Alfalfa

tallyho!

tallyho!

Following a strict mediterranean diet...
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Realised many people don't like this amazingly rich forage as a hard feed... just want to know why?
 
tallyho! said:
Realised many people don't like this amazingly rich forage as a hard feed... just want to know why?
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Honestly... please? I've heard allsorts up to now... makes horses get hives, makes 'em grumpy, loopy, footy you name it...

It's not a trick question. Genuinely interested in opinions of this stuff. It's SO divided!
 
have also heard this opinion. Changed the mare i ride from happy hoof (or similar) to alfa a because she wasn't muscling up with work. Owner was happy for me to change feed but was concerned the extra protein would send her loopy. It didn't at all - she was being worked hard enough that it wasn't loopiness, it just gave her the extra energy needed and stamina. And bingo - she started to muscle up :) - also changed her pasture mix for something slightly higher in protein and extra vits etc
 
I always feed it to the tbs, just not my good doers. I feed the oil alfa a and think it's great. Never had a problem with it. They look great and shine great but that's prob the linseed :)
 
ive always fed mine alfa org, about to change my youngster to alfa a oil as his lost a little condition, love the stuff and my tb mare never gets hyped on it :-)
 
It has high levels of phyto-oestrogens in it, so 'marish' mares can react badly to it. We have fed it successfully in the past but one of the current mares can't cope with it. A neighbour's mare actually managed to put some weight ON when alfalfa was taken out of her diet and she became much less stressy.
We were very glad to find it, years ago, when a mare was diagnosed as being intolerant of cereals. In those days we had to use alfalfa cobbs which were imported from Canada, can't remember who by, it's so long ago.
A friend gives her late cut gelding alfalfa to calm his hormones down - it works a treat!
 
One of mine lives almost exclusively on alfalfa in two forms - HiFi Lite (she has about 4kg a day) and Horsehage Alfalfa haylage.
Doesn't seem to do her any harm (not that she has much choice).
S :D
 
Eostrogenic in some mares, cause hives in some horses. Can send some horses loopy. Great feed for putting weight and condition on (if the horse can tolerate it)

It's feed as baled forage (like hay) in the US and cannot be fed as the sole feed as it can cause liver and kidney problem due to the high protien levels
 
tallyho! said:
Realised many people don't like this amazingly rich forage as a hard feed... just want to know why?
Click to expand...

I love it. PF gets it in addition to oats -they balance each other out nicely. LC gets alfalfa in addition to his grazing. There are, as with hay, varying degrees of quality with alfalfa. The stuff my two get is not all that rich. PF is v hot and she does very well on her diet.
Ps: ALL horses over here are fed alfalfa either with oats or corn. I've never known a horse to react badly to it. I am more inclined to point the finger at mixes, which quite often are slathered in molasses to make them more palatable.
 
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Kallibear said:
Great feed for putting weight and condition on (if the horse can tolerate it)
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^ This

Just started introducing it to my old boys diet over the weekend as he has started to loose condition. Am using the Alfa A Oil and keeping my fingers crossed that he will be able to tolerate it.
 
Tried feeding it to both of my mares, one does well so has remained on it, the other has had to go back onto cherry chaff which she was on previously as the alfalfa made her very sharp, spooky and over excitable. She remained on the same mix throughout so im sure it isn't that. Since swapping back to normal cherry chaff despite it being covered in molasses shes back to her old self and is lovely to ride again. As many have said, some can tolerate it, some can't. My other girl looks really well and it hasn't changed her at all.
 
Thanks so much guys, this is very interesting. Of course, I realise everyone is different I wasn't aware of some things like the phytoeostrogens.

Worth knowing this though, as I had a boy who was fine on it then all of a sudden, wasn't, then was ok again after a few months. Strange... been doing my research but value your thoughts :) Cheers!
 
I like it as a feed, never had a problem with it until this horse who appears to be totally allergic to it :rolleyes:

Came out in hives, got ridiculously itchy, scrubbed and bit holes in himself. No change behaviourally but physically it was a disaster. He lost a huge amount of condition due to the secondary effects of the allergy too. Struggling to put it back on now.

