Alfalfa 'intolerance'..your thoughts?

[RhythmNCruise]

I’ve known one horse for sure that could NOT eat alfalfa. He was the sweetest, gentlest, most reliable old kid’s lesson horse. An angel of an animal. Anyone could ride and handle TC and he was going to take care of them.

Unless someone fed him a flake of alfalfa. I saw it with my own eyes. He turned into a snorting, jittery, glassy-eyed maniac. No one could ride and handle TC. He was NOT going to take care of them (at least not in a good way, LOL).

He’s my one piece of anecdotal evidence. And it wasn’t just the one time. His owner had loaned him to the barn to be used for lessons. She told the trainer/manager “NO alfalfa for him. Ever.” But of course, everyone thinks they know better. A new manager came in and convinced trainer horse could surely eat it…must’ve been a fluke. Nope! TC turns into fire-breathing dragon.

Stop feeding, and he returned to his sweet self. It was absolutely the alfalfa. No doubt.

I’ve had some get a little reactive on it as well. I’ve had some that acted calmer on it because it was probably soothing to some gastric issues. I don’t feed it to my guy much as he’s one that’s more likely to start looking for reasons to act like a goof ball if he’s on the 'falfa!

I’ve posted the story about TC at least once or twice on this forum and another one. I’ve seen sensitivity to alfalfa come up quite a lot on the forums with a variety of experiences.

[Amberley]

@JB

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

I know that, it’s exactly what I said? There is still a difference- as there is between east and west coast alfalfa in the USA- due to the growing conditions and number of cuts per year and that it’s typically fed as haylage. It’s often higher protein than you’d typically get on the east coast USA.

IMHO most horses who get too “hot” on alfalfa are missing protein from their regular diet. Do horses on an alfalfa diet need work to “stay sane” or do they just feel good and full of energy for the first time in a long time? They certainly build muscle more easily and hold up to more intense work, especially if they are on rich green and leafy west coast alfalfa

[RhythmNCruise]

I think sometimes it’s horses feeling better. I have fed alfalfa in order to increase energy in some horses that are too laid back and unmotivated to work.

The horse I mentioned above wasn’t feeling good. He looked like he was about to come unglued and couldn’t stand being in his own skin. Just…freaked out and not at all happy about life.

[beowulf]

I’ve had alfalfa as part of my feeding program for over 20 years. Lots of different types of horses, some even coming straight from the track into my program. I’ve never noticed a downside. I have noticed many positives: better coat and hoof, better topline and muscling, better gut health, better work ethic, and personality changes for the better. If they have to be on stall rest I typically pull grain entirely and just feed hay/alfalfa pellets with an RB.

One year I pulled a couple from the alfalfa thinking it didn’t really make too much of a difference, and noticed them dropping condition and energy pretty quickly. It’s a staple in my program, YMMV.

[TheHunterKid90]

Generally speaking, alfalfa doesn’t make a horse hot but every horse in an individual.
When I was a kid my mom had a horse that lost his mind of Strategy. Every other horse in the barn handled it well - not Nicky….lots of gymnastic moves.
You also have to consider the horses life style and how much work he is in.

[NancyM]

I’ve fed a lot of alfalfa over a number of decades, to a wide variety of horses successfully. But in the last decade or so, I’ve had TWO, who are by the same stallion, who can not handle it. The first of these, a home bred filly started to colic regularly after weaning. Like 5 times a week… down and rolling in the stall, moaning in pain. I went through a lot of banamine. Finally, one night I really thought she was dying, and I took her out of the barn/paddock, and tossed her out into the field, to see if “Dr. Green” might help. By morning, she was bright and perky, no problems. I began to suspect the alfalfa. Then, we sold that farm (where I was buying alfalfa loads each year) and moved to our present farm, where we make our own hay, mostly and alfalfa/grass mix. The horses are out at pasture a lot, and winter graze on the alfalfa/grass hayfields. She had no problem with this. But in summer, if I fed her the beautiful alfalfa/grass hay off the same field that she had successfully grazed in the winter… colic again was the result. The only difference was that the hay was cut at the prime of it’s growth, highest protein levels, quick dried, and beautiful. In the winter, the alfalfa was dead and yellow, lower protein. She was fine with that. And I began to understand what was triggering the colic. As a result, we worked up several small grass hay fields, which we now cut and bale specifically for this mare… so that she does not have to eat our “nice” hay. She’s a TB mare, and she’s now 24 years old.
The moral of the story is… there’s a reason why. Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s there. The other mare, by the same stallion, who also became obvious that she had similar issues, not colic, but “girthy” and uncomfortable being ridden. That, also, was the alfalfa. Two horses, with different responses to the alfalfa, but the same source of the problem.
So that’s my thoughts on alfalfa. All the other horses here have no issues with the alfalfa.

