Alfalfa 'intolerance'..your thoughts?

[Melelio]

I have a STB/draft cross 4 year old from the kill pen from a KY Amish area. He’s back to weight and I’ve had him on a 50/50 feed pellet/alfalfa pellet mix since arriving in November. eating coastal/tifton hay only.

He is a silly thing, but has gotten quite bold and almost aggressive with his QH pal who is now hurt and can’t be turned out with him lest he get mauled, which is an dangerous uptick from the playfulness he was before.

I went in search of what might have made him more aggressive. Here’s the interesting thing:

You ask anyone in the US if alfalfa could make a horse ‘hot’ or whatever term you want to us, they’ll say “OH NOOO!!! Not my pookie!”

You search it in UK forums, get different answers. Why is that?

In the UK forums, folks have their crossbreds get hot/crazy/nervous/sweaty/drooly/agressive/itchy/not right. I can’t find ANYONE in the US that will admit to the same, as if Alfalfa is godlike here.

I will tell you I’m taking this boy OFF the alfalfa and will see if his sweaty/drooly/itchy/raised spot/aggressiveness goes away. What I read in the UK is it’ll take 24 hrs to a week.

WHY don’t US people seem to address this as a possible issue? Or is it something about the US alfa being ‘so much better’ than what the UK folks are getting? (I’m not even sure where theirs is sourced)…

Anyone here have horses that can’t tolerate alfalfa? (pleas don’t tell me about all it’s wonderful benefits; I understand it…want intolerance knowledge not how great your horses do on it).

[FjordBCRF]

@Melelio

WHY don’t US people seem to address this as a possible issue?

I’ve not seen this as the case, it seems pretty well known here (in my area I guess) that alfalfa can cause issues in horses that are sensitive to it.

[Melelio]

Yet I can’t find any posts on any forum about this other than the UK. Very weird. Are we in denial on this (along with so many other things) in the US?

[FjordBCRF]

Multiple people mentioned it in this very recent thread

I'm at my wits end- need help with a super-reactive horse

Thanks for the update. It sounds like you’ve made a reasonable course of action decision. No horse is worth getting someone hurt over.

[Annie10]

Ive had a couple of horses over the years that got a little nutty or weird if they got too much alfalfa so I think it’s definitely a thing.
Enough that did that I definitely noticed it as opposed to the ones who didn’t, and that when the alfalfa was cut back or taken away they improved.

[enjoytheride]

It became “not a thing” with the surge in “forage only” diets.

I have had two horses that totally came unglued on Alfalfa. A milder mix seemed to be fine. Those two were also sensitive to corn in their feed.

[luvmyhackney]

It’s a thing but not common. Some horses can have weird reactions to alfalfa or preservatives sprayed on it.

Usually it’s feeding too many calories and not enough work in my experience.

[endlessclimb]

I’m playing around with this with Grundy - she’s never going to be a foot perfect angel, but after halving her alfalfa ration (she only got about 1.5# a day, soaked) I swear I do think she’s cooled her jets and isn’t so jumpy.

She is on forage only, but apparently it needs to be grass.

Or I’m imagining the change. I don’t know.

[Pepsy]

Definitely have had horses that can eat alfalfa with no issues AND horses who have become agitated eating alfalfa and have calmed down physically and emotionally once alfalfa was removed from their diet.

[beowulf]

@Melelio

WHY don’t US people seem to address this as a possible issue?

Studies have proven it’s unlikely, unless your horse previously wasn’t getting the calories needed for energy.

This is distinct from alfalfa allergies, which is a bona-fide concern in some horses.

[ParadoxFarm]

@beowulf

Studies have proven it’s unlikely, unless your horse previously wasn’t getting the calories needed for energy.

This makes sense. I have my senior horses on alfalfa right now. The old 31-year-old gelding has no issues. The 25-year-old gelding was showing signs of “too much”. In the morning, I’d lead him in after he was out all night, and half way to the barn he would power spook and spin around me. That’s not like him. He did this probably four times recently. He’s normally a very mellow horse. I cut out his morning alfalfa, and he hasn’t spooked since. Anecdotal? Perhaps. He still gets nighttime alfalfa since the boys are turned out together. I think it was just too much for him.

[reefy]

I guess it depends on what forums you are perusing. Alfalfa certainly can cause kookiness with horses and I never use it on any of mine just to rule out any chance of it happening (plus I board and we only get bermuda). Current horse was on alfalfa before I got her but I don’t give her any as she doesn’t need it. I had a TB that could not have any alfalfa because he turned into a horse kite if he did.

[JB]

@Melelio

Yet I can’t find any posts on any forum about this other than the UK

I searched here for “alfalfa + hot” and found multiple posts

Hyper hyper horse- diet?

I usually work him first thing in the morning after he has been out all night on pasture. It has been extremely hot so he is not moving around very much during the day. I added the alfalfa in because he was looking ribby. I’m thinking of treating for ulcers just because he has been more spooky then usual. Normally he is not a worried horse.

Spinoff: Alfalfa - Hot Horse - Magnesium?

Was just reading though the thread about suspecting alfalfa is making a horse hot and spooky and how some horses seem to be affected by it and some don’t and the thought occured to me… Could it be that since we know magnesium deficiency can cause spookiness that the extra calcium in alfalfa is pushing it out of balance? Just a thought, but seems to make sense to me. Of course, I’m often wrong, too :lol:

Beet Pulp / Alfalfa Cubes = Hotness?

