Feed suggestions- alfalfa intolerant horse

H

HoneyB24

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 March 2012
Messages
75
Location
Suffolk
Visit site
Hi everyone

So i have found out that my horse is intolerant to alfalfa, she also suffers with sweet itch but after trying everything and removing the hi fi molasses free from her diet, her sweet itch can be prevented with her sweet itch rug and lotions etc.

So wanted to pick some brains if i may?

So before she was getting hifi molasses free and allen and page quiet nuts. Last winter she lost weight, too much weight for my liking! I don't mind her losing some, but she came out of last winter a tad too lean for her build and type. I did add alphabeet which seemed to help.

So she is worked 5 to 6 times a week, hacking, schooling and jumping etc. She can be a tad spooky, but not too excitable. I need to avoid alfalfa, so was thinking about trying the dodson and horrell everyday chaff, it contains molasses, but in the winter shouldn't be too much of a problem? Should i keep her on the quiet nuts and add some speedi beet?

Any suggestions appreciated. I prefer nuts to mixes personally and she will be on good quality hay, unsoaked. I am not a person who likes to mess around with their diets too much, but would be interested to hear other peoples opinions.

Thanks
 
I like fast fibre ( Allen and page) , linseed is good for weight gain / condition ( from Charnwood milling) and you can feed as much or as little as you like.
 
Hi honeyB24 i have a horse thats allergic to alfalfa and barley and mollasses and oatchaff

. i think if your using alfabeet thats got alfalfa in it.!

i use baileys no4 topline cubes as thats wheat based with no barley,no oats
and no mollasses.

also i use speedybeet to add fibre cos its mollasses free
 
Thanks archiepoo, i was using the alhabeet before but won't be using it again, so will switch to speedybeet instead.

Will have a look at the baileys, i don't think she has a reaction to molasses as she has had that before, i just like to keep them to a minimum in the summer because of her sweetitch. She only gets a small amount of feed in the summer for her supplements.
 
My horse can't cope with full alfalfa chaff, last few years I've used spillers conditioning chaff which is part alfalfa. However this year I'm going to use dried grass instead as he's had ulcers twice & I've been advised by several people that it will be gentler on his digestion. He's had a few nights in recently & feeds with graze on as chaff have been going down well!(he's very fussy !)
 
Fast fibre and micronised linseed. I would add just a mugfull a day of linseed to her diet now... you really don't have to feet huge quantities of it - this is all I feed my 17hh and he looks fab.

I would avoid all mollassed feeds as the sugar will not help her sweet itch... it doesn't get it's name for no reason! ;)
 
If anything it should make your horse less spooky. Any animal in discomfort will be more reactive, so if the linseed does it's job you'll have less discomfort.
For my mare she's had oat chaff with linseed and brewer's yeast. If she wasn't a good doer she'd be on sugarbeet instead of chaff.
 
My mare was very calm while putting weight on with Winergy Equilibrium Condition and I don't think there is Alfalfa in it, but not 100% sure. It is however very costly, but I saw results even under the recommended amount.
I usually feed Mollichaff Calmer, High Fibre Cubes, Balancer and rather add Oil as an energy source... it does keep the weight on well and is Alfalfa free.
Sometimes changing the hay for haylage can make a difference or adding Horsehage Ryegrass (if your horse is not laminitic prone)...
 
Thank you for the suggestions, the linseed i may try.

I was thinking about trying dodson and horrell safe and sound through the winter and re-evaluating it in the summer. In the summer she only gets a small feed for her supplements. Has anyone used this product before?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top