# why would you not feed alfalfa?



## Inchy (8 December 2011)

I know why in some schools of thought it is a good feed stuff for horses..

But I've noticed on here (especially barefoot followers) that people don't like to feed it..

What are you reasons for feeding or not for feeding alfalfa based products?

I'm just curious

Please feel free to be as scientific as you like


----------



## paddy555 (8 December 2011)

Inchy said:



			Please feel free to be as scientific as you like 

Click to expand...

because it makes my barefoot horse footy.


----------



## Ladyinred (8 December 2011)

paddy555 said:



			because it makes my barefoot horse footy.

Click to expand...

This ^ And also because it seems to cause skin irritation in some horses, two of ours break out in lumps if they have it.


----------



## Black_Horse_White (8 December 2011)

I started feeding it to my section d x when we had no grass to give him a little extra feed. He came down with laminitis about 3 weeks after giving it to him. Not sure if it was just coincidence, but I'd owned him for 4 years with no previous problems.


----------



## Escada2004 (8 December 2011)

Ive always fed it however my youngster i bought a few months ago cant eat it as she comes out in hives, ive put it down to the alfalfa as i changed her feed and they have practically gone.


----------



## Alphamare (8 December 2011)

It makes my horse itchy


----------



## catkin (8 December 2011)

Because mine gets completely wired on it.

She's Sec D and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that it doesn't always suit native mares in particular.


----------



## Winklepoker (8 December 2011)

Mine is on 2 heaped scoops a day and doing really well - Not unmanageable in the slightest, has energy for a scoop of Spillers slow release cubes and Alfa for bulk.  - I add veg oil and balancer too.


----------



## Kola Bear (8 December 2011)

Mines on dengie alfa a molasses free and shes absoloutly fine! x


----------



## Brownmare (8 December 2011)

I really wish I could feed it because we grow it for our cattle but it is way too high in calcium to feed alongside our home grown haylage. Same reason I don't feed sugar beet...


----------



## Tr0uble (8 December 2011)

I've always fed it, but my new boy gets itchy on it so I can't feed it to him, so took them both off it because I like to keep as few feed bins as possible!

Both mime are barefoot and never noticed any footiness on it, but I have heard that before.


----------



## Oberon (8 December 2011)

Same as Brownmare. 
I used alfalfa pellets as the base of my old boy's 'dodgy teeth diet' last year. I also scratched my head at why his hooves were less concave than they were. 
Then I had a forage analysis done and followed the recommendations (which didnt Inc alfalfa) and lo - his hooves went back to their former glory!
Alfalfa has it's place, but I get annoyed that it's the only choice out there. You actively have to try and avoid it as it's in EVERYTHING


----------



## Tr0uble (8 December 2011)

Oberon said:



			Same as Brownmare. 
I used alfalfa pellets as the base of my old boy's 'dodgy teeth diet' last year. I also scratched my head at why his hooves were less concave than they were. 
Then I had a forage analysis done and followed the recommendations (which didnt Inc alfalfa) and lo - his hooves went back to their former glory!
Alfalfa has it's place, but I get annoyed that it's the only choice out there. You actively have to try and avoid it as it's in EVERYTHING

Click to expand...

Have you tried fast fibre? There is no alfalfa in that...I have mine on it and ther other one (the one that doesn't get itchy from alfalfa) has all sorts of metabolic issues that FF seems to be a lot of good for.


----------



## Oberon (8 December 2011)

Yes it's what I use now. Ta


----------



## PooJay (8 December 2011)

Oberon said:



			Yes it's what I use now. Ta

Click to expand...

I feed this and hi fi lite (which has small amounts of alfa in it i know but it just seems wrong to me to feed just mush for dinner for some reason) 

Alfa has high levels of calcium in it - if you match the levels of calcium fed through this with magnesium, does it cancel it out or do you then cause other deficiencies? 

 my girl has fabulous feet (this time i was a lucky barefoot transitioner) so i'm not looking to change her diet atm but i am curious


----------



## Tr0uble (8 December 2011)

I stick a handful of ready grass in it to bind it a bit!


----------



## PooJay (8 December 2011)

Tr0uble said:



			I stick a handful of ready grass in it to bind it a bit!
		
Click to expand...

pretty much i do with the hi fi tbh  It'll take me all winter to use the bag up i think!


----------



## Firewell (8 December 2011)

I think Alfa chaff is fine in sensible quanities. I feed HiFi which has it in and my horse does fine. My mum feeds a double handful of Alfa a with her feed and so does my Sister and horses look well.

However I don't like feeding a lot of it. I think it's too high in protein.
I used to feed it as the main feed for my horse (4-5 Stubbs scoop per day) and he had loose droppings, he was really itchy and scurfy, too fresh and trying to 
chew wood.
The moment I cut it down to just one scoop a day he was so much happier and more comfortable. That's why I feed the HiFi now. Little bit = good 
Too much = bad
IMO anyway .


----------



## NOISYGIRL (8 December 2011)

After my boy had lami mildly few years back he was on happy hoof and hi fibre cubes and speedy beet.

