>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