"Alfalfa Makes My Horse Hot" and Other Thoughts on Nutrition 

Alfalfa hay is good for a horse's gut as the pH is higher and neutralizes excess acid in the stomach which can cause ulcers. Horses also need browse available due to their nature as grazing animals, whether pasture or grass hay. My horses do better with a quality feed that had chelated minerals, all necessary amino acids, correctly balanced omegas and low sugar. I can feed the same feed to all including my PPID horse due to the low sugar -starch ratio. It has NO corn, which is poorly tolerated in horses and leads to choke, impaction and colic and an imbalanced omega source that leads to inflammation. Even their winter coats are super shiny and they have fast growing manes and tails plus healthy hooves. The horses don't get "hot" but do feel good and only one gets fat because he steals food from others, so he gets more riding.

Amen!! Although some breeds handle feeds differently than others.

Good, simple info here! We are in the Northeast, so local alfalfa is hard to come by. We feed local timothy/orchard hay, but it is deficient in a few things, this is where hay testing can come in handy. So, I do supplement with 5-6lbs of alfalfa pellets per day to add in some calories and protein! Other than that-a ration balancer and some Vitamin E & Omegas (W3 Oil).

I feed low sugar beetpulb shreds hemp meal Crypto aero organic feed and second cutting alfalfa soaked

I'll take Timothy hay, half out of the boot, clean water, trace mineralized salt, and an occasional flake of alfalfa. And, yes, most horses are over supplemented.

We always feed first cutting alfalfa and our horses have done just fine. Weather there being used everyday on the mountain or setting in the winter.

These videos on the questions have been great. I’ve had to catch up. Is that Rooster? He looks great!

my horses are fat just from their pasture..and no I definitely dont ride them enough...no grain added and no supplements - if I Ever fees in the winter it's a low starch hay replacer grain..I gave my mustang alfalfa hay and he about couldn't stand still - he was ready to jump at any second..in fact he would start to go then just stop (at that point all we could do is halter and brush him..and I'd get on the mounting block and band his mane - not cause I really cared to band his mane but it was more just to have him get used to seeing me up there above his head for when riding time came).

Awesome tip on soaking alfalfa. Thanks

Good presentation. Side note: l seem to think a fat horse may developed a thick crest which can lead to a navicular situation. I think thats what happened to the neighbors horse. Without Xrays its a guess. To address numerous buck offs he was experiencing, he asked me to ride the fresh off the rather large chunk. It was my opinion that over weight in regard to the behavior issues was the result of over feeding, so I told him the horse was probably lame, and that it was something Xray would relieve. He wouldn't believe me. I never proved my point, nor did l need to. l was happy to let it go. There's so many horses to work with, and l had other business to attend to. Thanks for sharing.

I like hot horses so it's a non issue for me. My logic might not work for the pack string. I feed alfalfa in the morning , oat hay at lunch (yes the grain hay might juice them up) and alfalfa at night. They enjoy the change of feed at noon. I like to keep them grazing all day even though they are in a corral. Zero supplements. Fat and muscled is my favorite color. Never any colic or founder issues. If you have an issue with alfalfa it's probably cuz you can't ride and you and your horse need more training. I've heard that first cutting is for dairy cows, second cutting is best for good horses and third cutting is for trail nags. Feeling old and awnry today.

Excellent 👍

There is no sugar in beet pulp it has been extracted before and in fact it is a great food for young horses for putting on weight. You are giving misleading info. People need to speak to professionals and have them design a diet specifically for each individual horse.