Belt Auction - Years ago my vet told me that a straight alfalfa diet was not good for horses due to high calcium content ...?

Years ago my vet told me that a straight alfalfa diet was not good for horses due to high calcium content ...?

And that it could cause kidney stones because of it. We bought a mare at auction that was thin and because she was so sweet and very well trained we thought we'd fatten her up and give her a good home. Once we got her home we discovered she was thin because she wasn't eating or drinking. We had our vet out immediately and after a week of trying everything he told us it was most likely calcium stones due to a rich alfalfa diet and that there wasn't anything we could do. Sadly we had to put her down. Recently I answered a question on here saying that I feed a bermuda/alfalfa blend and that this was the reason. A couple of people commented that they had never heard that and seemed to think I was full of it... Now I am wondering if anyone else has ever heard of this or was Dr just trying to find something to explain her condition and came up with it since he didn't have a real answer? Interested in your opinions and experiences! Thanks all!

Public Comments

that is so sad i have never heard of it but i know ur not suposed to give a horse all alfalfa each day this might be why but ur vet knows best if he is good i am going to ask my trainer thanks good luck
well i feed my horses alfalfa and their still alive and healthy
Sorry i have never heard that either and i have worked with a horse nutrionalist before to find out what the best feeding program really is....too much alfalfa is not good as it is high in protein but rationed correctly and its fine....and some horses need a half alfalfa type diet especially if they have foundered or are prone too...like ponies....or if alfalfa makes them too hot!!! I personally feed complete alfalfa pellet for breakfast, 3-way hay (oat,wheay,barley) for lunch and alfalfa flakes for dinner....i say flakes depending on the size plus since its 12 hrs. till next feeding and horses are grazing animals by instinct a big flake or 2 small ones for dinner!!! i also give them a salt supplement...the complete pellets offer extra vitamins too.... Sorry to hear about the horse.....
I'm sorry such a sweet mare was lost & sorry for your loss as well. I would NEVER feed our horses a pure alfalfa diet because of the damage it can do to the kidneys. Even when the horses are being worked hard, we stay away from feeding excessive amounts of hot feed. We do feed a single flake of alfalfa in the evenings for warmth during the winter, but they are given timothy/rye in the morning. We feed whole oats in the mornings as well & about a 1/4 of a large coffee can of wet c.o.b. as a treat with their evening feedings. During the summer, they get pasture, maybe a little supplimental alfalfa (1/2 to a full flake) in the evenings IF they have been worked hard that day. But, yes I have always heard that straight alfalfa & or hot feeds can damage the kidneys. Point of information: alfalfa in early bloom may have as much as 17.2% crude protein. 16% in mid bloom & 15% in full bloom. Pregnant, lactating mares, foals, weanlings, yearlings & 2 year olds require more protein in their diets than mature horses do. A mature horse needs ONLY 8% protein in it's DAILY diet & NO MORE THAN 12 or 13%.
I feed mine alfalfa. Have all my life. My mother has been feeding her horses alfalfa for 40 yrs. I have never heard that!! We have never had any problems.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My ans , late, as it may be might be of use to others, who may see it. Horses, have a delicate digestive system. One way to tell if too much alfalfa is being fed, is to see green in their manure. This is a good sign, and can cause more, problems,dehydration, for instance. I only fed alf, not even 1/3 flake. Mixed it with timothy, clover. Also, did any one, ever look in her mouth? Alot of times, that is where the problem is, when a horse goes off feed. After many years on the race track, I've learned things , many people may not consider. I know it's toolittle too late, but maybe this can help someone else.
If the alfalfa gets wet before the animal eats it is where a problem starts.But I've never heard of it harming the kidneys,wet alfalfa will cause stoppage in the intestines though,causing it not to eat or drink,as a teenager I had to hold the hose for a few enema's,not a good time to be the youngest one around,lol. But if stored correctly any grass mix is good to feed,I use the Bermuda/alfalfa mix in the winter when free grazing is impossible or not enough,along with grains. Sorry for you loss.
Your vet is right. A straight alfalfa diet is not good for a horse. I feed half oat hay , or good grass hay, and half alfalfa. During the summer, I feed much less of the alfalfa, and more of the grass hay. Here is a good article about it: http://www.pelham-saddlery.com/horse_column/alfalfa.html This is quoted from that site: ""Alfalfa is the only direct link to stones (enteroliths) found in horses. It is very common for horses in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah--states which feed a lot of alfalfa--to have stones. Horses which do not eat alfalfa virtually never have stones.""
