244 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



IV. Legume Hay 



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

 can be satisfactorily fed to horses. The widespread prejudice against 

 legume hay for horse feeding is largely due to these rich roughages 

 having been fed to 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 should be fed to replace a given amount of 

 timothy. Horses are especially fond of good legume hay and must 

 not be allowed to eat all they desire. It is important that legume hay 

 for horses be bright and well-cured, for that which is loaded with dust 

 and otherwise injured in quality may cause heaves. The following 

 statements regarding clover and alfalfa hay will apply in general to 

 hay from other legumes, such as cowpeas and lespedeza. 



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

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

 feeding 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 * with 6 teams of 

 1,400-lb. horses, one in each team getting clover hay and the other 

 timothy, with the results shown in the table. 



Clover vs. timothy hay for horses 



Gain in Daily 



Average ration weight work 



Lbs. Hours 

 Clover-fed horses 



Corn, C.9 lbs. Oats, 7.3 lbs. 



Oil meal, 0.46 lb. Bran, 0.61 lb. 



Clover hay, 15.6 lbs 15.5 7.3 



Timothy-fed horses 

 Corn, 0.8 lbs. Oats, 7.2 lbs. 



Oil meal, 0.53 lb. Bran, 0.60 lb. 



Timothy hay, 15.6 lbs 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. 



Alfalfa hay. — On thousands of farms and ranches thruout the 

 West, alfalfa hay is the only roughage fed horses. Its use is also 

 rapidly increasing in other sections of the country with the spread 

 of alfalfa growing. Alfalfa hay for horses should be free from dust 



* Obrecht, 111. Bui. 150. 



