Leaving a horse in an alfalfa field while wet

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Themandme

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Is it alright to let my mare graze in the alfalfa field while it’s drizzling? She has a rug on and all, but is it safe for her to eat (raw )wet alfalfa? I was told by the vet that raw is ok for her, but not sure If I should move her to the grass pasture while the weather is like this.
 
Is there a difference between alfalfa wet with saliva and alfalfa wet with rain? We don't have alfalfa grazing in this country, I don't think, so I wouldn't know.
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We don't tend to graze on alfalfa in the UK - but if your vet thought it would be fine then it probably is? I had a bit of a Google and apparently some people belive that "when wet, alfalfa can cause...animals to be extremely susecptible to sunburn and sunstroke." However if it's raining surely neither of these will be an issue?!
 
Widgeon said:
We don't tend to graze on alfalfa in the UK - but if your vet thought it would be fine then it probably is? I had a bit of a Google and apparently some people belive that "when wet, alfalfa can cause...animals to be extremely susecptible to sunburn and sunstroke." However if it's raining surely neither of these will be an issue?!
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Thats what I don’t understand!
ycbm said:
Is there a difference between alfalfa wet with saliva and alfalfa wet with rain? We don't have alfalfa grazing in this country, I don't think, so I wouldn't know.
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I think after a lot of rainfall it says something about mold growing on it, but Im not too sure
 
ycbm said:
Is there a difference between alfalfa wet with saliva and alfalfa wet with rain? We don't have alfalfa grazing in this country, I don't think, so I wouldn't know.
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Apparently it can cause photosensitivity and horses are liable to get sunburn and sunstroke. I expect that is in countries that have sun all year round.
 
ycbm said:
It also has a reputation for causing colic. I doubt that's anything to do with whether it's eaten wet or dry..
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That's what I'd have been worried about but after a bit of Googling it seems to be quite common practice in the US, grazing horses on standing alfalfa. Perhaps they adapt to it? It's interesting isn't it, how horses (both feral and domestic) cope with very different care and feeding regimes in different parts of the world. Sorry OP, I'm wandering off on a tangent here
 
IF the horse is already regularly fed kilo’s of alfalfa hay daily, and IF the alfalfa stand is actively freshly growing and not an old stubby field after alfalfa harvest months ago (due to moulds on old stands, especially lower leaves) then i’d graze it.

If the stand is fresh quality to eat but the horse doesnt normally have lots of alfalfa - due to it being a legume, and different structurally nutritionally than grasses, i’d be wary of hours of turnout eating just alfalfa suddenly. An hour max then pulled off.
 
Widgeon said:
That's what I'd have been worried about but after a bit of Googling it seems to be quite common practice in the US, grazing horses on standing alfalfa. Perhaps they adapt to it? It's interesting isn't it, how horses (both feral and domestic) cope with very different care and feeding regimes in different parts of the world. Sorry OP, I'm wandering off on a tangent here
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I think the issue with alfalfa is it's a legume, not a grass, and is much higher in protein, calcium, and assimilated nitrogen than grasses, all of which are going to disrupt gut flora, cause gas and potentially diarrhoea or colic. But if they get used to it these things will be much less of/not an issue.
 
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