Alfalfa

The fizziness caused by alfalfa could be due to feeding it suddenly without introducing it to the diet very slowly.

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Mine was getting less than 100 grams a day of it in a feed mix. It sends him doolally. I should have kept the hat he reared up deliberately and punched a hole in as a souvenir.

He is also sensitive to similar amounts of linseed, and a bit less so to cereals. He's now on a grass product only diet.

It's definitely an alfalfa sensitivity issue, not a gut biome issue.

I get the impression it's possibly more common on appaloosas than in other breeds.

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That’s interesting ycbm....with yours being sensitive to linseed too, and grains in general could indicate a lectin intolerance.

Enjoy a cuppa while reading this:

https://theequinepractice.com/lectins/

Lectins are in all plant foods, they’re part of the plants ‘Defence system’ to avoid being eaten.
Seeds and grains contains load more lectins than other foods...I guess due to the seed being needed to want to germinate instead of being eaten.
Lectins can cause a serious immune response...downstream symptoms come from this.

I don’t know about the lectin levels in alfalfa compared to other grasses, but as alfalfa is in the legume family, it’s probably higher.
 
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