Hay Pellets?

The alfalfa will give him a little extra calcium and protein. He needs it for growth( assuming he'll be a yearling pretty soon). Start him out slow, with just a handful and add more over the course of a couple of weeks. If you get hay, a flake a day should be fine, with pellets, soaked, together with his RB, a pound a meal. Dry weight. The pellets have slightly higher nutrient content than the hay, mainly because they don't waste anything.
I fed my mommas to be, the babies, youngsters, and adults soaked alfalfa, with all necessities, and they were all fine

Good to know! I knew the alfalfa would help with calcium, which is what he needs for how growing bones. He's 8 months now, and will be a year old in April :)

That grain doesn't have the ratio of protein to fat that I like.

Lily is on a 12:10. (Martindale Feed Mill | Premium Cattle Feed Since 1962) Babies need that extra fatty oils. She looks amazing on it, and I only give her half a scoop.

She gets several flakes of coastal, but if we're running out of good coastal we supplement with alfalfa cubes.

I was previously feeding him some rice bran to help add fat to his diet, but since he's pretty much on stall rest currently I don't want him getting too chunky. His coat is soft and shiny and healthy, as are his hooves so the ration balancer is doing great things for him right now.

Believe it or not, you really don't want him growing TOO quickly- look up all you can about OCD (the joint problem) online. The highest risk factors are genetic predisposition and a too high calorie/fast growth diet. I can't remember if high calcium was a problem or not.

Slow and steady is best. Alfalfa is a great diet, but grass hay is fine too assuming it's good quality (which can be hard to tell without any sort of analysis). For example, the coastal hay I bought this year came in at 15% protein when tested! That's higher than some alfalfas, and more than enough for my guy. Any chance you know anything about the hay you have?

It all depends how much of a good thing is still a good thing. Two pounds of alfalfa give him that little extra he still needs, at least until he is a true yearling. Then it can be toned down a bit. OCD comes from high grain rations. And Henny eats grainless

No I don't know anything nutritionally about the hay. I switch between a coastal hay and a bermuda jiggs hay bug mostly coastal. It's nice and stemmy but also soft enough for him to chew without difficulty.

Yes, no grain for Henny :) My parents think sweet feed and rolled oats are all a horse needs. Which is why I'm in control of what all the ponies eat LOL

Just checked Bermuda. Average 10% crude protein, feedvalue is 85( oats being 100). If I remember right, Coastal is less nutritious. Don't quote me, tho
In case of a youngster, I would rather give alfalfa than ricebran. Alfalfa is lowest in NSC of all forages, and still gives calories, beside protein and calcium. Ricebran is more than twice the NSC.

I'm getting confused. I thought coastal hay essentially was bermuda grass. *scratches head*