378 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



stables now use alfalfa hay almost exclusively, find- 

 ing that the animals gain in weight much more rap- 

 idly on an alfalfa diet than upon any other. Many 

 eastern horse [breeders who have not learned to 

 grow alfalfa are sending their colts to be pastured in 

 western alfalfa fields, there to develop. 



Over-feeding with Hay. E. J. Kinzer and G. 0. 

 Wheeler of the Kansas experiment station have pub- 

 lished the subjoined observations on feeding hay to 

 horses : 



A majority of horse owners are inclined to waste hay in feed- 

 ing horses, i. e., they feed more than is necessary for the main- 

 tenance of the horse and more than he can economically take care 

 of. This is true of other kinds of hay as well as of alfalfa. 



Either heavy or light horses that are doing regular steady 

 work should not, if one wishes to feed economically, have more 

 than one pound of hay per hundred pounds of live weight. 

 That is, a thousand-pound horse should receive 10 pounds of 

 hay per day and a 1,500-pound horse 15 pounds per day. A 1,500- 

 pound horse that is doing steady work should have about 4 Ibs. 

 of hay with his morning feed, the same amount at noon, and 

 about double the amount at night. Many horses will eat 30 or 40 

 pounds of hay a day if they have free access to it. If a horse is 

 allowed to eat such quantities half of it is wasted, and if he is 

 eating that amount of alfalfa hay it is worse than wasted, for it 

 does the horse an injury. From two to two and a half pounds of 

 digestible protein is all that an ordinary horse can utilize in a 

 day, and in 100 pounds of alfalfa there are 11 pounds of digestible 

 protein. This fare of alfalfa, if too heavily fed, is likely to cause 

 kidney disorder, and may even be responsible for abortion in 

 pregnant mares that are fed too liberal a ration of it. If it does 

 not cause abortion, weak unhealthy foals will be the result. 



Have alfalfa fed judiciously to pregnant mares, heavy or light 

 work horses, and it is beneficial and should be used wherever it 

 is obtainable, but it should never be used as the exclusive rough- 

 age. Some objection is made to it on account of causing loose- 

 ness of the bowels and making the horses soft and easy to sweat. 

 This is due to their having it in too large quantities. Alfalfa 

 hay should be fed as part of the grain ration rather than a 



