| OCR Text |
Show LIVBSTO.GKl HORSES ON ALFALFA. Edited by Prof. J. C. Hogenson. There seems to be an almost universal uni-versal opinion among horsemen, and especially -among those that arc raising rais-ing heavy horses, that no other gnass or combination of grasses equals or even -approaches the value of alfalfa as a pasture for horses; and from an economical point of view it certainly has no eqiral, as it will furnish so much mora feed per acre tiian any ether grass. It will not only pasture more horses per acre, but it will produce pro-duce horses of greater weight, larger bones and stronger muscles. A hor.se that has been reared in an alfalfa pasture and fed a light ration of alfalfa all winter makes one of the finest horses to be found in any market mar-ket to-day. To produce a horse of the highest type, with the cleanest bone, the best developed muscle, the best temperament and the greatest action and finish, nitrogenous feed must bo used, and' in no other feed can this most essential clement of nutrition nutri-tion be so cheaply and so abundantly supplied -as it can with alfalfa. The most successful producers of both heavy and light horses arc today to-day using alfalfa extensively in the development of their young horses. Its value for this purpose is not recognized rec-ognized iby the Kansas feeder alone, for -after seeing Kansas alfalfa-grown horses, Eastern breeders, where alfalfa al-falfa cannot be grown, arc sending their colts to Kansas alfalfa fields to be developed as they could not be at home. A majority of horse owners are inclined! in-clined! to waste hay in feeding horses, i. e., they fcd more than is necessary for the maintenance of the horscand more than he can economically take care of. This is true oft other kinds of hay as Well as of alfalfa. Either heavy or light horses that tire doing regular, steady work should not, if one wishes to feed economically, economical-ly, 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 5oo-pound horse 15 pounds per day. A 1500-pound horse that is doing steady work should have about 4 opunds of hay with his morning feed, the same amount at noon and iaVaaaaVaalBaaaaaaaa about double the amount at night. 1 Many horses will cat 30 or 40 pounds I of hay a day if they have free access 1 to it. If a horse is allowed to cat 1 such quantities, half of it is wasted, 1 and if he is eating that amount of al- 1 falfa hay, it is worse than wasted, for it docs the horse an injury. From two to two and a half pounds of digestible 1 protein is all that an ordinary horse I can utilize in a day, and in 100 pounds of alfalfa there arc 11 pounds of di-gcstiblo di-gcstiblo protein. This fare of alfalfa, if too heavily fed, is likely to cause kidney disorder, and may even be responsible re-sponsible for abortion -in pregnant mares that are fed too liberal a ration of it. If it docs not cause abortion, weak, unhealthy foals will be the result. re-sult. Have alfalfa fed1 judiciously to pregnant preg-nant marcs, heavy or light work horses, hor-ses, and it is beneficial and should be used wherever it ' is obtainable, but I it should never be used as the exclusive ex-clusive roughage. Some objection is made to it on account of causing looseness 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 roughage. If fed in this manner its use will be found very satisfactory. Kansas Agricultural College Bulletin No. 155. |
