French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1917-04-19
4 FOR HORSES

Alfalfa hay may be. fed 20 I
horses as well as growing q u ~
is fed properly, according to Or. C.W
MnCampbell. secretary of the kansas
SAFE live Stock Registry Board. In
order to he fed successfully aifaLa
musf he cut IL the proper time for
horse-feeding purposes and must pe
fed as a concentrate rather ina .
roughage.
The method practiced by most OF
those who have fed alfalfa to work
horses in the past, and e~Vensthose VINO
feed it at the present, has been to MI
the mango in the morning, at noon
and night. thus ALLOWING; the horses %
eat ali they wished. Prairie hay mas
been fed in this way without any ser1-
Gus results. As alfalfa hay Is very
.palatable. horses eat q very large
mount. and the results are soft, windy
horses that are pulled in the hooks,
stocked in the legs and unable to stand
hard work.
"The trouble explained DR.. Nc
Campbell, sis with the method<6f feed
ing and not witch the alfalfa. 1t has
been said that the proper time to be-
gin cutting alfalfa hay is when the held
is about one tenth in bloom. Cutting
at such a time makes very good nay
fer cattle, but such hay is too Wasny
for horses at hard work. To make
hay suitable for horses at hard work,
the alfalfa hay must be allowed to get
rather mature before cutting; n Tact'
the field should be in full bloom before
the mower is started. The hay should
then be properly cured and stacked.
Special care must be taken to prevent
spelling or molding as moldy, musty,
or dusty hay of any kind is injurious to
horses.
AFTER the hay has been cut at the
right time, and probably cared for, the
next consideration is the amount to be
fed daily. Probably the most import.
cause of so much trouble with al
day has been overlooking. On
the average, one pound of alfalfa hay
contins more digestib1e protein than
one pound of shelled corn, and is fair
ly rich in carbohydrates and fats. A
person would not think or feeding a
200 pound work horse a bushel (56
pounds) of shelled corn in a day. vet
by giving the same horse all the alfalfa
hay he will eat, as large Or a larger
amount of digestiEle protein will be
fed daily than is contained in a bushel
of shelled corn.
when large amounts of alfalfa q"
fed, the horse receives an excess1bo
amount of highly heterogeneous mate
rial. This not only overworks the
kidneys, but also causes irritation,
which may result in a chronoc infiam-
matory condition of the kidneys.
another effect of overlooking with
alfalfa is a sort of cloyinG of the whole
system, resulting in impaired .nutri-
ton, swelling of the legs and hooks,
softness, excessive sweating, and inn
paired respiration.
CAS- to the amount to be fed, expe-
rience seems to indicate that one and
of weight is about the maximum
amount for work horses. Horses re-
receiving alfalfa hay will relish limit
ed amounts Of prairie, timothy, or cane
hay. straw or corn fodder.
Because of its high proportion of
digestib1e protein, alfalfa balances very
well with corn, and these two feeds
make, the most economical ration the
persons who grow alfalfa can feed,
and probably as satisfactory as any"
If a person is buying on the market,
says DR.. McCampbelI, the hay showing
the brightest green color is often the
poorest for. work horses, because it
has been cut too green and will be
"washy.". If a person will buy aver
age, ~well-cured, clean alfalfa hay, he
VIII be able to reduce the cost of feed
by substituting alfalfa hay for part of
the prairie or timothy hay. He may
substitute one pound of alfalfa hay for
one and one-half to two pounds of
prairie or timothy hay, until from one
third to one half of the prairiesor tim
othy hay has been replaced by alfalfa
hay The amount used depends on
the quality Of the alfalfa substituted
for the other hay-Farm and, Fireside