He went off the happy hoof so I started giving him Alfa A lite, he liked it but I was worried that it was supposed to be for horses in harder work than he was on, so changed him back to happy hoof, both changes were gradual.

I had vet for annual vacs and she noticed his gums were a bit pale, as its not something I noticed I dont' know what colour they were before, so my normal vet told me to feed him a bucket full of alfalfa, so I said well he used to be on Alfa A lite is that ok and he said yes, so he's been having it every night since June, his hooves have never been better and his skin and coat are lovely, I do add a bit of oil around the times when his coat changes.  I also feed alfalfa pellets which dengie told me had no mollasses which was even better, so he has them for breakfast with speedy beet.  Haven't had any probs.  He's 33 in Jan and you wouldn't think it if you saw him, I have posted pics before, my vet said that due to his age he wouldnt' be doing as much as a youngster anyway whos gums would be pink, so just to monitor it, but he seems fine thank god


----------



## lachlanandmarcus (8 December 2011)

I feed some HifiLite which has a bit of it in to my pony, mainly cos she has quite a lot of her forage as oat straw to try to lose weight as she is overweight, and that is low in protein and calcium which the alfalfa is good for redressing. 

But I wouldnt feed pure alfa to anything.


----------



## Piglet (8 December 2011)

I don't feed my horse Alfafa chaff or Hi Fi as he just doesn't like it and won't touch his food, he gets grass nuts which I soak for the day and he LOVES it, he seems to be doing well on it and is much more chilled.


----------



## Goldenstar (8 December 2011)

I use Alfa A and readigrass in order to get some high quality protein into my horses diets but they are sport horse types and working six days a week. I tend to think of it a bit like oats in the old days if the horse is not working hard enough to have been getting oats in the dim past when I started out  then I would be not be feeding much Alfa A or Readigrass .probally I would just use hi fi lite to bind their balancer to make it all look a bit more like a meal.


----------



## dreamcometrue (8 December 2011)

It made my poor horse so itchy he was beside himself with it.  I didn't even link it to the alfalfa until someone told me it had made their horse itchy.  As soon as i stopped it he was fine.


----------



## Fransurrey (8 December 2011)

My native also went footy on Alfa A. HiFi is ok during the winter and I'm ok feeding Hi-Fi Lite, but the pure stuff is a complete no-no. For the main feed I use Veteran Vitality or Fast Fibre. Both alfalfa free.


----------



## Enfys (8 December 2011)

Alfa is *very* high in protein, and if fed to horses it should make up only a % of their forage intake, especially if there is no grazing available.  

Sometimes it will affect a horse, sometimes not. Amongst others, itchiness, lumps, bald patches, thick urine and general hotting up are all indications that there is too much alfa and the dietary management needs reviewing.

http://voices.yahoo.com/downside-feeding-alfalfa-hay-horses-481448.html

http://www.alfalfahayfarm.com/Alfalfa_Horse_Feeding_Facts.html

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs3243


----------



## SpottedCat (8 December 2011)

I like my horse's feed to contain some alfalfa because it is alkaline so good for horses which have had stomach ulcers. I won't touch alfa-a, because it has made so many horses I know, including him, loopy. People think you're mad when you suggest the problem is the alfa-a!


----------



## Ladyinred (8 December 2011)

SpottedCat said:



			I like my horse's feed to contain some alfalfa because it is alkaline so good for horses which have had stomach ulcers. I won't touch alfa-a, because it has made so many horses I know, including him, loopy. People think you're mad when you suggest the problem is the alfa-a![/QUOTE]

Yep. And I admit I was one of those with itchy horse and no idea why. A friend told me and I thought she was barking  She wasn't, she was right.
		
Click to expand...


----------



## Toast (8 December 2011)

Makes 3 of mine insane in the membrane! x


----------



## MotherOfChickens (8 December 2011)

I am off of the 80s  noone fed alfalfa then.  

so, lusitano goes bonkers on it (found that out when YO changed feeds without my knowledge) and my exmoors don't need anything like as 'good'.


----------



## blackcob (8 December 2011)

Mine went incredibly itchy on it - hives, rashes, white/grey dandruff everywhere.


----------



## GinaGeo (8 December 2011)

My horse also went itchy on it. 

He now gets graze on to bind his food instead.


----------



## coen (8 December 2011)

Mine does really well on it but my previous horse would go totally loony on it.


----------



## moana (8 December 2011)

I feed it to six of my unshod herd and don't have any problems - so far anyhow.


----------



## PingPongPony (8 December 2011)

because she has good grazing, hay and other feed so she doesn't need it, she's doing great on just normal apple chaff, condition cubes and sugar beet, grass and hay so no point is spending more money


----------



## gunnergundog (8 December 2011)

Never had a problem with it....from the mid/late 80s onwards.  But then, all my horses are worked HARD (hunters/eventers). Just wondering, and not being judgemental, but is that the difference??


----------



## FairyLights (8 December 2011)

I once owned an arab mare who used to get terrible mud fever when alfalfa was in her feed.


