Alfahay vs. Chaffhaye vs. Alfalfa Meal for Ulcers

[Whoosh]

Hi all! I’m hoping to get some advice re: getting alfalfa into my weirdly picky easy keeper. Backstory is that vet has heavily recommended alfalfa added to her diet to help with ulcer prevention/management. She gets Outlast morning, evening, and before every ride.

We’ve tried different brands of pellets and soaked cubes, but she wants nothing to do with them. She wants the Standlee chopped alfalfa bale, if you please! Our local co-op has a cheaper, “generic” version of this but it has added molasses, which I’d like to avoid due to her airfern status.

In the process of reading about alfalfa options, I’ve come across a few other “forms” of alfalfa: Alfahay and Chaffhaye are fermented alfalfa, and a local independent retailer sells dehydrated alfalfa meal as a feed supplement. Has anyone had luck with these as an ulcer additive? Anything else I’m not thinking of? The Standlee bales are pricey and kind of obnoxious to deal with. I’d like it if I could find something with a lower feed rate, too.

Thanks all!!

[Bonnie2]

Triple Crown has multiple choices of bagged alfalfa forage. Or can you access alfalfa hay?

[Whoosh]

Ah, I will see if I can order the Triple Crown at my local shop. Genuinely didn’t occur to me.

As to just buying alfalfa: there are a couple factors at play here. One, I board, and the onus is on me to provide specialized food/supplements to my mare in a way that the boarding barn can accommodate. Our barn makes their own hay so buying specialized hay (especially one bale at a time) seems like a hassle. Two, she is only getting a small amount a day (about a flake of pure alfalfa). Just enough for the gastric buffering effect. Three, I was mostly just curious to see if people had experiences (good or bad) with fermented alfalfa, because it’s not something I know much about.

[lightningevent]

If she’s just getting enough a day for a buffering effect and loves the Standlee chopped alfalfa that much, I’ve had luck packing it in old Nickermaker containers for our feeders - you can easily “pack” about three days worth at at time in a way that’s easy to throw into a pan as needed

I think any small bucket would work, we just use Nickermaker contrainers for everything since we’re reducing, reusing, and recycling whenever possible.

[JB]

@Whoosh

Our local co-op has a cheaper, “generic” version of this but it has added molasses, which I’d like to avoid due to her airfern status.

TBH, there’s likely so little molasses added, only for dust control, that its calorie contribution is insignificant compared to the 1000-ish from the alfalfa itself

Chaffhaye is a great product, but you need to feed a bag in a couple of days this time of year. that’s a lot of alfalfa/day for an air fern.

feed rate isn’t about what the bag says, it’s about what keeps her happy and not too fat

What’s the rest of her diet?

[Heinz_57]

I have tried Alfahay.

The fermented hay products will spoil quickly in the heat and once exposed to air, so if you’re only feeding a few pounds a day at most, a full sized ‘bale’ is going to go bad before you finish it. It’s also messy to deal with, and has a very unique smell. Alfahay is made using apple cider vinegar so it has an extra level of pungency. None of my horses liked it, and only one of them would even taste it.

Have you considered trying the grab-n-go Standlee alfalfa (not chopped) bale? It would be less time consuming for staff, doesn’t take up a ton of space and it’s pretty easy to grab one here and there.

[ASB_Stars]

I’m a HUGE fan of alfalfa hay.

[Whoosh]

Ah, thank you for the molasses reassurance! I could even smell the molasses in it. (Although if I was a horse, I’m sure it would be mouthwatering.)

Her diet is: 1 to 1.5 pounds of Triple Crown Balancer Gold, 1-2 pounds of bagged alfalfa, serving of Outlast AM and PM, Farriers Formula Double Strength, Actiflex, ground flax, and added vitamin E and magnesium oxide. She’s 19 and has Cushings, so the E and MagOx are for those. She’s out 24/7 in a large paddock but wears a grazing muzzle for most of the year.

The alfalfa thing has just really thrown me for a tizzy, because I’m trying so hard to balance her getting the vitamins/minerals/ulcer support she needs without letting her get too fat. Plus, she’s weirdly picky about her feed (might be the Prascend?). So I’m seeing what will give her the most benefit with the least calories and best taste (and, you know, won’t break the bank or make the boarding staff insane…but as usual, what makes the humans happy is low priority )

[Whoosh]

Thank you!

I had thought about the fermented hay and how quickly it spoils - I would probably have to put it in some kind of airtight container to keep at the barn with her other feed (@lightningevent even had a good idea about putting a few days’ worth in smaller containers which I think is very clever!)

The smell! Good point. I could absolutely see her turning her nose up at that. I appreciate your input that your horses wouldn’t even eat it. I’m reaching the point in horse ownership where the most glorious supplement on the planet could be released tomorrow (“Cures lameness! 10 Dressage Scores! Dapples! Mare-face-begone!”) and my first question would be “okay, but will they actually eat it?”

The grab-n-go Standlee alfalfa bale is definitely an option! They have it at my local stores. The girls at my barn love it for trailering. (Side note: how do they get it so GREEN?)

[JB]

@Whoosh

Plus, she’s weirdly picky about her feed (might be the Prascend?)

it could be the Prascend for sure. Have you tried a bottle of APF Pro? That helps a ton of PPID horses move past that “pergolide veil”, even if it’s mild. Maybe it’s just her at this point in her life, but it might be worth trying a bottle to see what happens

@Whoosh

I had thought about the fermented hay and how quickly it spoils - I would probably have to put it in some kind of airtight container to keep at the barn with her other feed

you can’t make it airtight enough for something like fermented hay. You’d literally have to vacuum seal it in a bag again after each use if it was going to take more than a few days, like literally 3-4 in the Summer, to use up