E6-Boarder& Trainer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 10, 2003
Consider Alfalfa For Your Horse’s Feeding Program
MADISON, Wis. Once
considered unsuitable for
horses because it was “too nu
tritious,” alfalfa has become
established as the premier for
age for horses.
The high levels of energy,
protein, minerals, and vita
mins contained in alfalfa are
why purebred breeders and
trainers nationwide have
made high quality alfalfa the
centerpiece of their horse nu
tritional programs.
Horses have developed a
reputation for being compli
cated animals to feed, largely
because they are more sensi
tive to dietary changes, nutri
tional imbalances and physi
cal characteristics of feed than
other classes of livestock.
Basing a horse’s nutritional
program on high quality alfal
fa reduces many of the prob
lems associated with feeding
traditional high grain diets; al
falfa supplies high levels of
energy, minerals, and protein
while also providing sufficient
fiber for proper digestive
health.
Types Of Feeds
Ann Swinker
State Extension
Horse Specialist
Penn State
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) Your horse can get its
essential nutrients from many
types of feed.
Roughage/Forage Roughage
Found in hay or grass, is the
bulk of the horse’s food. Grass
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Nutritional Factors
To Consider
Alfalfa contains virtually
every nutrient required for
proper nutrition of horses.
However, it is commonly
recommended that a reduced
quantity of alfalfa be fed with
some grain supplementation
to prevent feeding of excessive
levels of protein and calcium.
The table shows the nutri
tional requirements of various
classes of horses and typical
diets containing high quality
alfalfa (harvested at first flow
er) that can be fed to meet
these needs.
The general rule of thumb
is that a mature horse will eat
approximately two percent of
its body weight daily. Grain
should not exceed SO percent
of the diet, and more than six
pounds of grain per day
should be fed in two separate
feedings at least six hours
apart.
Always allow horses free
choice access to water, salt,
and a phosphorous-containing
mineral supplement.
or alfalfa hay, or a combination
of the two, are good sources of
roughage.
Grass hay is generally higher
in fiber and dry matter than al
falfa, but alfalfa may be higher
(Turn to Page E 7)
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Physical Factors Affecting
Alfalfa Utilization By Horses
Stem texture, stem diame
ter, and leafiness have all been
shown to impact alfalfa pay
ability and utilization by
horses. The horse is more apt
to sort forage than other live
stock species and will com
monly refuse to eat coarse-tex
tured stems.
Alfalfa varieties selected for
higher forage quality (i.e. the
W-L HQ line) generally pos
sess finer stems and greater
leafiness, both characteristics
that improve palatability and
utilization when fed to horses.
Alfalfa hay with finer stems
and softer stem texture is
more attractive to horses, con
tributing to greater intake and
less wastage when fed.
Anti-Quality Factors
Should Be Avoided
Anti-quality factors
most commonly affect
horses include: molds,
dustiness, blister beetles,
and toxic weeds. Moldy
hay is usually caused by
baling hay before it is
sufficiently dry, and
should never be fed to
horses. Because the
horse is not a ruminant,
they are unable to de
grade mold toxins dur
ing digestion, and thus
are very sensitive to the
presence of even small
amounts of mold toxins
in their diets.
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Dustiness (often caused by
rain damage or by being baled
too dry) can often be eliminat
ed by soaking the hay in water
prior to feeding. Presoaking
all hay, whether dusty or not,
has been shown to significant
ly reduce the incidence of res
piratory problems in horses
fed alfalfa hay.
One of the most commonly
discussed, and infrequently
observed, concerns with alfal
fa feeding to horses is the
presence of blister beetles. The
blister beetle contains the
compound cantharidin, which
is extremely toxic to horses,
even in small amounts.
Managing alfalfa hay prior
to harvest has proven effective
in reducing or eliminating
blister beetle infestations;
under no circumstance should
blister beetle-infected alfalfa
hay be fed to any animal.
that
Alfalfa hay intended for
horse diets should be virtually
weed free. Certain weeds,
such as nightshade, can be
toxic to horses.
In addition, weeds slow the
drying rate of alfalfa hay,
which often leads to molds
and dustiness. If a significant
quantity of weeds are ob
served in a lot of hay, an alter
native source of forage should
be considered.
In conclusion, proper nutri
tion, including the feeding of
high quality alfalfa varieties
(e.g. WL 325 HQ) will greatly
enhance the performance,
health, and longevity of a
horse and can significantly re
duce supplemental feed costs
and veterinary bills.
W-L Research
Madison, Wis.
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