326 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



preserved for feed. It should be re- 

 membered that straws of legumes have 

 a higher feeding value than those of 

 cereals. 



In many parts of the country, and 

 particularly in the western states, the 

 cereals are cut when the grain is in 

 the dough stage, and preserved as hay. 

 Thus, we have oat, wheat, barley and 

 rye hay. The use of barley hay is most 

 extensive in California, while oat hav 

 is a much liked feed and is widely used 

 in the Rocky mountain region. It has 

 been found that occasionally two crop 1 

 of oat hay may be obtained if the first 

 crop is not cut too close to the ground 

 and before the grain has passed the 

 dough stage. Either oat hay or barley 

 hay is a very satisfactory feed for 

 horses in winter, or at any time of the 

 year. Some precaution is necessary in 

 the use of cereal hays, in avoiding too 

 great contamination with smuts. If 

 grain becomes badly infested with smut, 

 and is allowed to ripen, and is then 

 threshed, the smut spores are largely 

 blown away, so that the cleaned grain 

 is not badly affected. "Where, however, 

 these cereals are cut before becoming 

 ripe, the smut, if present, is preserved 

 with the hay, and, therefore, renders the 

 material a questionable feeding stuff. 



Lavalard found that pea straw and 

 pea pods, when cut fine, were about 

 equal to timothy hay in feeding value, 

 and more easily digested. In the west- 

 ern states, where cereals are raised in 

 large areas, many horses stand prac- 

 tically idle during the winter and straw 

 is allowed to remain in the stack, or is 

 burned in order to get it out of the 

 way. In such cases the straw can bet- 

 ter be utilized as a part of the main- 

 tenance ration for horses. 



Cowpea hay may be fed to work 

 horses or mules for months at a time 

 without any harm. According to Scule, 

 cowpea hay puts a fine coat on horses 

 and mules, which cannot be obtained 

 with any other feed. Cowpea hay may 

 be fed in rations of 10 pounds a day, 

 mixed with corn stover, sorghum, fod- 

 der or other coarse materials. 



Pasture without grain is not suffi- 

 cient for horses which are accustomed 

 to heavy grain feeds. Such horses may 

 also be worried by the flies in the pas- 

 ture, the absence of shelter and no 

 grooming. The value of pasture de- 

 pends directly upon the quality of the 

 grass. Cultivated pastures, with al- 

 falfa, clover and tame grasses, furnish 



a complete maintenance ration for horses 

 at rest, similarly with the famous blue 

 grass pastures, and also the bunch grass 

 and grama grass of the western ranges. 

 On the range, as is well known, horses 

 maintain themselves in a practically 

 wild condition, eating nothing but na- 

 tive grasses and keeping in good condi- 

 tion. Pasture is often resorted to for 

 horses, not alone on account of the 

 slightly laxative effect of green material, 

 but also to give the feet a chance to re- 

 cover from hard usage on pavements and 

 cobble stones. 



Sorghum hay 1S equal to corn fod- 

 der in a dry condition, and somewhat 

 superior in a green state. Sorghum hay, 

 however, loses much in careless curing. 

 It may Le mixed with alfalfa hay and 

 is not dangerous if fed with other feeds. 

 Occasionally, as is well known, green 

 sorghum develops prussic acid and may 

 then cause death very promptly. The 

 danger from prussic acid poisoning is 

 much less, or almost entirely absent, in 

 the case of sorghum hay. 



Sweet clover has also been found to 

 be a valuable feed for horses. They 

 must first be accustomed to it, since it 

 has a peculiar odor and flavor which 

 most horses do not relish at first. 

 Sweet clover should be cut early, be- 

 fore it is in full bloom and should be 

 cured and handled like alfalfa. 



Timothy hay i s l eS s completely di- 

 gested by horses than by cattle and 

 sheep. It is, however, eaten with great 

 relish, and is preferred by nearly all 

 horse raisers. Chemical analysis shows 

 that timothy hay is not especially rich 

 in digestible nutriment. The reasons 

 for its continued preference by horse- 

 men are various. It differs decidedly 

 from other hays in appearance and no 

 doubt need be felt, therefore, regard- 

 ing the character of the hay in buying 

 it. Then, too, it is less likely to be 

 dusty than clover hay and for this 

 reason it is preferred, especially in the 

 case of roadsters. In Utah, it was 

 found that timothy hay when cut into 

 short lengths gave the horses sore 

 mouths, and was, therefore, somewhat 

 objectionable. 



Roots and fruits_On account of the 

 relatively small size of the horse's 

 stomach, it is not desirable to feed 

 either roots or fruits in large quantities. 

 The chief object of feeding roots and 

 fruits, is to add palatability to the 

 ration, assist in the digestion of the. 



