ponysize - I meant the part about a general statement that an excess of calories causing horses to act “high”. All I have found in the literature is excess calories causing weight gain or developmental diseases.
There’s a difference in calorie type… ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ calories. Like having cornbread versus the same calorie equivalent in rice.
Sometimes leafiness versus stems can raise the content of the hot calories. Keep in mind that most cubes and pellets are chopped chaff and a good deal more stem than leaf (it just compacts and stays together better that way). This is a higher amount of fiber and undigestible lignin than flakes of hay that are very leafy.
I’ve seen leafy alfalfa make a difference in some horses… (not drastically, mind) it just depends on the hay quality. Usually hay quality has a good deal more to do with it than the hay itself. You can have some really green and leafy grass hay that gives more pep than a dried out stemmy alfalfa flake.
ETA: I know some fungus growths can cause abnormal behavior… and legume hays tend to be more prone to them. Does anyone know of any that can crop up with alfalfa?
Ultimately my bet is that it was several things rather than just food. Only horse I ever had do that (go from sleepy teddy bear normally to uncontrollable nutcase) had 3 times her amount of grain by accident. (And half of it was a higher hotter feed than what she got) But it was also a crazy windy day in an indoor which I think did, in part, add to her fussiness.
One time in his life (that I know of) mine exhibited very sudden and unexpected behavior like this. Frightening, dangerously unrideable, never been like that before or since. Somewhat similar circumstances to what you describe - in the spring, a lot of exciting view out of his stall for several hours, then we rode out to the jumping ring.
Ulcers. Other things that day prompted a vet visit, and that was the diagnosis. He had never had noticeable symptoms before, but he had 'em bad, suddenly, for a few weeks. It was at a period of life changes for him, plus spring, plus a lot of noisy construction activity at the farm.
I suspect he took one look at a jump, felt a major twinge in his tummy, and reacted physically as horses will react to pain.
No idea if that’s what happened to your horse, but your story reminded me of that.
He never had a repeat of that one upsetting tantrum. He was treated for ulcers and has since moved away from all the distractions. No apparent continuing problems. 
Thanks everyone - yes, we were at Greater Dayton and the weather was VERY cold and windy. The hail was also nice! The more and more I analyze the weekend, I’m thinking that our horse IS sensitive to alfalfa, but that the combination of cold wind, and over stimulation of the jumping areas being in front of his stall were the cause of him losing his mind. His years of experience at eventing low levels, and his age, USUALLY combine to let his training shine through. But thinking back, the only other time he wigged out on my daughter was a couple of years ago on XC on a very hot first day of competition, when he had also put a nice, obedient dressage test earlier in the day. He suddenly started bolting off course in XC, not once…but three times… She got him back and finished the course (barely avoiding speed penalties) but it was scary and I was amazed she didn’t get dangerous riding penalties as he came across the finish line at a dead run! That time he was also getting alfalfa hay. I changed his hay and hadn’t had any problems like that for the next year. Like I said, he does get jiggy and excited when it’s “his turn” to perform. But never dangerous. I didn’t think the alfalfa thing was real, but people said things like “alfalfa makes them crazy!” so I just tried to avoid it. And I AM having a heck of a time finding any grass hay for sale. I may have to wait for the first cutting here in Ohio. My current supplier has ONLY the 3rd cutting mix from last year, which it beautiful hay but has a high percentage of very green, leafy alfalfa - the KILLER DRUG!!! haha
Have not had your experience with alfalfa at all, however, MSM has definitely caused that weird-freakish, explosive behavior in a few horses I know personally. Took them off the MSM, normal behavior returned…any chance he is on MSM?
Sorry but if it was his diet … He would be wild ALL the time. So the fact that he was fine for schooling the next day and quiet for dressage tells me it likely wasn’t the hay.
I’d suspect your rider was more excited for jumping and he was responding to them as well as just spring yahoos.
Growing up in Arizona, back in the dark ages, we fed our horses straight alfalfa. Pretty much everyone did, because that was the best hay available. I don’t recall that there was a greater percentage of crazy horses than would otherwise occur. Of course, most horses were kept in pens (aka “corrals”) or stalls with runs/pens attached, so maybe this type of 24/7 turnout helped keep them sane.
I doubt it was the alfalfa if he had been on it for awhile. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’ve never seen it be a sudden, one-day thing. I had a gelding that was ok on alfalfa, but would get hotter than **** on most grain. Triple Crown Senior was what worked for him.
Funny story. Horse is at trainer’s. Last year I had mentioned to him the place I was boarding feeds almost straight alfalfa. Time passed and I forgot the conversation. We’re discussing how my mare is doing and he gave me a very long talking-to about how she is the kind of horse that can’t be on alfalfa, how she was hot and then after two days on their grass hay settled, etc. and basically lectured me about what to feed my horse for awhile. Finally, I got a word in to tell him that they switched to grass hay at the barn four months ago.