----------



## ABC (8 December 2011)

Hmm, I'm currently feeding my lad high fibre cubes and alfa a, and I usually feed baileys balancer too but he's not working as much so I've cut it out. 

He sometimes gets a few lumps and I'm wondering if that's why. What are the alternatives?


----------



## Enfys (9 December 2011)

gunnergundog said:



			Never had a problem with it....from the mid/late 80s onwards.  But then, all my horses are worked HARD (hunters/eventers). Just wondering, and not being judgemental, but is that the difference?? 

Click to expand...

Yep.  

My neighbours (racing yard) feed horses in training a high % of alfa and they never have any problems.


----------



## Noodlebug (9 December 2011)

TinselPoker said:



			Mine is on 2 heaped scoops a day and doing really well - Not unmanageable in the slightest, has energy for a scoop of Spillers slow release cubes and Alfa for bulk.  - I add veg oil and balancer too.
		
Click to expand...

That what my horse has without the oil and balancer. He has Dengie performance vits.


----------



## Spotsrock (9 December 2011)

Mine's great n Alfa A but I gave her Hi fi with apple yesterday which has alfa in it and she was very itchy with massive hamster cheeks within an hour. No other changes to food or environment. Have emailed Dengie for info.


----------



## aquamarine (9 December 2011)

Mine tied up after having it. Too much calcium or something.


----------



## scrunchie (9 December 2011)

OMG.

It made my big girl itchy too but I never knew the cause. We'd just moved her to a new field and I was blaming all sorts of things from flies to an allergy to something in the field. We moved her off after 6 weeks because she was so itchy (she was destroying all the trees in the field by scratching on them) and shortly after that we stopped giving her alfalfa and her skin settled down. We assumed it was because we had moved her. 

Haven't fed it to her since because she's borderline fat.


----------



## glamourpuss (9 December 2011)

My young lad is on alfa-a oil (2 scoops a day) + high fibre cubes (2 scoops a day) + Equi jewel + pink powder as I'd prefer more condition on him & he is worked moderately hard....he seems fine on it.
My older lad is on Mollichaff show shine instead of the alfa-a oil as any alfa makes him horrible  
I hate feeding the Mollichaff it sets my teeth on edge to see the mollased feed in his bucket but he loves it & it doesn't contain alfalfa so I can actually get on him


----------



## Perissa (9 December 2011)

A lot of people seem to be saying that it makes their horses itchy.....

I have an extremely sensitive skinned pure bred arab.  He has been allergy tested, which was positive to wheat, maize, dogs, horse chestnut trees and dust mites. He was rubbing himself raw and totally misterable.  It came on quite suddenly and totally out of the blue.

After 4K, deep cleaning his stable, changing bedding, new rugs (which I had to make sure had been stored in a plastic bag) and changing his diet onto molasses free, all additive free and all cereals free he is thriving.

He is fed Dengie Alfalfa Pellets, Graze On or Readigrass and Speedibeet.  He looks fantastic and isn't at all itchy.  He's had mud fever in the past but not since being on this diet.

So don't rule out alfalfa on the basis it will make your horse itchy because if any horse was to become itchy on it it would be mine and he isn't 

By the way beware feeding Fast Fibre to itchy horses as it has garlic in it, which shouldn't be fed to itchy horses as it stimulates the immune system which is already over stimulated in the first place causing your horse to itch!  A lot of feeds sneak garlic in so always read the lables!!


----------



## georgiaziggy (9 December 2011)

Mine have been on it a few months and they're doing really well off it! Dengie Alfa A lite. The one in hardwork is looking fab and the best shes ever looked, she went off it last winter and her pink powder and onto allen and page power & performance but became very dull so moved her back onto alfa a lite a hanfull of tiger oats and pink powder and shes doing fab, feet are much much better too! And my 5 year old is looking the fattest and shiniest shes ever looked, though she has allen and page calm and condition which I also swear by!


----------



## Inchy (9 December 2011)

Thanks for all replies  interesting how to find out different reactions to different types of feeds!

Mine are all on a combination of dengie feed balancer, graze on, alfalfa pellets and  corn oil

Not had any problems with itchyness or footiness, or being head cases on it! But often when I mention I feed alfalfa people look at me like I've admitted to feeding the horse raw meat!


----------



## Mike007 (9 December 2011)

Have a read of this,but remember that they feed more Alfalfa in the diet. However I cant fault the reasoning in this article. http://www.grandadventuresranch.com/articles/alfalfa.html


----------



## mystiandsunny (9 December 2011)

Footiness and metabolic issues.


----------



## YorksG (9 December 2011)

Interestingly the Current Appy goes loony tunes if she is fed alfalfa, but many years ago we had a TBxWelsh D with a whole host of intolerances, and about the only none grass feed she could tolerate was unmolassed alfalfa cobs. I would not feed it to every horse, but would feed to those who could cope. I believe it is a phyto-oestrogen, which may explain some of its effects on some horses.


----------

