alfalfa grass for baby horses

Question

alfalfa grass   hello ma'am, my trainer keep saying that he doesnt encourage his grooms to feed alfalfa grass to newly arrived 2 year olds as they tend to cough. is he true?

Answer
Hello Caine,

Thank you for your question.  Fresh forages and well preserved (mold and dust free) forages should not cause horses to cough.  If the forages are dust-free and horses are coughing, I would look for other issues including ventilation in the stalls and other respiratory ailments.

Moldy and dusty hay can cause respiratory issues over time.  In my opinion, you should never feed moldy or dusty hay to any horse, regardless of age.

Whether your trainer is right not to feed alfalfa or not may depend largely on the physical quality of that alfalfa.

Thanks, Corlena