[JB]

@Amberley

I know that, it’s exactly what I said? There is still a difference- as there is between east and west coast alfalfa in the USA- due to the growing conditions and number of cuts per year and that it’s typically fed as haylage. It’s often higher protein than you’d typically get on the east coast USA.

Your intent wasn’t clear at all to me. It’s still alfalfa. NC-grown Orchard isn’t the same as Washington-grown, and in WA what’s grown on each side of the mountains can be different. Growing region does matter, but it’s still alfalfa, still the same proteins, still the Ca:P imbalance, etc

@Amberley

IMHO most horses who get too “hot” on alfalfa are missing protein from their regular diet.

Not really. When a horse can’t have a 4-5lb flake, or 3c of pellets, without losing his marbles, it’s not a protein deal.

@Amberley

Do horses on an alfalfa diet need work to “stay sane” or do they just feel good and full of energy for the first time in a long time?

Lots of broodmares eat a lot of alfalfa to maintain body condition, certainly not in any, or hard work for most of their pregnancy and lactation period.

Absolutely, adding alfalfa to a diet increases energy (calories = energy) and sometimes that makes a horse overweight, sometimes it makes them more energetic aka “hot”

You can make a dull horse who hasn’t been fed well, “hot” by feeding him properly such that he’s finally got his genetic energy properly fueled, and it doesn’t have to be using any alfalfa

[Clemfandango]

My mare does not get hot on alfalfa, but she does colic (gas) each and every time we’ve tried to incorporate some into her diet.

I wish she didn’t, because she would then eat enough forage to keep her weight stable in winter…. She struggles to eat enough when it’s cold. In summer she has the opposite problem. It’s also much cheaper here so I do wish she could tolerate it…. But in terms of hotness/ spookiness it made no difference

Edit- my vet feels she colics on it as she tends to only eat the tasty leaves, and doesn’t eat the stems…we cut the alfalfa and switched to grass hay only and haven’t had a colic episodes or emergency vet visits since

[MsM]

It seems like there are different ways horses “don’t tolerate” alfalfa.

Some just get too much protein and energy in their diet. So Sparky starts acting hotter.

Some can’t seem to digest it properly. Maybe too rich? And you get colicky reactions.

And some seem to react like it is a drug! Not useable energy, but twitchy, jumpy, can’t focus, seeing dead people “energy”. So sweet Spakry becomes difficult to handle and yet it is difficult to access any extra energy in work.

[mmeqcenter]

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[Bluey]

@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).

This may be regional, in some areas of the US alfalfa is considered evil poison, the belief is horses turn crazy on it.

After a long life breeding and training horses, I only had ONE horse that was truly allergic to alfalfa and would have quarter sized welts all over if he was near any of it.

As far as any other symptom that can really be from alfalfa, no, some horses may get too fat or fresh if you increase energy amounts, but you will see that with any source of extra nutrients, if you feed too much, not just alfalfa.

In our area alfalfa has been forever the only real source of harvested hay, other hay has to come from far away, so alfalfa is what most use for hay supplements to any diet.

Rehabbing horses alfalfa is critical, is what our vets recommend and have for decades.
There may be the rare horse that has a problem with alfalfa or any other nutrient, most other horses do fine with it for us.
Our older Cushing’s horse thrived on dry-lot and a salt block and alfalfa only, his Prascend in a piece of Fig Newton, for 9 years, according to our vets in excellent health.

Nutritionist say when they add alfalfa to any ration they figure the “alfalfa factor” adds a few percentage points to the expected performance.