FEEDS FOE HORSES 313 



IV. LEGUME HAY 



504. Legume hay. When given in moderation, well-cured legume hay 

 can without question be fed to horses with entire satisfaction. The wide- 

 spread prejudice against legume hay for horse feeding is largely due to 

 these rich roughages having been fed in excess or to the poor quality of 

 the hay used. Since alfalfa and clover hay are more like concentrates 

 in nature than is timothy hay, less is needed to replace a given amount 

 of timothy. However, horses are especially fond of good legume hay, 

 and often gorge on it unless the allowance is restricted. (492) 



It is important that legume hay for horses be bright and well-cured, 

 for that which is dusty and otherwise injured in quality may cause 

 heaves. Dampening dusty hay before feeding helps somewhat, but it 

 is far better to prevent the mold and dust by proper curing. 



505. Clover hay. Because clover hay is often carelessly made and 

 loaded with dust, it is disliked by many horsemen, particularly for feed- 

 ing roadsters. This objection does not apply to clean, properly-cured 

 clover hay. For driving horses, clover hay may be mixed with timothy 

 hay or bright straw, while for horses at ordinary farm work it may form 

 the only roughage. The value of this hay for farm horses is shown by a 

 trial at the Illinois Station 45 by Obrecht with 6 teams of 1,375-lb. horses, 

 in which one horse in each team received clover hay and the other 

 timothy. After 196 days the rations were reversed and the trial con- 

 tinued for 20 weeks. The average results on the two rations are shown 

 in the following table: 



Clover vs. timothy hay for horses 



A 

 in 



Lbs. Hours 



Av. gain Daily 

 Average ration in weight work 



Clover-fed horses 

 Corn, 6 . 9 Ibs. Oats, 7 . 3 Ibs. 



Oil meal, . 46 Ib. Bran, . 61 Ib. 

 Clover hay, 15.6 Ibs ........................................ 15.5 7.3 



Timothy-fed horses 

 Corn, 6 . 8 Ibs. Oats, 7 . 2 Ibs. 



Oil meal, . 53 Ib. Bran, . 60 Ib. 

 Timothy hay, 15.6 Ibs ............................................ 3.0 7.3 



Altho most of the teamsters were prejudiced in favor of timothy hay 

 at the beginning, they later reported that they could observe no difference 

 in the spirit of the horses or their ability to endure hot weather. The 

 horses fed clover hay had glossier coats and their bowels were looser, but 

 not objectionably so for doing hard work. (347) 



Wilcox and Smith 46 state that second-crop clover hay may cause 

 slobbering. The reason is unknown, but some horsemen state that adding 

 bran or apples to the ration tends to prevent the trouble. 



506. Alfalfa hay. Because it is cheap and abundant, this legume hay 

 furnishes the sole roughage for horses upon tens of thousands of farms 



"111. Bui. 150. "Farmer's Cyclopedia of Live Stock, 1908, p. 323. 