I'd still try it on other horses though - generally I think it can be excellent.

ETA - within 72hrs of removing it about 90% of the symptoms were relieved.
 
ArcticIce said:
I like it as a feed, never had a problem with it until this horse who appears to be totally allergic to it :rolleyes:

Came out in hives, got ridiculously itchy, scrubbed and bit holes in himself. No change behaviourally but physically it was a disaster. He lost a huge amount of condition due to the secondary effects of the allergy too. Struggling to put it back on now.

I'd still try it on other horses though - generally I think it can be excellent.

ETA - within 72hrs of removing it about 90% of the symptoms were relieved.
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My horse is the opposite of yours! He came out in hives, scratched himself red raw, like you say bit large holes in himself. He had allergy tests and found to be sensitive to maize and wheat (and other non feed things) so the vet told me to feed alfalfa. He is a extremely sensitive skinned pure bred arab who does not go loopy on it, does not itch on it and does not get mud fever (he used to prior to this feeding regime), which alfalfa is often blamed for.
 
I fed it last year, the Simple System stuff. My instructor recommended it... horse hated it and would only eat it if he was starving. Half the time I ended up having to add either apple juice or molasses to it to convince him to eat it, and he'd never finish a feed with it in. He also turned out to be allergic to it and came out in a horrible rash which has taken MONTHS to get rid of.

He's now back on Speedibeet with a handful of D&H High Fibre Nuts... his rash has gone and he now eats all of his feed :)

He loves Dengie Alfa-A but won't eat pure alfalfa... I tried to convince him for nearly 12 months!
 
I've fed it in many products over the years, to many horses, without any problems until recently. When my new chap came to me, he'd previously been fed a scoop of Alfa A in with his cubes so when I wanted to put a little condition on him going in to winter I switched him the Alfa A mollasses free (higher in oil, but also has alfalfa pellets in) and I increased it to a few scoops over two feeds - my thought being that high fibre and high oil was the best way to put condition on him. WRONG!!:o

Unfortunately it sent him completely bonkers! Poor boy :( I think it's the alfalfa pellets in some dengie prodcuts which really set him off, but to be sure I've now gone alfalfa free for him. He came out in slight hives, wouldn't stand to be groomed, was aggressive over his feed, but more to the point became explosive to ride - which is not the real sweet little chap he really is, and who thankfully has returned since cutting it out. I now use an alfalfa free chap, speedibeet and miconised linseed for condition which is working well.

The two mares at mine both stil have a degree of alfalfa in the chaffs they eat (dengie hi fi mol free and dengie good doer) so I'm not completely anti the stuff, but I won't be giving it to my boy again.
 
I think a scoop of it is ok with each feed, it is a good source of protein. However I don't think its good to feed large bucketfuls of it as IMO it's too high in protein to be fed as a partial hay replacer or full hay replacer.
My horse got the runs on it, was very itchy and a little overexhuberent when I was feeding a lot of Alfa A oil!
Mine has hifi now which still has alfa in it. He's fine on it, hes fine on a scoop of alfa a also but I would not go back to feeding 5 scoops of alfa a oil per day ever again!
 
I personally love it, and my horse polishes his bowls lol :)

My TB who up till a few days ago has been wintering out, is on Alfa-A Oil, sugarbeet and diamond Omega for his feed. He Hasnt lost as much condition this year as he did the previous two (he box walks and weaves too so always loses some with his nervy antics), lovely glossy coat (the linseed in the diamond omega helps too though!), and although it gives him energy, it doesnt turn him into a total nutter! xD
 
I feed it to all of mine.Ii don't know why, and honestly, don't really care why others don't like to feed it. Their choice.
Can't answer your question, just thought I'd post:p
 
moana said:
I feed it to all of mine.Ii don't know why, and honestly, don't really care why others don't like to feed it. Their choice.
Can't answer your question, just thought I'd post:p
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Well thanks Moana - appreciate your input anyway :)

If my baby does break out in hives, at least I can consider this particular plant a potential culprit :D
 
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