feeding alfalfa pellets

[mad for mini's]

I have four yearlings on scant pasture and free choice quality grass hay. Three are nicely plump, not fat, but one is on the thinner side, not skinny just lean. I want to get her more protein to help and was thinking about feeding the pellets in addition to grass hay but my vet says that alfalfa pellets can cause choke in horses because of how the pellets swell up . Do any of you feed these or have had any trouble like this ? Is it worth the risk or should I just buy alfalfa mix hay ? I like being able to see how much alfalfa they are getting and without the trouble of having moldy or dusty hay from it. I am trying to stay away from feeding them pelleted feeds that have corn added to them because of moldy corn poisoning . I feed my dogs a dry food that is corn free why not for my horses ? They also have access to three types of mineral blocks , white salt , brown mineral and equine mineral blocks.

 

[Loess Hills]

Well, we use the very small alfalfa pellets......that I think were originated for rabbits.......they work very well, crumble easily, and are a good source of protein.

Perhaps your vet is thinking of alfalfa cubes which are larger and denser?

 

[mad for mini's]

I saw the cubes and the pellets at my local store . I thought the cubes were very large and would cause problems so I bought the pellets , it looks like rabbit chow. I called the vet before I fed any of it and told him that they were the small pellets so he knew what the size was . He said if they take a large mouthful and the pellets swell that the horse could choke . If anyone has had this problem , I would like to know before I try it out . Thanks for your replies .

 

[Steph G]

I used them at one time, but now have alfalfa hay again. During the time that I used them, I didn't have any problems. I mixed it into my regular feed. It was about 1/4 of the total mixture so they never got an entire mouthful of purely alfafa pellets.

 

[Russ]

If your worried about the pellets....try adding water to them about 5 minutes before you feed them. I do that and it works great.

 

[minimule]

I used to feed the tiny alfalfa pellets. We never had any problems with choke but sure had a lot of problems with colic and impactions. I did an experiment with the pellets once. I took 1 cup of the pellets and added 1 cup of water. It swelled to almost 2 1/2 cups of alfalfa afterwards. We switched to alfalfa hay, grass hay and a complete feed pellet and haven't had a problem since, going on 3 years now. (Knock on wood!!!!!)

 

[Floridachick]

I soak them 2 hrs before feeding time. The extra water is good for them anyways.

 

[disneyhorse]

Haven't had any problems with the big horse-sized pellets (not cubes). Sometimes I soak them along with the beet pulp, sometimes not. I usually mix them in with the soaked beet pulp and grain, the horses can then pick around them to get the yummy stuff and they get a little damp too.

The only choke I've ever had was on hay, so I guess they can choke on just about anything.

Andrea

 

[Tatonkas Dream]

I have used Alfa cubes but I soak them for about 5-10 mins FIRST, I find that they do a great job helping keeping them in shape and having a nice top line without hay belly, they only get a few cubes a piece each day.

I generally get the grain ready and the cubes in a different bucket add water and by the time I put my 3 girls up and grain I go back get the now expanded cubes - they blow up alot, I also find alot of dust in the bag and another reason I wet it. Anyhow I then go back and feed everyone there cubes, usually they are still eatting grain and it gives a little more time to expand.

I do this as it helps with stall clean up and wasted grass hay - I give them a little to munch on usually a 1/3 of a flake and some alfa cubes when they are stalled. The cubes they eat all up and I don't have half a flake of hay with poop in it in the afternoon.

(here in TX I stall during the day in the summer and at night in winter)

I've found it greatly benifital in many ways but would never feed it dry as I've heard too much about choke in minis esp in the last 15 mths of being involved with them.

 

[HGFarm]

I would think about adding a good junior feed like Purina Equine Jr. It is made for growing youngsters and is a very tiny pellet that is easy for them to eat.

Just edited to note that we have even had full sized horses choke on pellets.

 

[Charlotte]

We use the 1/4" alfalfa pellets and have for years. Never had a problem of any kind that I can remember.

We HAVE had horses choke on sweet feed! ..... big horses.

I think anytime you are adding something new, just go slow and easy to start them off.

We use alfalfa pellets for weight control...those who need more weight get more pellets. They are on Progressive Diet Blanacer and hay or pasture.

Charlotte

 

[ThreeCFarm]

I saw a big horse years ago choke on pellets. The vet that treated him wasn't a fan of pellets for that reason. However, I feed pellets because I don't see the pellets as being any more likely to cause choke than hay. And yes, I've seen horses choke on hay. And after all, I'm not cutting hay out of my horses' diets!

 

[KanoasDestiny]

I feed the big alfalfa/bermuda pellets and haven't had any problems with them (knock on wood). I notice that my gelding actually eats them slower than he did the tiny Equine Jr pellets, because he has to chew these instead of swollowing them whole. Sometimes I soak them when I feel the horses need extra water intake and they seem to like them both ways. Personally I love the pellets. Since I've been feeding them, I notice that both horses have more frequent healthier manuer piles, then when they were only eating hay and Equine Jr.

 

[SandyWI]

I've had two experiences with choke, and both were with my big riding horses, and each time it was after eating a pelleted grain. I've never had a mini choke, except a foal once when it was eating its mother's manure and a piece got stuck.

You said your horses were receiving "good quality" hay. If this is the case, I don't feel you need to add any alfalfa at all. You said one of your horses was on the lean side, so you wanted to add alfalfa to her diet.

Instead of adding the alfalfa, why don't you simply add a bit of vegetable oil or beet pulp? Either one will help her put on a bit of bulk, and with the vegetable oil, you'll get the benefits of a bit of added sheen to her coat. With the beet pulp you get the benefit of adding more fiber and more water to her diet, if you soak the pulp first.

Horses, when fed a good quality grass hay, really don't need alfalfa. However, it IS a good choice for growing foals and lactacting mares, because of the additional energyand nutrients it provides.

 

[PaintedPromiseRanch]

we've only had once horse choke on pellets in 10 years and it was a big horse. and actually he was leased to someone as a companion while he healed up a tendon injury... so not even sure what he choked on! but we do soak our pellets too, and find it easy to maintain or adjust weight because it's easy to measure out a little more or a little less pellets... everybody gets hay too for "natural" roughage since we live on dirt and have no pasture, but it's the pellets i use for weight management.

 

[mad for mini's]

Thanks for all the great advice and for sharing your experiences with me . I feel alot better about what I know I have to do now to get some weight on my girl .

:

She is the black pinto in my avitar .