The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-19
GRASS NOT SUFFICIENT FOOD
N.Y.. G. FEnNEYHouGu, d. v. $.

ny j. G. FERNEYHOUGH, d. v. $.
A horse which is worth owning Is
worth feeding enough good food to
Keep the animal in a strong, healthy
condition.. Now that the warm wealth
er has set in for the spring and sum
lner season with the natural result
that the gross has commenced to grow
| nicely in our fields. as usual, many
of the farmers are arranging to turn
out on grass" not only the cattle, but
| the colts. brood mares. and last the
work horses, in order to save feed
iOf course. 1t Is the thing to put the
cattle on grass. and the young stock,
too, and grass alone where 1t is good
and plenty of 1t Is usually suni-
Gent food for the young growing stock
Al they are in good flesh when put on
the pasture, and are not put on grass
| too soon. But to require horses to
work daily, and at the same time de-
pend upon grass only for food, is
indeed a mistake. 1t matters not what
farmer undertakes 1t.
| Only last spring the writer was
called by wire to see the horses be-
longing TO gentleman who had
moved from the West to Virginia
! When he arrived at the gentleman's
farm he met me and said, MY horses
ARE all lying with contagious dis
ease. and took the liberty OF calling
on the State veterinarian to come and
see what the trouble is.'' This was
about the middle OF May, and this
farmer had four big draft horses all
out on pasture at night, though at
work during the day to piows wa
| CONS. etc. as farm horses are usually
worked. They were very thin. though
the man said that they had been Ia.
until about three weeks before. I
made a very careful examination OF
the surroundings, as we'll as Of the
carcass OF one of the horses which
1t was simple case of debility. caused
by too much work and especially Il
! lack OF good, nOurshing food. I told
! the gentleman that the horses were
only in need of the proper food and
| a plenty OF 1t. / told him that his
horses had been overworked and un-
derfed. He replied that they had not
been overworked, as he had not been
able to get more than a half-day's
work from team day for some
time, as the horses We're diseased, and
thus too weak. '(He had Just told me
that they were fat q month before.j
Thus it is, If you do not feed worH.
/ team you cannot expect the team 60
do d good days work. Half feed
means hair work, which In turn
means a less OF time for man and
beast resulting In loss of money to
the farmer from the lack of the use
of the team, to say nothing of how
i much the value of the morse Is de-
creased by allowing him TO get in a
| broken down, weak condition.
i Allow your stock to s..rt into the
winter poor, and thoy will in most
cases be poor all winter. and will thus
be very troublesome to care for dur
Ing the entire winter:
Again turn your horses out to de-
pend upon grass too soon, or try TO
work them daily and give them moth
ling but grass to eat, and you will not
Icnly have team all of the year which
4 you should be ashamed to let any one
see, but you will keep the most eXpen-
slye team that you could possibly have,
as 1t will be the cause Of year being
I without feed another year, owing to the
fact that no man can cultivate crop
as 1t should be cultivated with nalf
fed team Of horses.
4 Grass Is very essential for all stock
Il In the spring and summer, IL the work
] lis of a nature where the animal may
have grass at night and grain morning,
noon and night with some rough, or
llung food at noon, in addition to the
4 grass. But any practical man knows
that horse which haste work during
I the day should not BIO required to stand
I up all night and pick gl1,ss from n pas
. ture in order to keep from starving,
{ and thus get no rest for his tired limbs.
/, OF sleep and comfort for his weary
muscles. ! have had the pleasure OF
living In the country all my life, with
/, the exception OF about eight months
some eight years ago, and while the
! majority OF farmers feed their work
teams at least once day, and many OF
them feed them three times, yet have
y always noticed others who undertook tc
q lworls their horses and at the same time
!. make the horse Depend upon grass
alone for food.
In fact, only one day last summer
heard ono gentleman ask another what
he would charge him to pasture his
horse per month In q certain field, The
man who owned the pasture told the
gentleman with the horse Just what It
would cost, though the owner of the
4 horse replied, "You ought not to charge
Y mo but half price az work my horse
4 during the day" However, the owner OF
the pasture In turn said. Then he will
eat twice az much ut night as n horse
, that does not work during the day. Tht
!, man with the horse then said when /
{ get through with him at night he Is toe
II tired to stand UP long and ent grass" ]
saw the horse In question and from hts