Lucern pasture

Question
We have just purchased a farm; some of the pasture has been sparsely sewn to lucern. Is this OK to run horses and ponies on?
Cheers karina

Answer
Hi Karina,

Thank you for your question.  Lucerne or alfalfa can make good feed for horses.  It is a nutrient dense forage that is high in energy, rich in protein, and generally high in macrominerals.  But getting used to an all-lucerne fresh forage ration may take your horse's digestive system a while.  My suggestion would be to phase them on to the lucerne gradually, by allowing them to graze it for a few hours per day for the first week or so and gradually increase grazing time over the course of a few weeks.  Some ponies may be more sensitive to the richness of the lucerne so extra caution for them may be important.  If you have ponies prone to laminitis, the lucerne could pose a greater risk of them foundering.  If this is the case for your ponies you may want to limit their access to the lucerne either by restricting grazing time and feeding them grass/grass hay the rest of the time.

If the pasture has only a bit of lucerne in it, there is less of an issue with grazing it.  Generally speaking, lucerne doesn't survive well when grazed so chances are it will die out if there is heavy traffic.  The root bulb of the lucerne sits right at ground level if not slightly on top of the soil...and is destroyed if it gets trampled too much.  And lucerne doesn't last long in some environments so without re-seeding it will only last 2-4 years in your pasture.  

The better your pasture is, the less you need to supplement your horses with other feeds so alfalfa can make nice pasture.  Just use caution in your transition to the new forage and keep an eye on the ponies.  

Thanks, Corlena