432 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



these results do not give a direct comparison in the value of alfalfa and 

 prairie hay, one is yet justified in concluding that in a properly balanced 

 ration one pound of alfalfa hay is probably worth two pounds of 

 prairie or timothy hay. 



The method practiced by a majority of those who have fed alfalfa to 

 work horses in the past, and even by those who feed it at present, has 

 been to fill the manger morning, noon and night, thus allowing the horse 

 to gorge himself. Prairie hay has been fed in this way without any 

 serious results. Alfalfa hay being very palatable, horses eat very large 

 amounts, and the results have been very unsatisfactory. This has led to 

 a verdict that alfalfa hay is absolutely unfit to feed a work horse. Such 

 has been the experience of hundreds of horsemen, but the trouble has been 

 with the method of feeding, not with the alfalfa hay. 



If alfalfa hay is fed properly it is the most valuable horse feed avail- 

 able for the average Kansas farmer, but it should be remembered that 

 the hay must not be cut until quite mature; it must be free from dust, 

 mold or smut, and it must be fed in limited quantities. As to the amount 

 to be fed, experience seems to indicate that about one pound per day per 

 hundred pounds live weight is the maximum amount for work horses. 



Because of its high proportion of digestible protein, alfalfa balances 

 very well with corn, and these two feeds make the most economical ration 

 the Kansas farmer who grows alfalfa can feed, and probably as satis- 

 factory as any, for the farme.r can control the time of cutting and the 

 manner of curing and caring for the hay. But wherever possible, horses 

 fed alfalfa hay should also have access to prairie, cane or kafir hay or 

 corn fodder to add bulk to the ration and satisfy the craving that always 

 results when very rich feeds are fed for long periods of time. The man 

 who buys alfalfa hay on the market usually chooses the hay showing the 

 brightest green color, which is often the poorest for work horses, because 

 it has been cut too green and will be very "washy." If, however, he will 

 purchase average, well-cured, clean alfalfa hay he will be able to reduce 

 the cost of feed very materially by substituting alfalfa hay for a part of 

 the prairie or timothy hay. He may substitute one pound of alfalfa hay 

 for one and one-half to two pounds of prairie or timothy hay until from 

 one-third to one-half or more of the prairie or timothy hay has been re- 

 placed by alfalfa hay, the amount used depending upon the quality of the 

 alfalfa substituted for the other hays. 



Care should be exercised in feeding alfalfa hay to old horses with 

 poor teeth, as they can not properly masticate the hay, and impaction is 

 liable to result. In fact, this is a common cause of impaction in old 

 horses in alfalfa-feeding districts. 



ALFALFA MEAL FOR HORSES AND MULES. 



The feeding value of alfalfa meal is not well understood. As the value 

 of bran as a horse feed has long been recognized, a comparison of alfalfa 

 meal with bran will probably give as practical an idea as can be given of 

 the feeding value of the latter. One pound of alfalfa meal is almost equal 

 in feeding value to one pound of bran. There are, however, some objec- 

 tions to its use as a horse feed. It is a disagreeable feed to handle, be- 

 cause, as it is finely pulverized and very light, a large part of it rises in 



