Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-06-12
Hay for Quality and Quantity.

nay 10r h0fsts-4uaiAt3 aHQ XuAA6tys
Hay, for horses especially, needs to be
| of the very best quality. Nineteen ont
of twenty cases of broken wind result
| from the effects of bad hay But even
Il good hay, upon the proper or i'm
proper quantities almost depend the
eventual life or death of the horse.
While the effect of feeding oats-being
Iirht, thick-skinned or tally, crowded
they are perfectly sweet-the result
NAV be frustrated by increased guam
| tuty. but If hay is not nutritious. being
of much greater bulk, increased guam
tity Is merely filing the animal with
what does him no good and may do a
great deal of mischief by lis bulk.
We have been frequently surprised at
seeing many men, who were careful IN
other far less material points of their
| horses, careless. in an extraordinary
decree. in the most essential one, name
", the quality of their hay Nothing
should induce me to permit horse
to ca. q pound of bad hay; or, for a
continued feed. any hay that
is not of the sweetest and prim-
est quality. 1t is the first thing
we look after in going into stable. #
We have a horse with us. We have
visited friends who grew their own hay.
aud on remarking that it was not quite
the thing, have been told: NO, it got
a little wet in making; or, it heated
and nodded little in the rick and
this by men who kept good horses. So,
because they grew it, their horses must
eat it.
But even otherwise good managers On
horses sonnet mes err as 10 what is the
very best qualify. The first indication
of its goodness is, no doubt, its fra rant
smell; but even this NAV be deceptive;
for we have sen hay very fragrant to
the smell that had been heated too
much to be good for horses They may
like it. and some say ii fattens them,
but we suspect its fattening quaa.ty
arises chiefly from their being allowed
to eat great deal of it. For fast horses
(bad-winded ones included) the great
desideratum is to get into them the
greatest possible quaint ty Of nourlsh-
ment in the least pc sibhe compass, and
the most nutritious Of ats kind. ltnsed to
be received opinion among many horse
keepers that their horses should get none
but good, hard hay. Now, nothing in
the shape of sweet hay could be more
improper to give any horse Intended
for fast work than such hay; nor, in
deed, is it desirable for any horse or
beast OF what does this good, hard
hay consist, and what constitutes its
hardness? Its hardness is simply
this-there is much larger pro-
norton Of a kind of grass called
i.-bent" in it than there is is in softer
hay. Now, let any one examine this
bent, which can not be mistaken from
other grass; we think they viii find it
about as hard, and, in nourishing
properties, about on a par with the
wicker used in making clothes
baskets, and about as easy of diges-
ton. The ripper the grass is before
cutting, the nearer. it approaches to
woody fbre.-ED.l Hay should. in q
general way, grow on uplands, al
though bent, or bennets. rs they are
sometimes called, generally do grow
there. because in very poor upLands
they are the only thing that will grow.
But good upland hay speaks for itself;
from good upland, not from sterile,
dry hills. where little but bent grass
will flourish.
The age of hay is important Some
fancy hay can not be too old. This is
erroneous; for, however good the hay
may be, aga will lessen its nutritious
qualities. Fresh, new hay is by no
means proper for horses in work. but a
little, even of this, as an alternative. IS
by no means bad thing. Hay two
years old is quite old enough for any
horse That cut in July is cured enough
by September of the following year; in
fact, we would prefer it to that any
older. Two years after cutting hay is
Il i y, e.
day after this it deteriorates in its nour-
ishing qualities.
Hay varies with the soils and seasons.
In very dry summers the same weight
of any green food will be much more
nourishing than in a dripping season.
So. likewise, any fodder raised on
rich, dry soil will be much more nour-
ishing than that from poor, wet one.
The Standard of comparison is the best
upland meadow hay, cut as the frwer
expands, and properly made and
stacked, without much heating. One
hundred pounds of the best is equal to
12o lbs. of a second quality to keep the
same stock. or l40 lbs. of third qual- |
ity, and so on, down to very coarse and |
hard hay. not well made, which will be |
half as valuable, and not fit for |
COWS and store cattle, even when given |
in double quantity. While good hay
alone viii fatten cattle, inferior hay
requires other foods connected with it.
The desire for quantity, or appetite. re-
suits from habit; for a keen relish for |
what is eaten Is a sign of health: eating |
enormous quantities is sometimes the |
result of disease. A fair quantity of |
good hay is a much better thing in a |
horses stomach than wind; and if we |
do not give enough OF the former for |
the stomach to feed upon, it is certain |
TO get filled with the latter. which often |
leads to direful Inconvenience, and. |
indeed. danger. The daily quantity of |
hay allowed to each horse must vary
with its quality, and the work. If |
grain be limited, the horse will eat q |
greater weight of poor hay than of that |
more nutritious. If it be damaged, he /
must consume more than If sound; for |
some is rejected, perhaps half, and |
eaten, furnishes less nutriment. For
speed there should be little distension
of belly. Eight pounds of good hay
in the twenty-four hours is about the
usual allowance for fast-wo1 king
horses, with twelve to eighteen pounds
of oats. Large draft-horses will con-
sumo twenty to thirty pounds, but for
them the quantity is seldom limited.
Much, however. depends upon the al
lowance of grain. " hen given uncut,
hay should be shaken before feeding.
As to giving cut hay without ground
Iced to mix with II, il is not absolutely
necessary to grind feed. By mixing cut
hay with whole grain, the mastjcation
IF the hay is better insured. MANY
horSpS9 swallow fhair food - -. |