230 THE HORSE 



the bulk of the undergrowth is ah'eady fully developed, and 

 the only essential required is that it should be hay-making 

 weather ! Unless that important condition is fairly assured 

 it is very unwise to try to make hay, for badly-gotten hay 

 is fit only for bedding. If there is a prolonged spell of 

 fine weather before the dogstail blooms it is wise to take 

 advantage of the opportunity, for though the quantity of 

 hay may be less, the quality will be first-rate. Also if 

 there is a period of wet weather when the best time for 

 cutting has arrived, hay-making should be put off till fine 

 weather once more sets in, for though the quality of the hay 

 may not be as good as it might have been, well-got hay 

 has a high feeding value, even though there is a considerable 

 amount of woody fibre amongst it, but ill-made it has no value 

 at all. Hay should never be put into stack when wet, for 

 this invariably develops mould, which, even if horses can 

 be induced to eat it with the help of an addition of spice, is 

 very prejudicial to their wind. In fine weather there is often 

 too great an anxiety to get the hay into stack, and it is put 

 up too green before it is properly saved, and therefore sweats 

 too much, which is known by its dark appearance and 

 peculiar smell. Horses are fond of it in this state, but they 

 should not be allowed to gratify their taste, for it has a 

 a powerful and bad effect upon the kidneys. 



The presence of the flowers of the grasses in their natural 

 colour is very desirable in new hay, though this is slightly 

 lost in sweating, as they show that the hay was cut at the 

 right time, and if the hay itself is green, with an agreeable 

 odour, and is crisp to handle, it maj^ be bought with perfect 

 confidence. 



Many people prefer hay made of red clover and Italian 

 rye-grass, and, if first-rate upland meadow hay cannot be 

 procured, it is very good and certainly to be preferred to 

 second-rate hay ; but the advantage of the mixture of fine 

 grasses contained in the best meadow hay can never be 

 equalled by clover hay when both are of the best quality. 

 Clover hay makes an excellent change, and is of especial 

 value in tempting the appetite in the case of illness. 



In some of the colonies hay is made from oats just before 