I have heard over and over again that alfalfa makes a horse hot. I don’t really see how that could be. It is high in protein, high in calcium, neither of which make a horse hot. There can be problems associated with a straight alfalfa diet - enteroliths, increased urine output, calcium/phosphorus balance, making a horse that is not in work fat, but hot? That hasn’t been mentioned according to the nutritional research that I’ve read. In fact, the last article I read stated that many WP trainers feed it because they don’t want to have to feed a grain, which does make a horse hot.
Well, he calmed down that day MAINLY because of a cc of Ace after we withdrew. Not because he had a burr under his saddle, or his rider was nervous, or anything like that. All I know is that he acted like a toddler in a toy store after eating a bowl of ice cream. He threw a tantrum, and he would not calm down. He couldn’t control his impulses. Dressage doesn’t excite him. So he was like the toddler at home in front of the tv. No biggie. When the jumping started, his brain couldn’t handle it and he threw a tantrum. This is a 20 year old TB with his USEA gold medal several times over. So he knows how to behave. Now I just have to figure out what caused the tantrum. I’ll experiment with the diet, the stall location, and the addition of lunging earlier in the day… And we’ll see what happens! I thought my main problem this year was to keep the old man sound…little did I know!
in the future, you’re never supposed to give Ace after the horse is already worked up or upset.
I’ve never had a horse get hot on alfalfa, and I personally have had several holy terrors. If your horse was truly reflecting the extra calories (and thusly, getting hot) it wouldn’t be intermittent - he would be fussy and difficult 24.7, not just one hour of the day. He wouldn’t just be difficult for an XC round - he would be flipping over cross ties and doing other unreasonable and abnormal things.
To me, it sounds like your horse was just being a horse and having a bad day. It happens. We can’t expect them to be perfect every day, even the older been-there-done-that types. I have a guy that sounds exactly like your daughter’s horse and he is predictable and sane as they come - but some days he just isn’t.
However, I’ve seen and owned horses that have crawled right out of their skin when ulcers flared up. Usually alfalfa is suggested for ulcer-ridden horses, and I think it often leads people to believe alfalfa is the criminal in relation to hotness when in reality it is often the ulcers speaking.
[QUOTE=PNWjumper;7583955]
I have had one horse (out of dozens over the years) that went absolutely batty on alfalfa. And it was one that I never would have suspected - my young full Holsteiner gelding who’s a bit on the dead side of the spectrum. I likened it to a serious drug addict where he got super paranoid (a branch snapping in the woods a hundred yards away would prompt him to try to climb on top of me while trying to halter him) and just jumpy in general. All of my upper level horses have always gotten a flake of alfalfa a day in addition to their grass hay (if not at home, always at shows), and I haven’t ever had an issue until this one. He also got stud-like (mounting the mares and such). I pulled the alfalfa out of his diet and he was back to normal.
So I would throw my vote to “yes” the alfalfa could have been the issue - especially with a seasoned horse who’s been around the block a few times. I think it would be much stranger to have the weather or environment affect a seasoned horse than a diet change. But I’d also wonder if it’s possible that there was something under the saddle pad that was pinching or hurting him (unless the squealing and spinning started prior to saddling him). It seems odd that he was lackluster earlier and then went ballistic later. Seems like pain could be something else to consider?[/QUOTE]
I’d consider the possibilities of ulcers. My vet and I discussed that regarding my gelding who is very sane even if high energy most of the time at home (or was before getting STRONG), and would go to shows and be a nut, terrified and overreacting to everything. He said the theory is ulcers or at least stomach irritation can form over a weekend causing this type of behavior.
That said, despite being sane, my gelding is high energy. So is my filly. Neither one is a huge fan of eating all their grass hay, so if their alfalfa intake is upped they get extra hot, and the gelding starts to buck a lot. While they were at my trainer’s place he got in a load of bermuda which tested much higher in calories than the previous load, and that made a difference for them, too.
My mom’s horse is the only horse I’ve personally known with a real problem with alfalfa, and I suspect it’s an allergy of some sort. She appears to hallucinate. This very mellow, very low energy horse starts flipping out at imaginary monsters everywhere - and is fine within 2 days if she comes off the alfalfa.
Yep - out of our nine horses my mom’s Friesian cross is the only one I’ve seen with problems, and I’ve never known a stock-type horse (most common type of horse around here) to have a problem.
It’s highly dependent on the horse and how he metabolizes the Alf. My old QH once ran away with me for an entire XC course (an awesome picture commemorates the day!) because the BO had unknown to me thrown him a few flakes of the real leafy green racetrack stuff the night before. For him, it was somewhere between nitro and jet fuel. :lol:
Other horses in the barn, mostly TB’s, had no effects at all.
If you know yours reacts that way, you need to keep him away from the stuff.
Lady Eboshi, we ALSO have an awesome photo of our elderly, creaky old TB bolting on XC to commemorate OUR experience! Luckily, there is no photo of MOM having a heart attack and the white streak bolts across the horizon!
Well, it seems like 50/50 on the Alfalfa - YES it can make them crazy, and Alfalfa - NO, it’s impossible. So the experiment continues. Can’t wait for the next event!
YES 
