FEEDS FOB HORSES 311 



495. Prairie hay, Thruout the western states prairie hay from the 

 wild grasses forms an excellent roughage for the horse. From trials 

 lasting 110 to 140 days with 453 artillery horses, McCampbell 37 of the 

 Kansas Station concludes that timothy hay is slightly more valuable than 

 prairie hay, but that when timothy hay costs 10 per ct. more than good 

 prairie hay, the latter is more economical. (325) 



496. Brome hay. This hay, commonly grown in the northern plains 

 region, proved fully equal to timothy in a trial by Shepperd at the 

 North Dakota Station 38 in which 1 horse in each of 2 work teams was 

 fed brome hay and oats, while their team mates received timothy and 

 oats. (316) 



497. Sudan grass hay; southern hays. Sudan grass hay is palatable to 

 horses and makes a satisfactory roughage for them, much superior to 

 millet hay. (322) 



Bermuda hay and Johnson grass hay were found about equal to 

 timothy hay in feeding value in a trial by Lloyd at the Mississippi 

 Station. 39 (320, 321) 



498. Millet hay. Hay from the various millets may be fed satis- 

 factorily to horses, if cut before it is too mature and if fed as only half 

 the roughage. (317) When fed as the only roughage to horses for long 

 periods, millet hay has produced serious lameness and swelling of the 

 joints and increased action of the kidneys. 40 This was perhaps due to 

 a considerable amount of millet seed in the hay, as it is claimed that 

 these have a harmful action on the kidneys. 41 



499. Sorghum hay. Forage from the sweet sorghums, when properly 

 cured, is superior to corn forage for horses. It usually deteriorates 

 rapidly in value after midwinter unless well cured and kept in a dry 

 place. Moldy, decaying sorghum forage is especially dangerous to 

 horses. Kafir, tho not quite so palatable as the sweet sorghums, is 

 extensively and profitably used for horse feeding over a large region in 

 the southwestern states. (308) 



500. Corn fodder and corn stover. Thickly grown fodder corn or even 

 bright corn stover, when properly cured and cared for, are among the 

 best of roughages for the horse, for they are palatable and usually quite 

 free from dust if not allowed to become moldy. (302-4) For stallions, 

 brood mares, idle horses, and growing colts good corn forage is usually 

 an economical substitute for timothy hay. In a trial by Burkett at the 

 New Hampshire Station 42 corn stover was successfully used as the 

 only roughage for farm horses doing light work in winter. Horses fed 

 12 Ibs. of corn stover a head daily, with 7 Ibs. corn and 7 Ibs. of oats 

 or bran, maintained their weights practically as well as others fed 12 

 Ibs. of timothy hay in place of the corn stover. With timothy hay 

 usually selling at 2 to 4 times as much as corn stover, the great saving 



87 Kan. Bui. 186. 40 Hinebauch, N. D. Bui. 26. 



18 N. D. Bui. 45. " U. S. D. A., Farmers ' Bui. 1030. 



Information to the authors. 42 N. H. Bui. 82. 



