ALFALFA FOR HORSES. 377 



that the one attains that has had the right food from 

 the beginning, and enough of it. 



Alfalfa for Brood Mares. As to the effect of al- 

 falfa hay on the breeding of mares, opinions differ. 

 Alfalfa-fed mares are apt to be fleshy. It is very 

 possible that in some instances they may become 

 too fat to conceive well. It may be that during the 

 breeding season the mares should have less or pos- 

 sibly no alfalfa hay. We need further evidence 

 along this line. Certain it is that after the mare is 

 safely with foal a diet composed chiefly of alfalfa 

 is very good for her. I know of no injury that can 

 follow feeding her alfalfa and pasturing her on al- 

 falfa till her colt is foaled. Certainly all mares 

 are better to work up until that time, not hard but 

 regularly, and no pregnant animal should live a life 

 of idleness or stagnation, nor become too fleshy. 



Making Horse Hay. I think the first cutting 

 makes as good hay for horses as any. It ought to 

 be on the side of over-ripeness rather than to be 

 too green, though one can err in letting it become 

 too woody. It ought to be well cured and put into 

 the barn as dry as possible. Then there will be no 

 mold nor dust on it. Alfalfa leaves and stems are 

 free from the small hairs that abound on red clover 

 leaves and stems. These hairs make hay dusty and 

 irritate the bronchial passages of the horse. That 

 is one reason why one can feed alfalfa safely and can 

 not feed red clover so well. 



Fattening Sale Horses. Many owners of sale 



