I just ask cause I am not out there everyday and apparently she foundered before I got her. The guy that sold me the bales said a horse can sometimes founder on these bales cause they are 50% alpha and 1/2 grass. He said they are rich and not to give her too much, but she was on pasture all summer...
So is it ok to give her a whole square at a time?
2006-11-16 02:56:38 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
spread the bale out around the pasture. If you make five to ten small piles, the horse should be fine, she will have to walk around to get to the food, and it will be like she is grazing on a pasture. good luck
2006-11-16 02:59:54 · answer #1 · answered by camandizmom 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Our pasture horses have full access 24/7 to high quality alfalfa hay and we have never had one founder because of it. Founder is not caused by roughage (hay or grass), but by grain. If you horse is not use to alfalfa, then you need to introduce it to her slowly so she will not eat to much and colic on it, as it is higher in protein than plain grass hay, but after she has been on it for awhile, you should have no problems. You hay guy has no clue about the nutritional value of hay. If horses foundered on "rich hay" as your hay guy says, then the horses in the states where alfalfa is grown and fed would all be crippled. It is OK to give a whole bale at a time, but most animals will waste some of the bale. It is better to feed it out twice a day, unless you have a feeder where you can minimize waste.
2006-11-16 07:19:07 · answer #2 · answered by Paint Pony 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most horses can handle pure grass hay being fed free choice, but check the content (type of grass) and cutting (first cutting is the worst for founder as it is the highest in the sugars that cause founder). You say that it is half alfalfa, so i would say no to your question. Alfalfa can be fed in small amounts and can contribute to founder if there is too much in their diet. If you want to throw a whole bale out, buy some grass only bales and then separate into four or five piles around the pasture (make sure areas are dry). The problem with this is she may not find some of it, so it sits and mould, then she eats it later.....good cause for colic, or she eats it all in one day and then has nothing to eat for three days.
I would find someone who would be willing to help you feed her every evening, to throw a couple of flakes out to her.
2006-11-16 04:46:29 · answer #3 · answered by Riley 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it was just fescue or bermuda grass she would probably be ok Many horses get round bales to eat on as they wish and can regulate how much they eat. even then though you will still need to watch their weight incase they dont know when to stop :) However, Alfalfa and Peanut hay/grass is extreamly high in protein and horses should be limited on how much they eat. Im not really sure on the exacts but about 1/4 - 1/2 bale of alfalfa would be equal to a whole sq. bale or more of regular grass. If you know your horse has had foundering problems before I would be very careful feeding her/him alfalfa or if you do feed it feed in small quantities I would not feed more than 1/4 bale/ day of this mixture.
2006-11-16 05:19:29 · answer #4 · answered by dixiecowgurl85 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regular grass hay, yes, it will be OK to feed hay free choice, all the horse wants. They get free choice when out to pasture - hay is just dried grass.
But whoa on the alfalfa. It is high in protein and can founder a horse - shut their systems down, too much protein. Why are you feeding this mix anyway?
I feed my horses (5 of them) round bales of alicia bermuda hay. If your horse needs extra protein, ask your vet how much alfalfa you should add daily. Pasture grasses and alfalfa are very different. Can you find some plain old grass hay to feed her?
2006-11-16 11:01:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHY did she founder before? was it road founder? Laminitis from getting into the grain room? Is she sensitive to cool-season grasses?
I think by alpha you mean alfalfa which is a legume (in the bean family instead of the grass family). It's considered rich because of the higher protein content.
A few rare horses are very sensitive and will get laminitis again on most anything. Laminits is the inflamation inside the hoof; founder is when it gets serious and the coffin bone starts to sink or rotate.
You might want to read up on laminitis so you know what the early warning signs are. It's important you treat it immediately before it goes from a little bit of inflamation to major laminitc failure. You can research laminitis online and/or talk to your vet about it. It is serious and can cause extreme pain, lameness, and possibly result in the horse being put to sleep.
If it were me, I'd call my vet anyway. he/she knows this horse's medical history and is the best one to decide what to limit in her diet.
2006-11-16 05:37:32 · answer #6 · answered by Funchy 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
She needs to be fed twice a day, whether or not she's getting a whole bale of hay at once. You might find that she wastes most of the bale, too. Mine eat that mix and do fine - they're on a round bale and the bale lasts them 1 week. But I also grain them twice a day.
2006-11-16 09:10:27 · answer #7 · answered by nokhada5 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your horse has foundered before you need to be very careful as they can and do founder on grass alone.
Some horses are pigs and can not be fed hay free choice as they will founder. I have amare who when out on pasture wears a grazing muzzle so whe can not eat huge amounts of grass all day only small bites. Then she gets grass hay at night.
She can not be out on pasture all day at first and must be turned out slowly. I would never feed her alpha mixed hay as she is heavy and does not need that much protein and it would be to rich for her.
If you are boarding this horse they should be providing hay for it every day. It would be best not to feed her to much at one time as horses will eat more than they need at one time.
2006-11-16 04:34:27 · answer #8 · answered by tlctreecare 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have been around horses all my life. You can give as much hay as you want, they will eat what they want and then if there is any left they will generally scatter and waste the rest...the feed that you do not want to over feed are grains like oats, corn, sweetfeed, etc. You will only want to feed like a small coffee can full morning and evenning....if they eat too much of these they WILL founder themselves
2006-11-16 03:14:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why would you want to take the chance? Just mix the bale in with some that is less rich.
2006-11-16 02:58:25 · answer #10 · answered by maamu 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