i rekon your vet is full of it,that animal could have had anything and grass sickness shows the same symptoms.
How did he diagnose calcium stones? He gave her one week and then put her down - did he do blood, scope for ulcers etc? While I'm not disputing that alfalfa can cause calcium stones, I would certainly question how he diagnosed it and it should be remembered that just because he is a vet does not mean he's the next closest thing to God. And just as there are crappy doctors, there are crappy vets. We had a horse fall during a National Hunt race and the track vet said he'd broken his shoulder and needed to be put down immediately. My boss ignored him, we took the horse home and he had a badly bruised shoulder, nothing more and was sound again in a few days. Vets can be wrong and that is why I always make them run tests and fully explain to me how they reached their conclusion. We've had older stallions that have eaten nothing but alfalfa and never had any problems with them and some racehorses are given solely alfalfa without incident.
Sorry about your mare. I don't know how else to put this nicely, but that was a cop out on your vets part. I would question ulcers, worms, did he do blood work, age of horse, condition that horse was kept in prior to you etc. I know that sometimes, and I have had to do this myself, you just get some crappy vet that has one diagnosis in mind and you do have to vet shop until another is willing to listen to you. My mule went through 4 years of ulcers and 4 vets (last one figured it out) before finally figuring out it was ulcers. I was seriously contemplating having to put this mule down at sometime in the future due to his declining health and mental instability. I have learned through all this, never use one vet when something is deemed either unexplanitory or fatal. I ALWAYS get 2nd or even 3rd opinions. I would of put an arab gelding down on a vets poor advice, horse pulled out of it with another vets knowledge. I am so sorry you had to go through this and me writing this doesn't probably make it easier. But for everyone reading this, in your health, your families health and your equines health, always get multiple opinions. For the alfalfa- enteroliths and kidney stones are different things. I can tell you that where I board at, there are 75+ horses that are fed alfalfa 100% of the time and have been there their whole lives. In WY alfalfa is cheaper and much much more common than grass hay because we have to irrigate. There are rarely any vet calls to our place and if there are its for cuts and injuries. Nothing gastric or systemic. Longears can't hack the protein near as well as horses can. So I don't purchase the higher quality protein alfalfa aka dairy quality. My guys have never looked better. They look good, have great muscling etc. The calcuim content in the hay is beneficial to the horse. Especially if there is gut acidity problems. It helps neutralize the acid. Hence the reason my ulcer ridden mule is fat and muscled out and sane now. Now on HYPP horses, they can't have alfalfa, the high protein will kill them. On my donkey, I have neck roll going on, and I suspect its from the high protein, still investigating. So those are the down sides I have experienced. But as far as renal damage, my mule gets yearly blood tests (I stay up on him with his history) and his renal functions are always normal. This is his 3rd year on alfalfa. The other mules aren't worth what he is, so they don't get all the blood tests etc. They get treated normal lol. But they are all healthy also. Its all who you want to listen to and believe. You will find evidence on the net pointing to either side. I have been on this side of it and find absolutely nothing wrong. If anything ever did pop up, I would most certainly recant. I didn't mean to be rude about your mare and I truely am sorry.
im so sorry. that is so sad. i highly highly doubt that the vet would just make up something like that cuz he didnt know what was really wrong. plus i have heard that (too much) alfalfa can be bad for horses. i dont think ive heard of any one feeding their horse a blend like that but it sounds like a good solution to me. i believe you lol.
Horses in California eat primarily alfalfa hay...that is all that is provided and I have not heard of a problem with stones. I lived in CA for 35 years and owned horses all my life, always fed alfalfa, never got stones.
Here it is plain and simple, Alfalfa BAD Grass GOOD. Use a good quality hay and good grain with a vitamin supplement, with a fat builder. Alfalfa is ment for cows which have four stomachs and can break down the steams better. Horses only have one stomach, this is why horses colic, we had a horse for about fifteen years that never coliced a day in his life until we sold him, and they fed him alfalfa coliced bad on them. And if you most use alfalfa take a feed pan and shake out the leaves and pull out as many steam as possible and give your horse the leaves and soft stuff. But that's just a ranch girls opinion, I don't know anything about that fancy new natural horse care crap.