Barefoot horse who doesnt like slop - is alfa a devil food??

Happy Hunter

Happy Hunter

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Sorry for ANOoooother diet post - I tried searching the forum for answers already - nothing useful came up!
I tried speaking to a few feed reps online - but of course they just recommended their own products, and i'm not always sure they really understand barefoot requirements - (one even suggested feeding a yummy molasses lick instead of her supplements!)

My horse doesn't like sloppy foods, that's fast fibre and beet out the window then!

Currently feeding:
Micronised Linseed
Salt
Pro Balance
HiFi Mollasses free.

Her feet are great, im struggling to keep up with the quality growth!
Looking for more energy really - the winter season means more hard work for us.

Currently on 45min schooling/jumping sessions 3x during week - Sat and Sunday usually around 10 miles of hacking - some fast, some with a hangover and a bit slower ;)

Is Alfa A really the devils food?? Has anyone had success with Alfa A Mollasses free???
Dare I experiment with Oats and unleash a potential dragon inside my irish beastie :P

Thanks for reading and your comments - I really love being able to access so many brilliant minds and such a wealth of experience!
 
I just added enough chaff to make feed the correct consistency. Check out Spillers fibre nuts for ingredients.
Oats are fine, but you have to feed something with them eg damp chaff.
You are short of slow release energy [provided by beet], linseed can go up to 200gms for most horses in work in winter.
You have to make sure enough water in any s/beet, but it does not need to be sloppy.
Even 15 mins on tarmac very day will help the feet trimming.
 
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I have no problems feeding oats, but one of mine can't eat Alfalfa (well he eats it, but it makes his skin bad). You can get chaff without alfalfa and without molasses, eg timothy chaff or straw chaff (Honeychop does one).
 
If you are feeding HiFi Molasses Free, then you are feeding alfalfa anyway, the difference is in HiFi it is mixed with straw to lower the calorie intake per kg - Alfa A Molasses Free is the same ingredients as HiFi Molasses Free, minus the straw. When you say you need more energy, do you mean the horse needs more 'spark' or do you mean the workload will be increasing significantly ie hunting?
 
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If you're just looking for something to add to what you're already feeding then could try coolstance COPRA as that's supposed to be a safe way to feed more calories (in that it's low sugar) or could try alfalfa pellets instead of the alpha a chop as they allegedly have less mould inhibitors in them. Could also try some oats as they're not always the devil food they're made out to be
 
I'm not sure what Alfa A is, but my BF horses get lucern chaff, whole oats, hemp seed cake (or linseed if I can' get it), salt and a pretty ordinary vit/min mix. Grass all year around (limited if needed) and hay in the winter when grass is short.

My start point with oats is 250 gr (about half a pound) and I go from there depending on work, type and season.
 
My barefoot horse doesn't like slop either and needs a fairly high energy feed. She has speedibeet but I seive the excess water off and feed it quite dry so it looks like cous cous! She also has oats and even when she gets a lot they don't fizz her up. Oh and I recently swapped from a straw chaff to alfa a mollasses free and haven't noticed any negative effects.
 
On theory is that it's not the alfalfa itself that is the issue but the preservatives, mould inhibitors and other things that are added to alfalfa chaffs.

I used to feed alfalfa pellets when my calcium levels weren't so high with no problem.
 
I'm feeding oats to my opinionated youngster and it's not revved him up. You don't have to make fast fibre into a slop - you can add enough water to swell it up but still retain some bite and substance.
 
Thanks all - I think I'll plump with the alfa A pellets for now then :)
Oh and TGM it's a bit of both :) - When eventually the local pack comes my way again (We are always the last part of the country to get a turn it seems!)
 
criso said:
On theory is that it's not the alfalfa itself that is the issue but the preservatives, mould inhibitors and other things that are added to alfalfa chaffs.

I used to feed alfalfa pellets when my calcium levels weren't so high with no problem.
Click to expand...

Truly? Once again we are blessed here - chaff is chaff. It's just chopped up hay in a sack, nothing added.
 
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