Does anyone have any experience with Roundup ready alfalfa? I think it may be problematic causing ulcers in horses.
Why do you think that? Have you tested the hay for residual glycophosphate or is it just a general feeling against GMOs? Since alfalfa is usually a bit of a preventative for ulcers, what makes it so different?
Have you done any kind of trial? Do you know your horse has ulcers?
Also how would I or anyone else know if the feed store was selling round up ready alfalfa? It is not exactly labeled.
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Upon what do you base your belief?
G.
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Eager to see how those â˜ï¸ questions are answered. I feed a lot of alfalfa, potentially RUR, and have not seen anything in my horses that gives me any reason to suspect the hay is a problem.
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Well, this is just an observation, but several times I have tried to feed my welsh pony alfalfa that came from RUR sources, and each time he broke out badly with hives. He has allergy tested negative for alfafa, and has eaten it from other sources so I wonder if there might be a connection. Not saying there is or isn’t a connection, just posting what the pony said.
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I’ve fed RUR alfalfa for many years and have not had any issues with ulcers. Of course, that’s just anecdotal as I’m sure your account is as well
How do hives connect to ulcers?
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
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Well, the actual question part of OP’s post was “Does anyone have any experience with Roundup ready alfalfa?” and hives does seem like an experience . . .
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Alfalfa has a high calcium content.
Calcium is known to help combat ulcers, think Tums.
Alfalfa is known for being good for ulcers.
Calcium profile in alfalfa is not changed in Roundup ready alfalfa.
Thus, it would be rare that Roundup ready alfalfa would be any more problematic for ulcers than other types of alfalfa.
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In my area some hay and alfalfa in particular is sprayed with a preservative when cut to help keep it from molding. Neither of my horses will eat hay sprayed with a preservative. There it could be the RUR part or a preservative he is reacting to. The other source may not use a preservative, may use a different preservative or use less of the same one.
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We are so dry here, baling alfalfa has traditionally been just too hard.
Swathed alfalfa can go from too wet to bale to too dry, it shatters, in hours.
The hours in the night and dawn where moisture is up enough to bale are short.
Many here can produce nice alfalfa hay now by using a mister.
It comes on as soon as moisture is too short when baling.
They use straight water and they are putting up some very nice alfalfa.
Most alfalfa here is put up in big square bales for grinding in the dairy industry rations
The smaller bales are for the horse industry, not that large a market.
Not all growers bother with that more difficult market to please.
Alfalfa is a great hay, but raising it can be hard, in each location for different reasons.
That is where Roundup ready alfalfa helps some growers, giving them more options.
Is it glyphosate, or glycophosphate?
No connection. Just thought it was interesting.
I was responding to the first question re: experience with RUR alfalfa, not specifically to the ulcer part.
Thought it was an interesting experience and if one horse may get hives another may have a different adverse reaction (ulcers). If, in fact, they react at all.
Hives could be from the hay conditioner used on alfalfa so it can be baled at a higher moisture content to prevent leaf shatter.
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Troll trying to stir up yet another glyphosate/GMO argument? People are really bored right now.
There is no such thing as “glycophosphate.” That term originated in anti-glyphosate rhetoric generated by one particular tin foil hat-wearing nut who is really bad at chemistry.
- You can’t prove a negative, so you can’t say Roundup-ready alfalfa would not ever cause ulcers or hives or whatever in horses. All you can say is that there is no non-anecdotal evidence that it does and there is no reason to believe it would, although I’m not aware of any toxicity testing conducted with horses and Roundup-ready alfalfa.
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