COMPARATIVE VALUE OF OATS AS A FOOD FOR HORSES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2541, 26 November 1902, Page 6

COMPARATIVE VALUE OF OATS AS A FOOD FOR HORSES.

In this respect oats are superior to all other kinds of grain, owing to the ease with which they can be digested and to the admirable manner in which the necessary nutritive constituents are combined in them. Their high degree of digestibility, under favourable circumstances, is- due to their possession of a cellulose-dissolving ferment and to the nature of the husk, which is largely composed of crude fibre. The broken-up particles of th.3 busk aid in checking the too rapid passage of the food through the stomach and wnall intestine; they furnish interstices through which the digestive juices can penetrate, and they help in preventing the alimentary canal from becoming loaded at any particular part with food which on account of its richness might bs liable to decompose and to set up more or less serious- indisposition. The large proportion of fat contained in oats is of special value from a fesding point of view. The statements made by various chemists that oats contain a stimulating principle have not been confirmed

All samples of oats should have an agreeable smell, clean, smooth and bright appearance, and pleasant taste*; should feel dry, bard, and elastic to the tonch, and when broken between the teeth should be fairly provided with flour. The fact that they fulfil these conditions will show that they have been well saved, are sufficiently old, possess a due ' amount of nutriment, and have not suffered from injurious influences, such as damp and mould, as would be evident if they were musty in smell, and dull in colour. The presence of dust in oats proves that they have been badly saved, and that their quality has undergone more or less deterioation. A shrivelled-up condition is also a sign of inferiority. With a plump variety of oats, if the grains feel heavy in th«J hands, rattle more or less like shot when poured out, rebound when they fall on wpod or other hard cbject, and show no tendency to stick together, our good opinion of their 'nutritive value and sound condition will be still further confirmed. The artificial presence of sulphur, which is»Bomctimes used for bleaching damaged oats in order to improve their colour, may be detected by the smell given off by the oats when they % are rubbed briskly between the hands.

"Oats which have been kiln dried, even if not bleached, shrink unduly from the points of the husks, and so can very readily be detected, and they also havj a brown appearance at the points" (Fisher). The plumper, more rounded, and heavier oats are, the higher will be their market value. Thinness of hus-k will also enhance the price as tv rule. The cost of white oats, probably on account of their cleaner and more pleasing appearance, is higher than that of either black or tawny oats. Old oats are sold at about 1,5 per cent. more than new oats. The term "old" is applied to oats as soon as the- next crop begins to be threshed.

The feeding value of a given weight of oats varies according as the weight of the kernel exceeds that of the husk, other things being equal. This statement is selfevident, whei we consider that the bu«t

is almost entirely composed of crude fibre, which we have seen has little ojj no nourishing properties. In fact, the hu-jk has about the same feeding value as straw. Generally speaking, the heavier the oats the larger will be the percentage of flour (kernel), and consequently the more will they be worth. This rule is liable to, many exceptions ; for, as we have seen, the density, thickness, and form of the husk of oats are b\ r no means uniform. Accordingly, we may not unfrequently find that a sample o*f heavy oats contains a smaller percentage of flour than one of light oats, and is consequently of inferior feeding value, weight for weight. Experiments made by Hickman gave the following result : — No. of Weight of Grain Per cent, of Varieties. per Bushel. Kernel. 4 .. .. 361b „ .. 68 3 .. .. S4lb .. .. 67 7 .. .. 301b .. .. 69 We should here bear in mind that although light oats might show a higher percentage of flour th^n heavy oats, it does not follow that a bushel of the former would necessarily contain more flour than a bushel of the latter. For instance, if we took a. bushel of the 301b oats of the foregoing table and tbs same quantity of the 561b oats, we would find that.the weight of the flour of the former eolnes to 201b lloz, and that of the latter to 241b 7£oz. In selling by weight the advantage would, however, be with, the 301b per bushel oats, in, of course, the proportion of 69 to 68. If we can increase as we wish the quantity of oats given to a horse we shall find, as a rule, that po feeding advantage is obtained by using oats ..hat are heavier, say, than 401b (or perhaps even 381b) a bushel, for m almost all such cases the animal will desire to supplement the oats with bay or straw, both of which are less palatable than oats, although, after his appetite for nutriment has been more or less allayed, bis need for bulk lo be givari to his food will make him leave the com in order to seek for hay or straw. We are indebted to Mr John Hubert Moore, the famous owner and trainer of steeplechase horses, for drawing our attention to the fact that when horses are given as much corn at they can eat, oats of moderate woigrht are quite as good as the heaviest sa-nples. Owing to the general belief among stablemen that the weight per bushel of oats is a correct measure of therr nutritive worth, heavy oats as a rule command a fietitiouslv high price as compared to the cost of lighter samples.

The feeding value of black and tawny, oats appears to be as great as that of white oats, other things being equ.il. New oats are apt to act as a laxative, and to produce a debilitating effect on horses, probably on account of their comparative Indigestibility. Oats grown and kept in hot countries need not be stored so long as the growths in liumi.l climates, for they lose their moisture quicke-. Oa A s are best preserved in an unthreshed condition In the stack.