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Why would alfalfa give diarrhea?

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26K views 28 replies 9 participants last post by  trailhorserider  
#1 ·
A neighbor came and spoke with me while I was feeding Cinder (I seem to have a very nosey neighborhood lol) and asked what I was feeding. I said her grain was a mix of Nutrena Safechoice and alfalfa pellets, and her hay was very good quality alfalfa/orchard grass mix.

He asked if Cinder was getting diarrhea from it and I said no, her poops were perfect (as horse poop goes) and he said in his experience alfalfa always caused diarrhea.

I haven't heard of it before but I'm curious, does alfalfa give diarrhea? Why?
 
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#2 ·
It can give a horse diarrhea but it's certainly not the majority of animals, as believed by your neighbor.

It's a richer food source, which is why some horses have trouble digesting it. Especially older horses or ones with digestive issues.
 
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#5 ·
Ok. Awesome. I have always fed it and felt like I was doing something wrong for a moment there. It's not something I feed just by itself, but I do sort of "pad out" the feed with it. If that makes any sense. I clear the manure out of the pasture daily and haven't seen anything that looks remotely like diarrhea but I will keep an eye on it.

If you were to say, bring a horse in on it, would you acclimate it to the alfalfa mix the same as you would with any new feed? Small portions at a time?
 
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#9 ·
No, not at all. Your questions were quite reasonable.

None of us were born knowing how to care for horses, and what I still don't know far exceeds what I do.

The only thing a true horse person can say is that you'll never stop learning about horses. No one will ever know everything about them.
 
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#10 ·
Oh I have to agree, I've been around horses almost all of my life but I'm still constantly learning about them. I think that's one of the reasons I love them so much lol.
 
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#13 ·
That's exactly what I was thinking of!! More worrisome are the adults who want a horsie in the backyard and know all they'll ever need to know from their sister's boyfriend's uncle who told them what to do...
 
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#14 ·
Yes, those people scare me. Not for them so much, as for the poor horse who lost the Good Owner Lottery. :?

Being a noob is fine. We all were once. What's not fine is asking for advice, not getting the advice they wanted to hear, and then getting snarky and nasty.
 
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#16 ·
Wild Mustangs, or OTTB's that need serious retraining, have soundness issues, and are hard keepers... Because the easy, healthy ones are BORING and they LOVE their PONEH!
 
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#17 · (Edited)
Y'all just don't understand, because they have a majickal, speshul connection with their perfect poneh!

They feel SORRY for you, because you'll never have the bond they do with their horsie! They feel sorry for your horses too, because it's obvious you're a meanie doodie poo poo head who's abusive and neglectful!

Um, sure. It's all flowers, lollipops and butterflies until the horse starts acting like what it is, an untrained horse.

If the animal's lucky, it gets sold on to someone who can retrain it before it gets too farked up. If it's not lucky, it'll get sent to auction as a crazy, dangerous beast.

Then the whole cycle will start over again, because it couldn't possibly have been the owner's fault! The horse was just bad, and the next one they get will be perfect!

Can you tell I've seen this scenario happen over and over and over again? :-x
 
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#19 ·
LOL! We just don't understand that kind of bond. It's fate, and we obviously have bad karma for picking on the kiddies.

Cinder, I hope you don't feel badly anymore about asking a valid question!!
 
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#20 · (Edited)
Cinder, you can believe your poneh is majickal if you want.

Just don't believe you can train it with only lurve, treats, DVDs, and the Vulcan Mind Meld.

'Cause, y'know, they ain't got money fer no trainer. They're sure they can train their own horse, even though they've just learned which end poops and which end eats, especially since they have such a speshul bond! :?
 
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#25 ·
ALFALFA DOES NOT CAUSE DIARRHEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT least in the sense of sickness. Yes alfalfa will cause a loose stool, but not a viral infection ---- BIG DIFFERENCE!

The most common cause of diarrhea is a virus that infects the gut. The infection usually lasts for two days and is sometimes called "intestinal flu" or "stomach flu."


Almost any feed that is very high in digestible energy will go through the hind gut very quickly and the gut does not have enough time to properly reabsorb the water out of the hay before it is discharged. This is why animals on alfalfa will consume more water than animals on a coarse grass hay. This is also why hays like bermudagrass which can have very low relative feed value can cause impaction colics as they move so slowly through the hind gut that the hind gut absorbs way too much water out of the hay and the hay does not have any lubrication (water) to allow it too move on out the rectum.
 
#27 ·
Production Acres- do you think alfalfa and bermuda being fed together, say 50/50 mix, is a good way to feed, and will negate some of the risks of feeding bermuda?

I live in Arizona, and the cheapest, most available hay is alfalfa. The second most available hay is bermuda. I have been giving my mare and 4 month old colt a 50/50 mix of both, because I worry that straight alfalfa may cause growth issues in the foal due to the high calcium/protein content. I am a big believer in alfalfa, but this is my first foal and I also worry about developmental orthopedic issues too. Hence, my giving them both hays, instead of straight alfalfa like I normally would.

The mare also has chronic, loose stools, although she seems very healthy and all my horses are dewormed every 8 weeks. So I have come to the conclusion that is just the way she is, perhaps due to the alfalfa. I have fed other horses for years and years and never had one with loose stools from alfalfa before. But I'm glad to hear that this may be "normal" for some horses being fed alfalfa, because she has been this way since I bought her (over a year) and she seems healthy and energetic, but her stools are looser than what I would consider "normal."

Anyway, I am assuming that alfalfa/bermuda together is a good mix? It's really my only option, other than feeding straight alfalfa or straight bermuda. I rarely ever see other kinds of hays available here.
 
#28 ·
you really need to know the quality of the hay you are feeding. A 200+ rfv alfalfa will not go through any animal in a dry stool situation. A 120 rfv alfalfa will make good manure. Likewise, a 65 rfv bermuda will colic a horse quickly, but a 95 rfv bermuda will be a good hay! Mixing the two hays is a good idea, but still some knowledge of the quality would be helpful.
 
#29 ·
Thanks for your response.

I honestly don't know the nutritional value of my hay(!). They sell it as #1 or #2 quality horse hay, and I always get #1, because it seems to be the best quality. Sometimes #2 quality is musty or dusty or dirty or full of weeds. I am kind of picky on my alfalfa!

What I am feeding is leafy, green, and fine-stemmed. Probably too rich if anything, but I would rather have super nice alfalfa and dilute it down with bermuda than get hay that is musty and dirty and that I don't feel safe feeding.

So I guess I can't answer to the feed quality of my alfalfa, only that I try to buy the cleanest and best-looking available to me. :-|
 
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