slightly odd feed dilemma!

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posie_honey

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the only times i've fed HRH alfalfa she's gone a bit do-dally - but to be fair it was plain alfa-a (so as pure as you can get) and also tried calm and condition by allan and page before i realised it was alfalfa based and she ended up high as a kite (took a few weeks of me holding on for dear life before i read the ingredients :o)

when i say do-dally we're talking MEGA energy - but not really the useful "can chanel into work" type

however i do feel i want to give her more ooomph - but not that much! i do feed allan and page power and performance and that gives more sustainable energy but i dont want to increase that as i'd say she is perfect weight

so then - big question - to get that extreem reaction to alfalfa fed at those levels do you think the intollerence (or whatever it is that causes it) is doing her any harm?!!

do you think its her body's way of saying - no its not right for me??

and if not - i think it may be worth experimenting with the levels - try say a small handful once a day and see how it goes..... (whilst wearing seatbelt and parachute ;) )
 
My horse cannot tolerate pure alfalfa products at all, he's very feed sensitive & alfalfa is one of the many things that sends him nuts! Tried top spec top chop recently-3/4 days on 1 Stubbs scoop a day=totally barmy! He can tolerate part alfalfa chaffs though, the spillers ones suit him very well.
 
hollyandivy123 said:
have you thought of adding oil to the diet, either as veg oil or linseed oil/meal or maybe just good old fashioned grain, oats, barley etc?
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she already has soya oil (and performance vits and mins)
i try to keep her feed fibre based (another reason to add something like this rather than increase the P&P which to be fiar she only gets 2/3 scopp a day split into 2 feeds (good do'er)

but thanks for suggestions :)
 
whizzer said:
My horse cannot tolerate pure alfalfa products at all, he's very feed sensitive & alfalfa is one of the many things that sends him nuts! Tried top spec top chop recently-3/4 days on 1 Stubbs scoop a day=totally barmy! He can tolerate part alfalfa chaffs though, the spillers ones suit him very well.
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glad its not just my mare lol! it was a mixed chaff i was thinking :)

Mucky Shavings said:
I'd try just grass by d&h tbh
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CBFan said:
I would avoid alfa-a altogether. Have you tried one of the grass based chaffs? they can provide a fair bit of energy...
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I tried her on redi-grass once - she wasnt enthralled by it at all - ended up giving away the bag! but i bet different makes taste different so worth considering - thanks :)
 
I thought I was imagining things at first, never known anything react to chaff before! He's a nightmare to feed anyway,poor doer,fussy etc etc . Tried the spillers conditioning fibre a few years ago & he loved it so kept him on it, couldn't get hold of any recently so got the top chop & my god the reaction was ridiculous! Took him off it straightaway & back onto the spillers,back to normal in a day or so. Never dreamed when I struggled for years with his feeding that the alfalfa was contributing to his problems, was stuffing him full of the oil one for years!
 
wench said:
How about something like a decent feed balancer like topspec, some oil, and oats?
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i have a 20kg pot of dengie performance vits and mins which she'll actually eat happily so until that's finished i wont be looking to change to a balancer - aftere that i was considering something like that though - altough prob not tops spec - tried her on it when i first got her and she just got fat - very quickly! so may try a low cal version or similar

she's already on two squirts twice a day of soya oil - and i'd rather stick to fibre based diet than feed straights - thanks for suggestions though :)
 
AngieandBen said:
Spillers high fibre cubes are alfalfa fee :)
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maybe i'm not explaining myself well enough :o
i'm wondering if i can use this slight over-reaction she has to alfalfa to my advantage - ie lots of energy from little input - or if this over reaction is actually her body telling me its not good for her....?
 
I would say that if she's reacting that much then chances are it is irritating her somewhere and personally I wouldn't feed it.

I have a horse that reacts to soya-oil in that he went too quiet, so it could be the soya making her quieter.

I completely understand that you want to stick to a fibre based feed and good for you but be aware that soya-oil is not fibre, was never designed for horses and is actually a common problem, it is also mostly GM.

My horse had real problems and it was only when we got rid of soya completely did we realise a) how many things have soya in them now and b) how much it was affecting him.

I now feed equilibria 500, a lightly mollassed straw chaff and a bit of Fibregest if they need it to both my two and they are thriving on this mix. This is a totally soya free diet and is completely fibre based. Yes, I will add tiger oats if we need to but I highly doubt we will and tiger oats (oats in general actually) are actually very high in fibre and are almost a natural food for the horse in moderation.

I have tried so many feeds over the last couple of years and I have to say that by far, as in no comparison, this is the best diet they've ever been on. They are both sane but alive in their minds, are both barefoot and have really solid hooves, have dapples, even when fully clipped and shine like they have coat-shine on even when they haven't been groomed yet.

P.S. No, I don't work or GWF :)
 
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