mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749 
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Post by mistersmom on Oct 12, 2014 1:00:35 GMT
I have always fed bahia hay but last year, splurged and bought bermuda. Still not sure what I am going to get this year as Mister doesn't really seem to be ingesting a whole lot of it so not sure it is worth the expense to get the bermuda. Will be talking with the vet when he is out later this month for shots.
Anyway, I was wondering if I should get a few bales of alfalfa. I have never fed it personally but it seems each time one of my horses colicked, the vet told me I could feed some if I had it. I'm assuming it has a higher moisture content than regular hay? Never really asked about the reasoning behind this since I never had any.
Perhaps I should/could buy some that I can give as a treat every now and then and to have on hand just in case it is needed? Do any of you feed alfalfa or just keep some on hand? I have fed the alfalfa cubes (as a mash soaked with water) over the winter in the past and probably will again this year. Maybe I shouldn't worry about actual alfalfa hay and just keep feeding the cubes.
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Post by horselady on Oct 12, 2014 1:33:26 GMT
Unless the alfalfa is baled or cut properly i find it stalky, you could give as a treat but it is high in protein and could make them a little jumpy. if fed as an only source of fiber.
alfalfa cubes is great and for a colicky horse get bran. my bet told me to get 10 pound bag and keep it in the freezer or of course outside in a can. for those cold dreary days when you want to feed something warm. just make sure mister has plenty of fluids and he will be ok.
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Post by diamondgirl on Oct 12, 2014 4:49:39 GMT
I supplement feed alfalfa, but it is called US hay. The plant is just up the road from me. About 3 miles. They bag alfalfa for Purina, but also sell it locally. I even got to watch them make my bags for me once. It is very dry so I add water and soak it, before I feed it. Especially in the winter. I have noticed Stormy, my Arab, gets a little hot when he eats it, but Chief and Diamond are ok. The reason I feed the chopped, rather than the cubed, is the cost. I might get some cubed, to soak, and see if it holds the warm water better this winter, but the chopped is less expensive.
The best thing I like about the bags, is there is never a change in the quality. It is cut, from irrigated fields, all around me. I see the trucks rumble by all day long. They dry it in the plant, so there is never any mold, and the guys at the plant are fun.
It is a huge plant, and the workers are sometimes hard to find. I have had to call the main office, because I got tired of wondering around, looking for someone, to sell me my alfalfa.
I have to say, each time I go there it's an adventure.
I try to get as many bags as they can stuff into a PT cruiser, but still have room for me to drive it home. So far we are up to 13 bags at one time. Maybe we will break the record this winter. |
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Oct 12, 2014 5:17:32 GMT
The more I think about it, the more I think I will stay with the cubes. Mister is not a colicker - only once so far in the tens years I've had him (touch wood) but I just always kind of remember the vet asking about it when Cowboy went through his recurrent bouts of colic. The cubes I can make as runny as I need to, if I need to. And I do think he likes his warm, alfalfa mash on cold winter days. I started him on the cubes at the suggestion of red when I was trying to get weight back on Mister and the vet was very happy with the results. And with him not ingesting as much hay as I would like, I think it's good to give a little more "roughage" in the winter that I know he is actually eating. Of course I will still provide him with regular hay and he will still have 24/7 access to what grass is around in the winter and I will double check everything with the vet as always.
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Post by horselover4life on Oct 12, 2014 12:38:44 GMT
I have on hand alfalfa pellets. I give a handful at feeding time with Chances feed.
I am waiting for the lousy hay to begin and then will be able to add the quality without the quantity or $$$ of feeding alfalfa hay. Down here that hay, it is so costly....and not very nice quality. I am spoiled by having fed racetrack quality alfalfa for so many years....
Cubes are difficult for me to store in garbage cans {steel} and I am afraid of the choke factor as this guy can sometimes not chew the best when he forgets "there will always be food for him", it comes regularly and he is free to graze always....
When I make a mash of his feed, some alfalfa pellets, warm water, applesauce {unsweetened}, mineral oil and Metamucil for cleansing the gut of sand.... horse loves it and actually all mixed together it smells darn good. And I know he is getting plenty of fluids as he slurps for quite some time, cleans his bucket completely...
I have read in many places that alfalfa fed helps reduce the effects of stomach acids some horses produce in over-abundance....maybe that helps with the "colic" factor too {IDK}....
