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Photo of the Day – The Lost Sea Wagon with a Bale of Alfalfa Hay

Published January 21, 2024

I, Bernie Harberts, did not use generative AI to write or illustrate this article. Spell check and grammar check, yes. AI, no.

The wagon my mule Polly pulled across America. Here, outside Salt Flats, Texas. Note how much hay and water I had to carry to get through that grassless, waterless stretch of desert.

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2 Responses to Photo of the Day – The Lost Sea Wagon with a Bale of Alfalfa Hay

Christian on January 23, 2024 at 2:07 pm

Knowing how many days it took to cross this part of Texas I wonder at how _little_ hay you have on hand… I’d be worried about that day and night… Do mules forage when they’re picketed? I know they can digest way more forage than horses…

Reply
- Bernie Harberts on January 24, 2024 at 9:10 am
  
  It doesn’t look like much but that one bale of alfalfa hay, along with some foraging in the desert and supplemental grain, would be enough for almost a week on the road. You’re right. Mules are better foragers than horses. They are also happy eating tougher, more fibrous things than horses. Gotta love a donkey in the family tree!
  
  Reply