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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 696
  
| Do you think a flake of alfalfa (the standlee compressed bale from tractor supply) per day is too much for a horse? My husband has a 6 year old heel horse that he rides maybe once a week. I currently don't have anything barrel pattern worthy so I figured I'd start riding him. He did everything I asked him to do, but when I asked him to lope it felt like he was loping SO fast. I'm so used to a tall, long bodied slower loping horse and this guy is short and stocky. I felt like I was being bounced to death and couldn't keep proper control because he was moving so fast.
So all of that to say do you think I should back off on the alfalfa some and see if he will settle and slow down a bit or is that just how some horses move and I need to learn to keep with him? (I have only consistently ridden 2 horses in my life so I don't have much to compare to) My husband says he likes giving him the alfalfa because he thinks it has important vitamins and nutrients in it to help him finish growing. Aside from the one flake of alfalfa per day he's on 1.5 scoops per day of Safe Choice Perform. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
 
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Do you keep this horse stalled or is he on a good grass pasture? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 696
| Southtxponygirl - 2018-05-24 12:55 PM
Do you keep this horse stalled or is he on a good grass pasture?
Stalled at night and on pasture during the day. It's not a ton of lush green grass, but there is grass out there. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1520
Location: Illinois | Not sure what one of those compressed bales weighs, but I feed mine all 20lb of alfafla a day each. 10lb in the morning, 10lb at night. Not sure what a compressed flake weighs. I had to use them once a couple years ago and fed one flake each feeding, plus one flake of my regular baled hay. Was down to 4 days worth of hay & my hay supplier still wanted to cure the new stuff for another week. So I mixed to get by. I'm not sure what brand I used, it was from TSC but one flake wouldn't have been enough on it's own even for each feeding. My guess is it's probably just the way the horse moves. My 4 year old slow lopes nice but covers the same amount of ground as my older gelding at a medium lope, just different strides and they're only about 1.5" different in height. So I always feel like she's going really fast, but she's actually not. Rope horses also tend to ride a little different I think, they kinda just let them ride cowboy style & barrel racers like control and collection. Every rope horse I've ridden has been worlds apart from my barrel horses, they're still really broke but just have a different movement to them. |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Alfalfa making one hot is a fallacy.
If the horse is healthy there is probably no better food for them than alfalfa |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | I know nothing about the weight of the compressed bales but I am a pretty firm believer that alfalfa does NOT make on hot. I think most of the time its more so the horses personality and how its being ridden that affects them the most. Most grass hays actually have more sugar content than alfalfa.
Personally it sounds like to me its mostly the horses style that your not used to. I ride bigger horses as well and it feels so strange to ride a little short legged horse. I think getting used to it, as well as riding the horse more and getting him to relax will help you out more than anything. |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | Just my opinion but I don’t think alfalfa will make a horse lope fast. I also don’t know what kind of rider your husband is but I know a lot of people don’t necessarily make their horses move collected (not slow, but true collection with impulsion). So maybe this horse just genuinely doesn’t know.
My barrel horse gets a flake of alfalfa in the morning and at night. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| All mine are on free choice alfalfa and are really nice barrel horses. The Standlee stuff is usually 3rd cutting stems at best. You’re better than safe. |
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | I would be more worried about SAFE CHOICE. |
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Location: Middle TN | jake16 - 2018-05-22 7:48 PM
I would be more worried about SAFE CHOICE.
Ditto!!! The NSC in SafeChoice Perform is 28% and you are feeding at a rate of 1 1/2 scoops (guessing about 3 to 4 pounds) a day. IMO - that is a lot of feed period. Especially if only being ridden maybe once a week. I would change to a lower NSC feed and buy a scale to measure your feed. Keep feeding the alfalfa - horses are grazing animals and forage should be first then add supplements as needed. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| ShackinBarrelRacer - 2018-05-24 10:49 AM
jake16 - 2018-05-22 7:48 PM
I would be more worried about SAFE CHOICE.
Ditto!!! The NSC in SafeChoice Perform is 28% and you are feeding at a rate of 1 1/2 scoops (guessing about 3 to 4 pounds ) a day. IMO - that is a lot of feed period. Especially if only being ridden maybe once a week. I would change to a lower NSC feed and buy a scale to measure your feed. Keep feeding the alfalfa - horses are grazing animals and forage should be first then add supplements as needed.
I agree with this.
I’d also give him a week or two of regular riding and see what happens. To me it sounds like you just aren’t use to how he moves, but if he is a little hot to trot then a couple weeks of regular work should help line him out some.
Out of 5 I only have 1 that never seems to change regardless of time off. 3 will get a little spicy and require some long trotting and the last one you’d better pony first before you step on him if he’s had too much time off, he likes to crack a few out. They all get a mix of alfalfa and grass and no more than a 1/2 scoop of Strategy twice a day (for a full scoop per day max). |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 542
| How about just moving him around in a round pen or lunging a bit to get the fresh off for you instead of making a diet change? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 912
Location: Alabama | My horse is out 24/7 on a 1/2 acre lot. Daily she gets a wheel barrow full of the best alfalfa I can buy. So no, I don't think you are giving him too much.  |
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Go Get Em!
Posts: 13503
Location: OH. IO | the last I knew,safe choice is not milled in a safe mill,that's why I would change the safe choice diet.along with other reasons ,so I definitely would change the diet unless something has changed with safechoice. |
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Expert
Posts: 2122
Location: The Great Northwest | It is not the Alfalfa. I agree with your husband on the Alfalfa is the best and turned out on pasture. I would not feed any thing else other than Hemp oil to get the important Omegas in the diet.
If he wants to speed up and you want a slow gallop or maybe to collect the gallop turn in a small circle until settles or do the one-rein stops when speeds more than you want. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: Kansas | runnin.on.dreams - 2018-05-23 3:49 PM Do you think a flake of alfalfa (the standlee compressed bale from tractor supply) per day is too much for a horse? My husband has a 6 year old heel horse that he rides maybe once a week. I currently don't have anything barrel pattern worthy so I figured I'd start riding him. He did everything I asked him to do, but when I asked him to lope it felt like he was loping SO fast. I'm so used to a tall, long bodied slower loping horse and this guy is short and stocky. I felt like I was being bounced to death and couldn't keep proper control because he was moving so fast. So all of that to say do you think I should back off on the alfalfa some and see if he will settle and slow down a bit or is that just how some horses move and I need to learn to keep with him? (I have only consistently ridden 2 horses in my life so I don't have much to compare to) My husband says he likes giving him the alfalfa because he thinks it has important vitamins and nutrients in it to help him finish growing. Aside from the one flake of alfalfa per day he's on 1.5 scoops per day of Safe Choice Perform.
I don't think feed is the issue. I highlighted what I bet is the true problem.....stride. If you are used to a "long bodied" horse that usually means a longer stride and won't feel like you are going fast. However, a shorter strided horse will "feel" like they are going fast. Mostly because they take more strides to cover the same amount of ground and even if not they will "feel" like you are going fast.
?Personally my timing is off and riding a shorter strided horse (for me) is a no go. |
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