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Post by diamondgirl on Oct 12, 2014 13:49:31 GMT
I was thinking that this winter I would try to add some beet pulp to the soaked alfalfa. The chopped alfalfa doesn't hold all the water I add, and I hate to see all my nutrients drip out of the alfalfa. I haven't fed beet pulp before. I never knew where to find it. A fellow horse owner, at work, says she buys it at Orschleins. Next time I go to get feed, I'll check.
HL4L I add canola oil in the winter, but is mineral oil better? If so, how much? Actually I don't know how much canola oil to add. I was told a little bit, so I added 1/4 cup per horse, daily. Is that enough? to much? I never know, and am always second guessing myself. |
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Post by horselover4life on Oct 12, 2014 14:27:07 GMT
What is your purpose in adding oil to the feed???
I've never done canola oil so truthfully don't know amount.
I purchase mineral oil in pint {16 0z.} bottles from Walmart. I pour 1/2 a bottle in the feed....
Remember though my purpose is to clean out sand from the intestional tract and oil with the Metamucil is what many here by me do successfully.
My sons trainer just uses this oil and has never had a horse colic in 25+ years....IDK.
I do 5 days in succession if needed every month...I do a sand check before, and during so know when the gut is cleared and I can stop...I don't want to overdo if not needed...this can also take out the good bacteria you must have so caution is needed.
The beet pulp is available in most any feed store by me.
If you feed a senior mix of feed or today many feeds have this in the ingredients already..
By itself though it takes some getting use to. I chomp on many feed stuffs to see how it tastes.... beet pulp was pretty nasty to me plain. Beet pulp is sold with molasses or plain, another "controversy" with sugar dump in the system molasses can do to some IR horses...read the bags carefully, know your horses and watch carefully if and when you start to feed for body physical changes...
I know Tractor Supply has it in shreds and pellets. {www.tractorsupply.com}
Pellets are 40 pound bags and shreds are 25 pound bags....both less than $15.00 each.
well, now we are at book stage again.... 
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Post by horselover4life on Oct 12, 2014 14:37:42 GMT
Diamond....I just actually read the TS store blurbs about beet pulp.
Go to the site and type in the search box "BEET PULP".
When I read the specifications section for each product...the shreds came up for CATTLE. Pellets came up for CATTLE & HORSES...........
I don't feed them myself as a separate ingredient.
Many years ago I was required to feed beet pulp to horses at a barn I was working at by my boss.
Those horses all developed a lousy top-line and huge guts of "hay belly" look to them....
I hated that look myself. My horse was in that barn too, but since I scooped and fed, my horse did not receive it..I never told anyone I did this, but he looked sleek and had a great top-line to a bunch of hay-bellied appearing animals.
Things may have changed in years since this was done....I have never forgotten it and the "look" achieved...
Be aware....
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Post by diamondgirl on Oct 12, 2014 17:25:45 GMT
I feed Purina Strategy, and it has beat pulp in it. I was really just wanting to mix a small amount of beet pulp, in with the alfalfa, to hold the water in the hay. Someone on the other place, suggested adding some cooking oil to their feed, to help ward off colic. I also add extra salt in the winter to the Strategy mash. I try to stay away from molasses, because I have heard it can contribute to ulcers.
I have to commend you for tasting the food you give your horses. I have not tried the strategy or the alfalfa, but they both smell really good. I have tried the grass though. You know how you can lead a horse to some green lushes grass, and they will turn up their nose and what looks delicious to me, only to nibble on a scraggly weed nearby. I have tried chewing on some of the grass that they decided was not worth eating, and it was bitter.
I just want to do what's best for my guys. I know a lot of people swear by beat pulp.
I know this winter, I will be, as usual, in a panic, because it is so cold outside, and I can't bring the horses in the house. There is so much controversy over whether to blanket or not to blanket, so I don't. It just helps me deal with the fact that they have to stay out in the cold, if I know I am doing everything I should for them.
I will have to google beat pulp, and read up on it, to see what I can figure out.
Thank you  |
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Post by horselover4life on Oct 12, 2014 20:31:46 GMT
Are you feeding Strategy Healthy Edge??
Has the added beet pulp and higher fat in it...it does taste good.
Yes, ate a few morsels...
I know you can add quite a bit of liquid to this feed....a very soupy slop actually....listen to them slurp.
Alfalfa pellets absorb quite a bit of liquid as the puff up and soften....I have hardly ever fed cubes wet or dry....so not sure which would give you better consumption amounts of water.
