In the spring of the year in India it is common to give horses green wheat, oats, or barley. This is cut in the straw from the time it is about a foot high until the grain begins to ripen, a period that lasts about a month or six weeks in the Punjab—from the middle of February till the end of March. This green food is called by the natives “khawid,” or “khasil.” It has an excellent effect on the system, and is what is used by the native dealers to get their horses into condition for sale. Too large a quantity should not be given at first, as it is likely to cause diarrhœa; about 4 lbs. daily being sufficient at first, but it may be increased up to double this amount if it agrees with the animal. Care should be taken that the green food is only given when young and the straw tender, for when it gets ripe, and the straw woody and hard, it is very indigestible, and a common cause of intestinal obstruction and colic. In some parts green barley is given in the same manner, and when it is young it is as good as wheat or oats; but when it begins to ripen it should be stopped, as the awns or beards begin to get hard, and not only are they likely to choke the horse, but to cause dangerous intestinal obstruction. Oats can be given much longer than barley or wheat; in fact, as I have said, ripe oats are cut in the straw, and used as hay in many parts of the world. The green crop must be purchased standing from a cultivator, and this is best arranged through your head “syce.” It is sold by measurement, a patch in the field being marked out; or else the grass-cutters go and cut as much as is required daily, the whole amount used being afterwards measured up and paid for at the fixed bazaar rate, or, as it is termed, the “nirrick.”
Green Gram.
Natives are very fond of giving horses green gram, but it is a most dangerous custom. It is most indigestible, the stalk when green being full of a strong tough fibre. The sap and leaves have a peculiar irritating or almost corrosive property, and in the spring of the year many fatal cases of intestinal disease are caused by it.
Carrots (gajar).
Carrots are plentiful all over Northern India. They come on in the spring, and are an excellent green food. They can be bought very cheaply, and if kept in a cool, dry place, can be stored for a considerable time; but they require to be turned almost daily, or they will get rotten. When used they should either be washed to remove the earth, or, as in the East this is quite dry, knocked with a stick to remove it. They should be given whole, or else cut into long slices, not across into lumps. This latter practice is dangerous, as horses are thus inclined to bolt them whole, and the short round lump is likely to stick in the throat and cause choking.
Lucerne.
Lucerne grows well all over Northern India, and although not cultivated by the natives for their own use, they know perfectly well what it is, and call it by the English name. In most of the towns where there are any Europeans collected together, it is usual to grow it in the Government or station garden, from where it can be purchased retail. Some native corps, who remain some time in the one place, also grow it for the benefit of the regiment, and sometimes it is possible to obtain some from them; but as a rule they only have enough for their own use. Round the large military cantonments in some places, the neighbouring farmers, finding that there is a demand for it, have taken to growing it for sale, and it can be bought in the bazaar; but as the supply is not certain, it is better to enter into a contract with one of the growers to supply the quantity by weight daily required. In making this bargain it is best to use the agency of the head “syce,” as if it falls short, or is not forthcoming, he can be made responsible; and natives being erratic creatures, it is quite possible that some morning you may be told that there is no more, or that the grower has sold his crop to some one else, perhaps at even a smaller price than you are giving. Whenever there is a well in the compound, and I have been long enough in one place, I have always grown as much as I could for myself. It is easily done, and there is no more useful crop in connection with an Indian stable. In the dry, hot weather the difference in the condition of horses that are getting a fairly liberal supply of green food, and those that are only getting the burned-up grass that is then procurable, is most marked. The only difficulty about growing lucerne is that at first a large supply of water is necessary until the roots strike. If you have a garden, then, of course, you have to keep a pair of bullocks to raise water from the well for irrigation purposes; but if you do not run to this luxury, then a pair of bullocks can be hired for two or three days in the week. The landlord of the house has to keep the well and the Persian wheel, by which the water is raised, in order, and find the first pair of ropes for it. The tenant has to find the earthen pots, or “chatties,” that are fastened on to it, by which the water is raised up. These “chatties” are cheap things enough, but they are easily broken. I always found that the best plan was to provide the first lot myself, and then give a small sum monthly to the gardener to keep them going; and it saved money in the end, as I found that not nearly so many were smashed under this system as when I paid for what were required. If a gardener is regularly employed, it is, of course, part of his business to look after the lucerne bed; but for an ordinary stable of, say, four or five animals, an acre of lucerne will be ample, and a man exclusively for this is not necessary. A gardener can be got for about Rs. 10 a month, but a man can be got to come two or three times a week and look after it for half this. I found, however, that if I gave it to one of the syces, that the women and children of his family would attend to it, as, when once started, it only requires weeding, and that the work was better done than by a professional gardener, unless one was regularly employed. The best seed is the acclimatized English, or the Cabul brought down from Afghanistan. The English seed can be obtained from any seedsman, or the Government Horticultural Gardens at Lahore or Saharunpore, at about a rupee a pound, and this is enough to sow about an acre with, which should be done at the end of the cold weather. If only a small quantity is grown, it is best to sow it on ridges, as it then, no doubt, can be kept free from weeds, and the cost of weeding, on an acre or two, is but trifling; but it is an error to suppose that lucerne cannot be sown broadcast. At the cattle farm at Hissar, in the Punjab, several hundred acres were grown in this way, as the cost of making ridges on such a large quantity of land would have been prohibitive. Of course, this lucerne was not so clean as if it had been grown on ridges, but the cattle picked it out from the weeds when it was put before them. Fresh seed will have to be sown about every three years, and the crop may be cut about five or six times during the season. About 4 lbs. is enough for a horse, but it is best to begin with half this quantity and gradually increase it, as if too large an amount is given at once it is likely to cause colic.
Guinea Grass.
Some years ago this was a very favourite grass forage to grow for horses, but lately lucerne has supplanted it, and, I think, rightly. The advantage of guinea grass is that it lasts through the hottest months of the year, which lucerne does not, but it requires a great deal of water. It grows in separate tufts, and they should be planted some distance apart, or otherwise they will crowd each other out.
Sugar Cane (gunna).