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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 340
 
| I've been hearing two COMPLETELY different opinions on feeding alfalfa to horses with mild ulcers. Everything I've read and a few vets I've talked to gives it the go ahead, but I recently ran into a few vets who think otherwise. Opinions? |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | The recently ran into vets are idiots
Feed it |
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 BHW Jr. Cougar of the Year
Posts: 14957
 
Location: Heart of Texas | My vet is all about alfalfa. I can tell a diference in my chronic ulcer horse since we started him on it this winter. He feels better and looks better. |
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| Alfalfa is great for ulcer prone horses(calcium content) . It was recommended to me by three different vets. Never have I heard otherwise. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 340
| Thanks guys! Ive always fed it to ulcer prone and I recently ran into an entire clinic of vets that said no. It didn't make sense to me either. They're was that it is a "hot feed" and it would just stir up the stomach more. Didn't make a lick of sense to me either. |
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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | I think it depends on the horse.
I've had 2 that alfalfa worked great for - one I have right now. I kept them on oats/barley and alfalfa and they did great. Both of them had issues with beet pulp and would go off their feed on it.
Have a new horse in that's a classic ulcer case and he will not touch alfalfa. Since he's been at my place I've had him on beet pulp and he's well.
I think their appetite will tell you what's working. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 146
Location: Tuttle Oklahoma | I have always thought that Alfalfa helped with the acid in their stomach. I feed it to my ulcer prone horse and he seems to be doing great on it. I have to feed the flakes of hay though...silly thing refuses to eat any of the processed pellets or cubes but will clean ALL of the hay up. |
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 BHW's Lance Armstrong 
Posts: 11134
Location: Somewhere between S@%&# stirrer and Saint | RustyLove - 2016-02-26 7:06 PM I've been hearing two COMPLETELY different opinions on feeding alfalfa to horses with mild ulcers. Everything I've read and a few vets I've talked to gives it the go ahead, but I recently ran into a few vets who think otherwise. Opinions?
The vets that didn't like Alfalfa probably not from alfalfa area. I would get a new vet. |
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 Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Posts: 2411
Location: Wisconsin | Mine will only eat 2nd and 3rd crop alfalfa. The rest they bury. they look and feel like a million. no ulcer meds here |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 899
Location: Idaho | Have you tried giving your horse a cup of pure aloe vera juice a day? Works wonders for horses with ulcers.
Also to the OP, alfalfa is good for ulcers as well due to the calcium content, but so is grass. To prevent ulcers, try a slow feeder (if horse doesn't have free choice hay or pasture) so the hay will last longer and it will stay long in their stomach, which will reduce acid from forming, hence, to prevent the formation of ulcers.
Edited by DashNDustem 2016-03-01 10:41 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | I may sound like a broken record on this but here it is again. If your horse has ulcers, medicate and cure them. At the same time, change your management of the horse to eliminate what caused them in the first place. While you may not be able to avoid ulcers in every horse in the country, you can in the vast majority of them by normalizing the digestive system. Eliminate as much grain based concentrate as possible. Feed a diet with some alfalfa in it morning and night. Have a roughage source available to them at all times so that they have something in the stomach. Make sure that teeth are in the best shape possible so that they chew comfortably to produce as much saliva during the day as they can (this is the most often missed part of managing an ulcer prone horse). Do these things and the vast majority of ulcers issues will be gone for good. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| winwillows - 2016-03-01 11:50 AM
I may sound like a broken record on this but here it is again. If your horse has ulcers, medicate and cure them. At the same time, change your management of the horse to eliminate what caused them in the first place. While you may not be able to avoid ulcers in every horse in the country, you can in the vast majority of them by normalizing the digestive system. Eliminate as much grain based concentrate as possible. Feed a diet with some alfalfa in it morning and night. Have a roughage source available to them at all times so that they have something in the stomach. Make sure that teeth are in the best shape possible so that they chew comfortably to produce as much saliva during the day as they can (this is the most often missed part of managing an ulcer prone horse). Do these things and the vast majority of ulcers issues will be gone for good.
^^Great Advice!!^^^ |
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 Expert
Posts: 1261
| I also have always been told alfalfa is good for horses with ulcers. I have one I suspect has ulcers from being on the track. She gets alfalfa, chia seed and Forco to help. I am not sure if I should give some actual medication as well or even aloe Vera but I am trying to let her settle into her new home and diet changes I already made before I start changing more stuff! |
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