With the increase in hay prices everywhere I am surprised that I was able to find 2nd cutting alfalfa for $7 for a 50# small square, plus maybe 25 -30 cents per bale for delivery!! BUT… I have a few questions:
Since I will be feeding an almost 100% alfalfa hay to my 2 seniors, (they will get some senior feed as needed for weight maintenance) do I need to find a ration balancer designed to be fed with an alfalfa diet? They will most likely be getting about half of the recommended amount of senior and free choice hay.
Also, one of the horses will only eat the leaves and very little of the stems, unless its really soft. The other will clean up the stems and then get fresh hay… What, if any is the nutritional difference in the stems verses leaves? NSC, fiber, protein, etc?
Thanks for any insight!!
I would get the senior ration balancer specifically designed for an alfalfa diet to balance the minerals.
Agree. Ration balancer is high protein and so is alfalfa plus alfalfa is high in calcium.
Yes - there are some ration balancers designed for alfalfa based diets, such as Gro n Win Alfa, which has lower protein and lower calcium.
There are a few ration balancers aimed at high/all alfalfa diets. Buckeye, ProElite, LMF, I know there are a couple more but I can’t think of them off hand.
The easiest thing might be to feed the proper amount of the balancer, and then add calories with a grass hay pellet. That’s going to do a better job mitigating the high calcium of the high alfalfa diet, than half the sr feed + half a serving of a alfalfa ration balancer
The protein isn’t the biggest deal, it’s the minerals that the alfalfa balancers address better. They’re just lower protein because you don’t need to be piling on even more.
AFAIK there aren’t any senior-specific ration balancers aimed at alfalfa diets. There are only a very small number of senior balancers to start, and AFAIK all are aimed at grass forages. Plus, IMHO, they are overpriced for not a lot of benefit. The “senior” part is often added joint support, and most of them don’t contain enough of the ingredients to do much.
You might be interested in this podcast. The June 21 (101) podcast was a replay on Alfalfa and was very interesting.
Feed Room Chemist: An Equine Nutrition Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Adult horses tolerate high calcium to phosphorous ratios well; short of a few rare medical conditions, there is no reason to be concerned about “high” calcium in alfalfa hay. As a nutritionist, I would not be concerned about trying to compensate for this in your situation. Now, the reverse problem (high phosphorous, low calcium, as is commonly found in grass forages) is much more serious.
Also, it is not necessarily a given that ALL alfalfa hay is particularly high in calcium relative to its phosphorous content. The alfalfa hay I bought last year had an almost spot-on 2:1 ratio. Without a hay analysis, it’s all a guessing game.
Adults can take a higher ratio than growing horses, for sure. But it’s always a good idea to try to lower it as best you can. Some alfalfa is even too high for even adults, in the 5-6:1 range.
But you’re right, without an analysis it’s a guess. A friend of mine in the mid-west has dealt with really bass-ackwards grass hay due to drought conditions the last few years - way high in Ca and not even enough P to make the ratio ok.
But generally, it’s a good idea to use a balancer for the type of forage you mostly feed, since the odds are better that you need more Ca for grasses, and the 1:1 ratio of Ca:P in the alf balancers helps reduce the ratio a little.
5-6:1 is still fine for adult, non-pregnant horses.
Really, unless the horse has kidney disease, a history of enteroliths, etc., it’s not something to lose sleep over. There’s a reason very few feed companies make alfalfa-specific balancers anymore. And almost none make “regular” concentrates geared towards alfalfa-based diets. “Excessive” calcium just isn’t a significant concern.
I moved my horse last fall to a barn that feeds only alfalfa. She is doing fine. I did switch from a general V/M supplement to LMF Super Supplement “A”. She is 20 but still with good teeth and she doesn’t leave as much as a leaf of it. I add Magnesium and Vitamin E to the ration balancer and she looks great and is working well.
Susan
Thanks, I think that might actually be the simpler solution. But now to find a balancer aimed at alfalfa diet. It looks like Chewy has the Tribute alfa balancer.
But at what point/ratio do I need to worry about the high calcium in alfalfa . For example: if I feed approx 1/4 of the daily forage as grass pellets? At what point could I just use a regular balancer?
Thanks, so if I have trouble finding an alfalfa balancer I will just continue with the Purina enrich.
Oh yes, Tribute is one of the others!
Grass vs alfalfa balancer is more or less based on which is fed at the higher percentage. So if you’re feeding 75% alf and 25% grass, go with the alfalfa balancer when possible.
Thanks!!
