FARM ANIMALS 43 



large quantities, but grains need not be cooked or 

 steamed before feeding to horses, excepting cases 

 in which a very rapid growth is desired or in fatten- 

 ing horses for market. In the case of brood 

 mares, stallions, 'and horses being fattened for mar- 

 ket it may be desirable to use boiled food at inter- 

 vals or, in the case of draft horses being prepared 

 for market, once or twice daily. The cooking of 

 grain in cold weather has not been found to give 

 any advantage, excepting cases where the horses' 

 teeth are in bad condition. 



HAY AND COARSE FORAGE 



The hay used for horses varies greatly in differ- 

 ent parts of the country. In general timothy has 

 long been considered by horsemen, especially for 

 racers and speed horses, as the only desirable 

 coarse forage. In all localities where timothy is 

 fed as roughage to horses, clover is likewise a com- 

 mon hay and is often fed mixed with timothy as 

 they grow in the meadow, or often constitutes the 

 more important part of the roughage. Through- 

 out the Rocky Mountain region of the country 

 alfalfa is considered as the best roughage for horses. 

 In California barley, oat, and wheat hay, particu- 

 larly barley hay, is fed extensively, the hay being 

 cut when the grain is in the milk. Throughout 

 the corn belt and in the South, corn fodder con- 

 stitutes one of the most important parts of the 

 roughage for horses. It is thus apparent that just 

 as there is no one exclusive grain ration for horses, 

 so there is no one exclusive coarse forage which 

 is universally better than any other for horses. 



Alfalfa. Alfalfa, as already indicated, is one of 

 the best, if not the best, hay particularly for work- 



