When the hay is not of the best quality, the bad is rejected and lost; but by converting it into chaff, the horse must either eat the whole or leave the whole. He can make no selection. This is a favorite argument, and often urged on the side of cutting.

When the fodder is damaged in only a slight degree, the mowburnt or musty hay may be eaten by some horses with impunity; and, to make them eat it, they may have it cut down and mixed with a better article. But this will not do for horses in constant and laborious employment. In coaching stables, the hay, if cut into chaff, must all be of the best quality; if bad, it is cheaper to convert it into litter than to make the horses eat it. If eaten, the horses are in a manner poisoned; if rejected they are starved. The bad being mixed with the good, the horse has no power of selection. He eats some, but he does not eat so much as if it were all good, and his work requires all that he can eat of the very best.