Re: alfalfa hay and enteroliths

["Jeanne Slominski" <EnduranceMorgan1@home.com>]

I do like the alfalfa in the winter for the extra body heat. I'll get a mixed hay next time. I give my boys a 50/50 mix of Complete Advantage and shredded beet pulp to give them their supplements - vit/min, biotin, MSM, chondrotin sulfate, glucosamine. Sonny only gets a cup of each, while Wichita gets about 5-6 cups of each.

 

Sonny is a real easy keeper, while Wichita isn't, to put it mildly. I have to keep a very close watch on Sonny's weight, so that he doesn't founder again, as he did in May '00. Sonny also gets Thyroid-L and GTF Yeast, for the chromium picolinate - low thyroid/high glucose levels.

 

Thanks, Susan, you're just wonderful to share your knowledge so freely with us.

 

Jeanne

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Susan Garlinghouse

To: Jeanne Slominski ; ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 6:22 PM

Subject: Re: alfalfa hay and enteroliths

As far as I know, the mg content in the oat hay doesn't approach that in alfalfa.  So I'm happier with oat hay than alfalfa by far, and no, the two don't balance each other magnesium-wise. 

 

Oat hay with supplements is fine depending on the supplements (making sure it isn't creating a calcium-phosphorus inversion).

 

Oat hay with minimal alfalfa is okay depending on why you're feeding the alfalfa at all.  If it's to provide extra body heat during winter, that's fine, but preferably keep the alfalfa under 25% of the hay ration.  If it's to balance calcium-phosphorus, 2-3 pounds would suffice.  If it's for additional calories, you're much better off with beet pulp with or without additional fats added in.

 

Susan G