FARM ANIMALS 45 



one-half and the grain ration increased to a slight 

 extent to make up for the hay. It has been found 

 that the horse which is used to alfalfa hay will eat 

 from 35 to 40 Ibs. per day when it is fed ad libitum. 

 This large quantity of hay, however, is likely to 

 cause colic and other disturbances. If the amount 

 be reduced from 10 to 12 Ibs. the digestive disturb- 

 ances will not be noticed except in rare instances. 

 Some writers have stated that alfalfa has a diuretic 

 effect on the kidneys. A careful study of this, how- 

 ever, comparing the effect of early, medium and 

 late cut alfalfa fails to show that any bad effects can 

 be attributed to alfalfa. It is very doubtful whether 

 there is any economy in allowing horses to eat 40 

 pounds of alfalfa per day. Twenty Ibs. is suffi- 

 cient for the maintenance ration and the same quan- 

 tity with a considerable grain ration is enough for the 

 horse at work. In Wyoming it has been found that 

 alfalfa hay, with straw given ad libitum, makes a 

 good maintenance ration for horses and is sufficient 

 for light work without any grain. Horses were 

 readily maintained on 14 Ibs. of alfalfa per day 

 with liberty to eat straw at a stack but without grain. 

 In other tests 15^ Ibs. of alfalfa, 2J Ibs.. of oat straw, 

 were required for a maintenance ration. It is 

 generally considered that 12^ Ibs. of alfalfa and 2 

 Ibs. of oat straw are a maintenance ration for horses 

 per 1000 Ibs. of live weight. 



It is scarcely necessary to give a detailed record 

 regarding all the experiments on the feeding of 

 different kinds of coarse fodders to horses. Timo- 

 thy, clover, alfalfa, corn stalks, and cereal hays are 

 the standard materials for this purpose in different 

 parts of the country. Nearly all kinds of coarse 

 fodders, however, have been fed to horses in different 

 states. Horses do well on beggar-weed hay where 



