05/29/2025
“Why does my horse break into an extreme sweat when I’ve only just started his workout?”
If you’re feeding straight alfalfa hay, it could be your horse needs a more balanced ration. Alfalfa is a nutrient rich forage, grown in the western, more arid regions of the United States, so fortunately for us there is a very abundant supply of this premium forage for horses and livestock, here in California. Alfalfa is very high in both protein and calcium and is the basis for most horse rations here in the west. In the eastern states it is a much sought after commodity and practically considered a delicacy. However, caution should be taken before you consider using only alfalfa hay as the sole source of roughage in your horse’s diet. The protein in alfalfa is highly digestible and converts rapidly to energy, which in turn, elevates the horse’s body temperature and that’s where you get the excessive sweating. Horses that are under a rigorous, daily training schedule, such as race horses on the track or lactating mares that are producing a lot of milk, can tolerate and use higher levels of protein compared to horses that are only ridden several times a week or less. Too much protein can also have a negative effect on kidney function and too much calcium may cause an imbalance between the calcium and phosphorus and that imbalance can be detrimental to proper bone growth and joint development. Beet pulp is high in calcium and low in phosphorus so it does not work as a great mineral balancer when fed with alfalfa in the ration. If alfalfa is the main forage in your horses ration and your calcium to phosphorus ratio is too high, 2:1 is optimum, it may be necessary to lower the amount of beet pulp in the ration. The best balancers for an alfalfa forage ration in our end of the world are oat or mixed grain hay and/or grass hay. Grass hays are grown mostly in Oregon and usually come with a healthy price tag.
“Okay, I’ve tried both grain hay and grass hay but they always waste half of it. So what do I do next?”
Gee, I never thought you’d ask. Grind your hay products in the proper proportions and compress them into economical Hay Cubes. That’s the answer and that’s what we do. Your horse will consume 100% of their feed with absolutely no waste, the results are amazing and you’ll probably feed up to 30% less by weight than you did when feeding long hay. That’s why many of the horse trainers in our area have switched to our brand of Hay Cubes. We, at Pioneer Ag are proud to partner with Harlan Feed to bring you the highest quality Hay Cubes on the West Coast. Compare them for yourself. They are a softer Hay Cube that are manufactured with NO BENTONITE ADDED. Pioneer Ag is the largest distributor of Hay Cubes on the Central Coast and we deliver anywhere and everywhere from Ventura to Monterey.
I could talk forever about Horses and Hay Cubes so give me a call, Don Lane at 805 459-0399 and we’ll talk some more.
