'Alfalfa makes a hot horse'- Myth?

Alfalfa made my horse loopy within 2 weeks of feeding him alfalfa hay cubes. I had to stop. Didn't make him hot, just loopy. All horses seem to handle that stuff differently.

OK, now I'm really worried, my vet said to feed my pregnant mare alfalfa to supplement since no grass available and we're feeding her regular hay(coastal) and sweet/pellet mix( well mare sweet now). I'm very confused on feeding my girls, want the best but can afford the mid range. I feed mine pellet & sweet feed (not much grazing were I live, sandy) plus hay & alfalfa cubes. What should I be feeding them, 2 arab mares, 900 lbs, 1 pregnant?

Just try it for a week or so. You'll know very quickly whether it affects her or not. If it does, just stop feeding it. No harm, no foul.

Only took my mare about two days to get loopy on it LOL

MissDV you might start a new thread because we are going to have tons of questions for you ...

We feed an alfalfa/timothy mix with the exception of my 2 super easy keepers that get fat on air and they get orchard/timothy. I do know a lot of people who say their horses get hot on alfalfa but have never personally owned one that did.

I have been feeding my 5 year old mare alfalfa pellets with free choice coastal hay and it has done WONDERS for her. She has put on weight (which is great for her) and is not "hot" at all.

Actually previously she was super impatient, wouldnt stand for more than 5 seconds without pawing or moving around. Now, she is very calm, but not lacking energy.

I was also worried that it would affect her negatively, but so far she has been awesome!

Exactly!

There is no exact diet that will fit all horses. The individual horse (weight, work load and environment) and the available feed stuffs need to be taken into consideration and the horse fed accordingly.

Well he's been on his alfalfa for a week now. The difference, even after a day, has been pretty drastic. He is just.. Calmer. Seems to have a longer attention span! I am definitely staying on the alfalfa.
Posted via Mobile Device

Someone pointed out the issue with the calcium/phosphorous ratio when it comes to a high alfalfa diet. That is important to note. Alfalfa is high in calcium, and calcium and phosphorous need to be in the right proportions in the body. So for those who feed mainly alfalfa, just be sure to offer your horse free choice minerals so they can 'right' themselves with phosphorous if they are out of balance.

We as the owners have to balance the diet research has shown that as another myth