50 FARM ANIMALS 



Various other forage plants, as already indicated, 

 have been and are fed to horses in various parts 

 of the country. Thus sweet clover is a valuable 

 horse feed in cases where it is eaten with relish. It 

 should be cut at an early stage and cured like 

 alfalfa. Horses must first become accustomed to 

 it before they will eat it in large quantities. 



BOOTS AND FRUITS 



Roots should always constitute a portion of 

 the horse ration. It must be considered that on 

 account of the comparatively small size of the 

 horse's stomach they cannot successfully be fed to 

 horses in as large quantities as to cattle or sheep. 

 As a rule about six to ten pounds is a suitable 

 ration of roots per day. The feeding value of the 

 different roots varies so slightly that they may be 

 used interchangeably to replace one another. 

 Their most important point is to add palatability 

 and variety to the ration as well as some suc- 

 culence. This is accomplished by feeding carrots, 

 beets, or pumpkins. Turnips may also be fed 

 for the same purpose. The use of fruits as a 

 horse feed is not a very important practice except- 

 ing in certain localities. All kinds of fruits are 

 known to possess some value on account of their 

 palatability and their chemical composition. In 

 the far west almond hulls, apples, apricots, grapes, 

 peaches, figs, and raisins either fresh or dried have 

 been fed to horses. Naturally when fruits are 

 dried their feeding value is considerably greater 

 than in the fresh state. 



Carrots are one of the common root crops for 

 horses and almost everywhere constitute a portion 

 of the ration. They may be fed in rations of 



