hides a multitude of sins or
defects. At the commencement of spring
work I should like to have a little surplus
fut to draw on. If your horse has had
proper feed and care during the winter,
he will be iu prime condition for spring
work.
To keep him in that condition you must
feed for both fat and muscle. This feed
must be varied. Corn and hay have
been, and probably will be, the leading
feed for the farm horse, but they should
be supplemented with oats, bran,  shorts,
j {>-._ff'^*^Ji%IV^SSmsa__sL "■-*
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. * P_a__f*-Vi*! &*'■_•'.-- r*j y'^tM
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Kassens Rib Frame Barn, plan by .John Kassens & Co., Greensburg, Ind.
twice ia week. Some think they ought to
have it where they can get it all the
time. I have never tried that and can-
not say.
Harness should all be mended (if needed) during the idle months of winter, not
with tacks, nails or rivets, but sewed with
needle and thread. Then there will be
no sharp, rough edges to rub and chafe,
making the horses restless and sometimes
unmanageable. If harness is kept clean
and oiled, it will last three times longer
than when neglected, and in the long run
is cheaper.
The stables should be roomy, light and
clean, and the windows and doors should
be screened, as flies are the pest of their
lives. The horses should be supplied
with good leather or other cool fly nets
when   working. Chickens   should   not
be allowed to run in the stables, as sometimes they are lousy and the vermin are
liable to get on the horses, and when once
they do nothing frets or bothers them
more. Above all else needed about a
horse is a man, woman, boy or girl who
has a heart nnd has learned the Golden
Rule. Then and not till then will the
horse reach the place which God intended
it should, nor be the thing he iutended it—
man's best friend.
Shelby Co. A Subscriber.
Treat the  Horse With  Kindness.
2d Fremiuni.—The horse must be kept
in the best possible condition to get the
best results from him, on the farm or
..lsewhere. Therefore health is the first
point. Without health he will not show
either flesh or spirit. Flesh and fat aro
indi-utions of health, and yet disease often
lurks in the over-fat horse.     You do not
etc., with cut straw or hay, fed at intervals. And he should have grass with his
dry feed. My rule on the farm was
luit to give my horse much grass until
I was done planting corn, and then turn
him out at nights on pasture, after I
had fed him some grain, and take him up
early in the morning and feed more grain.
He is then ready for his day's work, in
much better coiijlilion and spirit thau if
he had remained in his three and a half
foot stall during the night with all the
fiied he could stuff. Get your horse out
of the stable when he is not ut work, eveu
if you have to turn him in a dry lot. The
horse that is continually kept in the hampered stall, with a hard floor, is in about
the name condition as a man iu prison.
Softie hm-.es kept penned up become vicious, others moody aud sluggish. What
is more I. frshiirg tO- your work horse,
after the day's work is over, than to turn
him out and let him roll? This is his way
of currying himself; you should finish the
job iu the morning with comb and brush.
Water, water, water, is one of the elements that your horse must have, in
proper quantities and in due seasou. With
all the feed tbat'you can crowd into him,
you cannot keep him up in flesh unless he
has plenty of water, and that means all
he wants. Vour horse should have water
four times la day at least, and six times
would be better. lf your horse should
lag on th. road, or in the field, give him
water and see him recuperate. If he has
gone an undue time without water, give
it to him slowly, but in the end let him
have nil he wants. There are more poor
horses from the want of water than from
the vrtuit of feed. Some cue says "you
will give him the colic."      I would rather
risk the feed and water together thair the
feed alone. Grass and water cool down
thj' system and aid digestion. I do not
mean lhat you turn yonr horse out in rain
aud storm, for I would have pasture shelter that the horso could get under at will.
Is your stable comfortable, and has it
modern conveniences? If not, so remodel
it as far as possible. Give it good ventilation aud screen your windows, for tho
horse that has to fight flies from sunup
to sundown is more exhausted than the
horse that works in the field or on the
road well protected. Therefore protect
your horse by netting or otherwise. Keep
your stable clean and well bedded. Clean
out the manger and feed box. Do not
serve the horse his dinner on the cobs,
weeds and stubble left in his manger.
Is your harness well fitted and pliant,
and .nre your tugs of equal length? Do
not put the collar on your horse that he
wore the day before, without cleaning.
Are your plows sharp and clear of
rust, so as to relieve your horse of all
unnecessary draft?
Keep your horse cool, but more especially keep cool yourself. The greatest lesson
tltat we have to learn yet in regard b>
all our live stock is to handle them in
such a way as not to irritate them. Talk
to your borse and he will talk to you.
Give him kindness and he will return it.
The horse has confidence' in man, if !_•_.
treats him with confidence.
I have treated this subject from a general standpoint, as there are few specifies, if any, in the treatment of the horse.
In 40 years on the farm I never lost a
horse with colic, and never had but few
cases. I attribute it in part to the fact
that my horses had ashes and salt at will.
Salt is an aid to digestion and ash neutralizes .acids. My remedy for chafes and
sore shoulders is well fitting, pliable harness. Keep the shoulders clean, and
bathe occasionally with a solution of oak
bark boiled in water, with a little alum.
Mute carbolic acid, put on twice a day,
will do much in keeping flies away.
II is inhuman to harness up the horse
with head reared up by the over-check,
his tail bobbed off, and without any protection from flies. When we get mora
civilized and Christianized, we will have
laws that will protect the horse from these
barbarous    customs.        God    speed    the
lla>'- I. N. C.
Marion Co.
See that Harness Fits Well-
3d Premium.—Assuming that the horses
have been ordinarily kept aud cared for,
during the winter season, now-- that tht)
busy season is at hand the'caro. of the
horses is very important, because, if we
lose the use of a horse for a week or
more just now,, that means several dollars to the average farmer, who usually
keeps just about as many horses as ho
needs at this time of the year.
Care should be taken not to try to do too
much for the first three or four days, or
mill! the horse becomes accustomed to
the work. Also when we change from
on-1 kind of work to another, the horses
should I* closely watched.
Tlie harness should be well fitted to the
borse. They   need   not   be   stylish   or
fr.ncy, except as a matter of choice, but
should be strong and durable, and of the
proper _izo and shape. A large collar
will not fit a small horse, neither is a
small collar fit to put on a large horse.
The harness should be so adjusted that
the load will be properly balanced.
Whatever condition the remainder of th.
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