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Post by elizabeth_h on Apr 21, 2010 8:23:24 GMT -5
At my barn I have a wonderful BO who is very open and interested in finding the best feed regimen for each horse. Our vet suggested using alfalfa cubes, particularly for several horses in the barn who tend to be ulcer-prone/worriers. So the BO has started feeding soaked cubes to my horse instead of beet pulp (I am happy not to use beet pulp since it made him extremely gassy) and so far so good. He also gets oats, and grass hay. He will be on a grass paddock soon in the mornings. His weight still looks good and he seems happy and energetic.
My question is whether there are any downsides to the alfalfa cubes. I have never used alfalfa before. Mainly I would want to know if it is going to be sufficient to keep his weight up during the summer show season, which is heavy work.
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Post by Big Tee© on Apr 21, 2010 18:40:02 GMT -5
Other than cost? Can't think of a thing wrong with them, feed them myself on occassion. Oh yeah, the danged bags!!!LOL
Remember, it IS just alfalfa hay after all, and pretty calorie dense compared to grass hay, but do keep up the oats as alfalfa is very high in calcium, and you want to keep that balanced by the phosphorous in the oats. Alfalfa and oats is the traditional race horse diet here - lots of oats and lots of alfalfa
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Post by Deb on Apr 22, 2010 7:52:12 GMT -5
I agree with Big Tee in all aspects. As long as the cubes are good and saturated with water there is no worry of a choking episode.
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Post by Smay on Apr 22, 2010 9:32:10 GMT -5
Lots of people soak them for feeding since they are so hard and dry, but I actually give them to my horses without soaking them... they crunch them and chew them and seem to really enjoy them. I don't have anyone with bad teeth here, and so far I've never had any episodes of choking on them. I DO use them for alfalfa soup if and when I have anyone that needs to drink more, for any reason. Adding a lot of warm water makes a nice mush soup that most horses can't resist!
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Post by HokieThea on Apr 22, 2010 10:53:02 GMT -5
I fed Zak alfalfa cube soup most evenings through the winter. It kept his weight on, he LOVED it, and it made me feel good to send him to bed with a nice warm belly.
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Post by hfhopper on Apr 22, 2010 14:34:38 GMT -5
I just started Patron on some soaked alfalfa cubes to up his protein while he's gaining weight. He prefers them soaked.
Also fed them to my QH when he had a tooth abscess (long story!!!). He couldn't really eat any hay, even soaked. But was able to eat the cubes no problem and maintained his weight for almost a year like that.
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