I make my mashes pretty wet if I have to go this route...a "forced" way to get extra fluid in when it is so cold outside....warm water, some applesauce for enticing appetite and off we go to feed. When I use to make mashes or wet feeds we made huge garbage cans full and everyone got 2 huge scoops of sloppy mess at least...hated to do stalls the next day but it worked to clean out anything you were concerned about! I made enough for 30 horses at a time, it was not fun to mix it or have to move that wet mix down the aisle way...
I truly don't know if "cooking" oils will ward off colic....canola oil though is the one I hear is good to feed for whatever the reasons being...
Some oils are actually absorbed through the digestive system so warding off the colic I'm not sure about.
Mineral oil is not absorbed is my understanding and is what when the vet tubes a ill horse is the oil they use....
I know if the horses can just get out of the wind and elements, have some extra hay to eat they really do well.
Me, who has blankets and sheets, wool coolers and you name it for putting on....my horse is outside now with a half grown in winter coat, heavy for here. He sweats in the sun...he will be naked unless we have such a cold snap I am truly concerned for him.
We are putting up new barn side panels soon to stop the north winds and outside rains from getting him during the winter. If it is bad weather and cold winds, he will be sporting a waterproof t/o sheet or blanket...otherwise...naked he will be.
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Post by diamondgirl on Oct 13, 2014 1:37:59 GMT
The closest Healthy Edge is at least 70 miles from me. I can't leave Honey for that long, and I don't want to take him with me. The Orschlens store 22 miles away doesn't carry any Purina products. All I can get is the regular Strategy at the CO-OP. It lists beet pulp as one of the ingredients, I will have to check the amount.
I really like the alfalfa I am feeding now better than the baled. There is no waste, but it has only 5% moisture. When I am worried about their fluid intake, I think it is best to add moisture. Maybe I should mix the alfalfa and the Strategy together, and add water to the mix. Or I may have to get some of the cubed to see if it holds the water better.
Last year, I had fun adding things to their mash. Apple sauce, sliced apples, grated carrots, and please don't tell me I am absolutely terrible, but December last year I threw in a candy cane, several times.
They do have a run-in to go into, to stay out of the elements, if they will use it. If they don't I have horse towels, to dry them off with, when they get wet. |
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Post by horselover4life on Oct 13, 2014 10:09:02 GMT
Candy canes = peppermint..... horses LOVE peppermint!!!
As for mixing pieces of alfalfa and the feed....not sure I would do that...it just doesn't seem to "mix" well in my mind. I would be afraid of them gulping wrong.
If the Co-op does Strategy see if they may have Amplify separate....
Amplify is the fat nugget added to Healthy Edge formulas but can be purchased by itself.
To travel that far would be silly when you have what you need close.
Since the mill is adding the beet pulp you might be able to get that their too.
Strategy is a calorie dense feed as it is so you probably aren't feeding a whole lot of it.....
You can ask at the co-op what they would suggest for a added fat supply....bet they have some good ideas and something on site.
If they have Nutrena products see about Empower Boost. I have fed that to a few including the horse I have now and boy did it work great and put the right weight on in the right place. Being your horses aren't thin you would not need very much to give them the "bloom" you want to keep on them...it is rice bran and flaxseed along with vitamins and minerals and pre & probiotics....
I know not all co-op/mills do every type of feed, but they may have just what you are searching for....
www.nutrenaworld.com/products/horses/empower-supplements/empower-boost
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Post by lorddaxter on Oct 13, 2014 12:22:10 GMT
Personally k don't like alfalfa, too Rich for my good doers, I avoid alfalfa hay like the plague, very pleases this year that the majority of bales I got have no alfalfa in them my horses just don't lose weight through the winter on alfalfa hay and trust me, in their case that's not a good thing!
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Oct 13, 2014 12:28:07 GMT
DG - would the coop be willing to order some other feed for you since you are (probably) a long time customer? You could have them order just the number of bags you would need so it's not like they would be buying it and not selling it. Worth asking anyway.
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Oct 13, 2014 13:37:07 GMT
A put two bales of alfalfa on 10 horses every day.
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Post by diamondgirl on Oct 13, 2014 17:11:37 GMT
DG - would the coop be willing to order some other feed for you since you are (probably) a long time customer? You could have them order just the number of bags you would need so it's not like they would be buying it and not selling it. Worth asking anyway. I asked the CO-OP about Healthy edge and was told "we don't carry that." The Orschleins carries Nutrena products. I will check it out and see if I can't get what I want there. |
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to much?
