Does Alfalfa Make Horses Loopy?

my current mare can't have it - turns her into a psycho - lots of energy but not good energy if that makes sense? uncontrolable, moody mare energy - not nice!
another horse at yard is the same...
shame though - as i used to swear by it - typical eh?
 
Hasnt affected mine. In fact I feed pure alfafa nuts (in the winter) becuse mine gets a bit silly with cereals and mollasses/sugar. Alfalfa is a forage so should be slow release energy amd I believe higher in protein than grass/hay so good for buliding up muscles. If I were to use an alfalfa chop I would check it didnt have high levels of mollasses. Simple systems do all sorts of alfalfa products and have lots of info on their website - why not have a peruse.
 
Mine is on alfa oil and fine on it....plenty of controllable energy and no silly behaviour. I suppose it depends on what you are doing with horse and how it react to different feeds.

I was always told feeding oil was a great way of keeping weight on without fizz but it always sent my old TB loopy so they are all different.
 
I personally dont believe that alfalfa sends horses loopy as much as people think. It is often fed alongside other feeds, which are more likely to be the culprit. Either that or the molasses used to coat it. Alfalfa nuts are just pure alfalfa, they need to be soaked before feeding but they have no mollasses so can be a better option than alfalfa chaff.
 
Alfalfa is one of the few things that doesn't send my horse nuts - they are all different and its often trial and error working out what sends them loopy and what doesn't IMO.
smile.gif
 
alfalfa is long stem fibre digested in hind gut so should not make fizzy. it is a complete feed on its own. what other goodies are you putting in???
 
Doesn't do a thing for mine, they have it in cube form, and my hayfields are 30% alfa, so they get it in their hay and when they graze the fields in Fall.

I feed oats too and they are still the most unfizzed up bunch of ponies going.
 
[ QUOTE ]
alfalfa is long stem fibre digested in hind gut so should not make fizzy. it is a complete feed on its own. what other goodies are you putting in???

[/ QUOTE ]

Baileys lo-cal balancer - and not as much as the recommended amount. Handful of Alfa A....just commenting on a remark made on another forum and was intrigued!
 
Switched from HiFi to Alfa A a few years ago.....turned horse into a loon. He was on no other feed at the time.
We had terrible windsucking, box walking, rearing in hand, napping and aggression/grumpiness. Took him off it pretty sharpish and he was fine....
 
I have a sharp fruit loop ...I have to be really careful what I feed him....Alfa-A oil has given him great condition and stamina but hasn't sent him loopy.......I tried it with caution and he's been on it several months now with no probs.

Its only fibre+ oil...no cereal, so I cant see why it would but then each horse is different I suppose.

You can but try.....
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Switched from HiFi to Alfa A a few years ago.....turned horse into a loon. He was on no other feed at the time.
We had terrible windsucking, box walking, rearing in hand, napping and aggression/grumpiness. Took him off it pretty sharpish and he was fine....

[/ QUOTE ]


Actually...Alfa-A made my horse bad-tempered too, but Alfa-A Oil suits him fine......wierd
confused.gif
 
On paper Alfalfa should not affect horses, it is low in sugars/starch and is a good source of fibre. HOWEVER, it does indeed affect some (around 20%) of horses badly, there is no real scientific evidence as to why, but there is one theory that it is the TYPE of proteins that are in alfalfa that causes the reaction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top