I know a lot more about riding than I do about horse feeding and care, so I suspect this is a very basic question and could find answers if I did a search, but don’t even know what to search for. I know corn and molasses contribute to hotness, but beet pulp? Alfalfa cubes? Yesterday a horse’s owner told me she’s taken the horse off alfalfa cubes and beet pulp (evening feed) because the horse has become pushy and obnoxious. The horse still gets some kind of pellet morning and evening and during…

Can Alfalfa cubes make horses hot?

So I recently brought my TB to barn that feeds alfalfa cubes and he seems to be pretty full of himself more than usual. Could this be from the cubes? Would it be better to feed hay?

Alfalfa Makes Them Hot! - How long before I see a change

I will start by saying that I am a pretty hardcore non-believer that alfalfa makes horses hot. I’ve always fed Alf pellets with their “grain” (aka beet pulp + ration balancer, maybe rice bran), and typically a 50/50 Alf to grass balance. I’ve scoped enough horses to believe it does help ulcer prone horses. I live in California and I have a new barn manager that is an east coast h/j rider. So she is a hard core believe that Alf makes them hot. I have one particularly hot/tense horse that she c…

Alfalfa Cubes Making a Horse Hot ??

Has anyone experienced their horse becoming hot due to feeding a quart of soaked alfalfa cubes? I gave a friends mare some and she attributed her “energetic” ride to the cubes.

Anyone take their horse off alfalfa because it made them a nightmare? Update post 41

If they get more energy it amps up whatever issues exist. If he bucks a little, more energy makes him buck more. I want the magic feed that makes my horse reliably hot. Alfalfa may contribute to impactiin colic in her. Oats no consistent change.

And there were more, I just stopped opening them

Any ingredient has the potential to be an allergen for a given individual. Almost always (because I don’t know if it’s 100%) it’s an allergy to a specific protein in that ingredient.

[Melelio]

Here’s one thread that seems to prove it’s not a fantasy…not in the UK anyhow:

Alfalfa sensitive horses

[Melelio]

Alfalfa sensitive horses

[Melelio]

I saw all the US posts that say alfalfa is godlike, but I seem to have one that’s different. I’ve never had one that I noticed this big of an issue with. I’ll be testing this week with completely removing alfalfa from his diet. It’s just too odd he has EVERY symptom that is spoken of (in the UK at least) that an alfalfa sensitive horse seems able to get.

[Amberley]

The balancers in the UK aren’t set up for much alfalfa. Most in the US come in alfalfa or grass hay versions. Never personally seen that in Europe.

Also the alfalfa itself is different, (and generally called lucerne)and often fed fermented like haylage instead of dried like hay. Lucerne baled as haylage is going to be a lot more high octane especially than east coast alfalfa.

Lots of additional differences, you can’t just compare social media posts without background and come to a conclusion.

[Foxglove]

FWIW my horse Bob was gelded at age 5 after 3 years of pasture breeding. He has 3 off-spring. He has changed hands 4 times --breeder to barrel racer (described Bob as “fat, lazy, and slow”) who travelled extensively to barrel race and may not have had him turned out at all --then to a sale barn --likely no turn out there —next to my friend who found Bob is extremely herd aggressive — he doesn’t play --he bites and bullies.

That’s why she sold him to me as I am set up with separate pastures for each horse. Bob is now living with 4 horses on each side of him --but no one he can maul.

I only feed alfalfa --period. Bob is the only horse I’ve ever had who was herd aggressive. Hay is my single most expensive horse item and labor intensive. I look for and buy the highest quality alfalfa I can find (have it tested). My horses look great and very, very little hay is wasted. Almost all the hay is fed in nibble nets --except for one horse who has no teeth in front --he has hay on the ground.

[JB]

@Amberley

The balancers in the UK aren’t set up for much alfalfa. Most in the US come in alfalfa or grass hay versions.

US Balancers aren’t set up much for alfalfa either, there are only a small handful of them: LMF, ProElite, Buckeye, Tribute, and 1-2 more, that’s pretty much is, barring something done by a local mill. The vast majority of brands, national and local, only have a grass balancer

There used to be more, 20+ years ago or so, Purina, Triple Crown, not sure if Nutrena had one, a few others, but my guess is that not enough people were/are feeding an all or mostly alfalfa diet to make enough purchases.

@Amberley

Also the alfalfa itself is different, (and generally called lucerne)

Lucerne IS alfalfa, both are Medicago sativa. They’re just different names in different countries.

@Amberley

and often fed fermented like haylage instead of dried like hay. Lucerne baled as haylage is going to be a lot more high octane especially than east coast alfalfa.

The US has fermented alfalfa as well, several different brands. The UK as a whole tends to do more haylage due to the wet growing conditions where it’s easier and safer to do haylage, than to get hay dried enough for regular hay

[MsM]

My current horse tolerates alfalfa very well.
Previous horse could not get much alfalfa without losing his marbles. BO (I board) got some lovely mixed grass/alfalfa hay with way more alfalfa than usual. A short time later he was super reactive to the point that he was a problem to lead in from turnout. Cut back on grain to reduce calories but no improvement. Switched him to grass hay and he returned to normal, even when grain was increased, So, for him, alfalfa was a problem!