Grain

Question
QUESTION: I have a 6 yr old gelding QH who previously went thru alot of training, his last trainer had told me to keep him on only alfalfa because the grain sweet feed was making him goofy.   I am wondering if at his age how he is getting his vitamins only with alfalfa.   Does he need more than this and what would you recommend, he use to be about 200 lbs. heavier, he lost that only on alfalfa and he looks great now.   So if you do suggest a grain how do I do this without putting additional weight on him.   Thank You in Advance.

ANSWER: Hi Linda,
This is a very good question.  Although alfalfa hay is a wonderful forage in a horse's diet, it does have it's short comings.

Although alfalfa is rich in overall crude protein, it is low in the amino acid (building block of protein) lysine.  Lysine is the amino acid required in large quantities for building muscle, and in horse's rations it is the most limiting...in other words it is the one the horse's body runs out of most frequently.  Without it, the horse's body must stop making muscle until more becomes available.  

Alfalfa also contains considerable amounts of Calcium (which is a good thing) but is comparatively low in phosphorous.  This throws the ideal calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1.5:1 way off to anywhere up to 6:1.

There are a couple of different options for supplementing the alfalfa to even out your horse's nutritional requirements.  You could piece together some protein sources high in lysine (soybean meal is a very good choice) and use a mineral/vitamin supplement (although finding one higher in phosphorous could be a trick).  More ideally, I would suggest you look at some of the Buckeye Horse Feeds that have been formulated specifically to compliment alfalfa forage.  For your horse I would suggest the 'Gro'n Win Alfa'.  It will provide the lysine lacking in alfalfa, and will help lower the Ca:Phos ratio, as well as complete the remainder of the mineral and vitamin requirements. Because your horse is a 6 year old still in work, and therefore still growing muscle, he really should have that lysine.  The 'Alfa Plus mineral & Vitamin Block' and 'Alfa Plus Mineral & Vitamin Premix' could also be options but with a lower lysine content.  

Although I'm not one that believes that every horse needs grain in the diet, a young horse in moderate to heavy work certainly needs a balanced ration.

It's good that you have his weight in the ideal range for the work that he is doing.  Just keep in mind that he has been losing weight, and you don't want him to continue to do so until he has gone too far the other direction and you find him too thin.  If he gets too much attitude on starch grain, use feeds that are high in digestible fibre and fat as a source of calories to keep him in shape.

I hope this helps and thank you for your question.
Corlena

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your answer.  Can you suggest a feed that is high in fibre and fat.  Maybe something in Purina.   Also,  He has a mineral block but is not interested in it at all.   He is not I don't believe losing any more weight, my concern mostly was his vitamin intake.   Thanks again in advance.

Answer
Hi Linda,

Since your horse's weight is stable and you need only to balance out the remainder of his ration, here are some suggestions.  Purina Mills (Purina in the U.S.) has a product called 'Nature's Essentials ENRICH 32' supplement that will complete the mineral, vitamin and lysine portion of your horse's diet.  Agribrands Purina's (Purina in Canada) relative equivalent is 'Optimal'.  Both of these products are not designed as complete feeds, but rather as ration balancers so you will find the suggested feeding rates are relatively low (don't let the high price shock you, as you will be feeding less).  I am used to using the Optimal and if I were making a recommendation for that product for your horse...I would suggest 3 cups a day total (Purina provides the feeding cup for the product but you need to ask for it separately, it should be free).

You would need the high fat high fibre feed when/if your horse needs to gain body condition.  Of the Purina line, I like the 'Evolution Elite' (Canadian version) or the 'Ultium' (U.S. version) for the more performance type horses.  I know that Agribrands makes 'Hi Fat Hi Fibre' in both a pellet and a chink form but was unable to find the Purina Mills equivalent.  These are more maintenance type complete feeds but could also work for your horse should he need only moderately more calories.

I hope this helps

Thanks, Corlena