Alfalfa Cubes - How Much and How to Feed?

[sascha]

Huh, TMR for horses. Every time I push feed up at work (dairy cattle) I ponder the possibility of TMR for horses

For the OP - I take my mare off alfalfa cubes in summer when she’s getting plenty of grass and put her back on in the autumn. I usually start with about .5kg dry weight, well soaked and just before serving add an ounce or 2 of molasses. After a few days I add less molasses until I’m adding none at all. It makes the transition so much easier.

When she’s eating well without molasses I increase to 1+kg dry weight.

She gets all her evening supplements and ration balancer dumped in with 3 cups of canola oil, and one Chop Magic box http://www.amazon.ca/As-Seen-On-TV-Chopper/dp/B00PARQJYE crammed full of carrots, apples, and pears. The fruit and veg help to make everything extra palatable And yes, my horse has me wrapped around her delicate little hoofie. :yes:

Also, yes, she needs every last one of those calories. Sigh.

[Scribbler]

As far as the question of how much alfalfa cubes to feed, I think it would depend on what else was being fed, and what the nutrient levels of the hay, other grains, and supplements were. Alfalfa adds protein, calcium and calories to the diet; the bag will tell you the amounts per weight. For instance, if your cubes are 18 % protein and you feed a kilogram, then you get 180 grams of protein.

Alfalfa is more nutrient-rich than other hays, but it is still a forage, and not as concentrated a feed as grain. A cupful or a few cubes is not going to add much to the horse’s diet. If you were feeding a mix of grass and alfalfa hay, how much alfalfa hay would you feed? A flake a day? How much would that weigh? 3 lbs? 5 lbs? If you wanted your cubes to equal a flake of alfalfa, you’d need to feed that same weight.

But you also need to think about the nutrient composition of the horse’s existing diet. What kind of hay does he get? Is it tested: do you know the protein levels and calories of the hay? Is he on a fortified grain or ration balancer, getting calcium supplements already? etc.

[dog_amp_horsemom]

sarah - I am interested in checking on this feed that you recommend. I am getting a warmblood yearling from Ravine Ranch ( I think some of them have been in the Rutger studies/shows).
I tried going on the site but the page could not be found. I wonder if you could suggest what a yearling warmblood should be fed? Thanks.
As far as alfalfa cubes are concerned: I witnessed a friends warmblood colic on soaked alfalfa cubes - he was euthanized and I witnessed the necropsy which was performed immediately - and he had a a blockage from the soaked cubes. So - I would be careful and not feed too much at once. He may have fed too many at once since hay was hard to get that year.

[Brit0416]

https://standleeforage.com/products/premium-alfalfa-cubes
This is the type of alfalfa cubes that I use I soak them with beet pulp shreds in warm water for about 1520 minutes till the cubes just fall apart and I kind a shred them a little bit with my fingers to make them smaller and I usually us this is the type of alfalfa cubes that I use I soak them with beet pulp shreds in warm water for about 15-20 minutes till the cubes just fall apart and I kind a shred them a little bit with my fingers to make them smaller. I just started my daughters horse on the us because we found out she’s actually between 20 and 25 years old as a post to being seven or eight years old like we were told so she has that on top of her normal green we’ve been doing about six or seven cubes and a cup of the beet pulp and then once those get done soaking I mix that with about one scoop of her normal gree I just started my daughters horse on the us because we found out she’s actually between 20 and 25 years old as a post to being seven or eight years old like we were told so she has that on top of her normal grain we’ve been doing about six or seven cubes and a cup of the beet pulp and then once those get done soaking I mix that with about one scoop of her senior feed and then I give her just a small handful of MFA horse feed just to give her a little something extra but if you go to that website at the top If it doesn’t take you to the alfalfa cubes page just click products go to alfalfa and it’s just like the regular alfalfa cubes when you click that and scroll down through like the product description and everything there is a little box that tells you how to calculate how many pounds of cubes or of that product they are looking at based on the pound of your horse so you can type in like 1000 pounds and it’s going to tell you anywhere between 14 to like 24 pounds of cubes a day is OK but like everybody else said you want to gradually introduce it to them like I’m doing now

[Scribbler]

This is an ancient thread. Usually if we want to start a new conversation we start an new thread.

[lorilu]

Here in Florida we can’t soak overnight if it’s warm. It starts to ferment. Same with beet pulp. I feed a big scoop of T/A cubes with every feeding, and it soaks just fine in the time it takes to prepare the rest of the grain ration.