>No need to be testy, Susan. I know you know
what you >are talking about.
My point is that if you want to know the
physiological reasons for what you're seeing in your own horses, then
ask. If you prefer to use phrases like 'yada yada yada' , 'I don't buy
it' and work off the logic that if it's green and smells good it must be
better, then you're on your own. I don't get paid for this.
> No, I don't go ou there with bags yet.
I have had my hay >tested and it wasn't very impressive. What major signs
of >disease am I missing?
If you had your hay tested, what was there about
it that wasn't impressive? As far as major signs of disease, you're
still working off the assumption that there has to be major disease present to
justify minimizing alfalfa in the ration. That's not always the
case.
>I know about entroloths (SP?) but what else?
As far as >heart rate and recovery, has never been a problem.
No room for improvement whatsoever? My
philosophy has always been that I don't need life-threatening illness to
be looking for improvement. I can't even count the numbers of riders
that have said they don't have any problems but will eliminate the alfalfa,
and then lo and behold, come back six months later and tell me, gee, they
never realized how much better their horse has gotten. IMO, what
separates the really successful riders are that they *never* stop looking for
ways to improve their horse's health.
> I don't think the hay I get here in
Florida is anything like >the hay I saw out west. Right now I have T&A
that is >nothing but sticks and smells old.
Since I know of numerous owners in Florida that
are able to get decent quality grass hay, I would assume it's
available.
>Why do we always compare alfalfa to
steak?
Because both are too rich to constitute the
entirety of a healthy diet.
> One is a >vegetable protein and one
is an animal >protein. Just like beans and nuts are high in protein but
>are easier to digest than meat.
Actually, that's not accurate either, but that's
another topic.
Susan
G