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 
