I live in the midwest in a fairly humid area so I am also a fan of alfalfa. This is a legume, related to clover and beans. It is good for the soil as it releases nitrogen into it. If cut and baled correctly it too can be a good hay. The great things about alfalfa are the high concentration of nutrients, including Vit A, calcium, and protein. Unfortunately in some cases the protein and calcium levels can be too high sometimes which is why it is best mixed with a grass hay. If alfalfa is cut past maturity, the leaves tend to fall off the stalks, so the hay the horse is getting tends to be a bit to rough for their systems. In some areas of the U.S. the alfalfa hay is straight alfalfa with no other grass mixed in. This is fed as a "horse hay" and many horses do well on it. This can be very high in protein and calcium and if you are concerned, it is best to have it analysed for nutritional values. Adjustments to what is being fed to these horses may have to be made so as to not stresstheir systems with an overdose of specific nutrients like protein or calcium.

Speaking of protein, this often seems to be what horse owners base their idea of feeding on. Horses have fairly low protein requirements in comparison with say a dog or cat. Protein in the diet is used by the body to replace cells that have been lost or damaged. Young horses need a bit higher percentage of protein since they are experiencing rapid growth and are making a myriad of new cells daily. Mature horses tend to need feeds more for energy, thus it may be wiser to view the feeds you are planning on using as energy replacers. Even veiwing horse feeds in this method, it's easy to do an overkill! Grains are viewed as concentrated energy, while forage or hay/grass is viewed as fiber. We think too often of how we utilize what we eat. Horses are different! They need and make use of the grasses and fiber they eat and this is the most important part of their diet. They lived for millions of years with no grains to speak of while they were wild on the plains. Whenever possible, it is beneficial to the horse's physical and mental health to have access to hay or grass as close to 24 hours a day as you can get. Of course, those of you with "easy keepers" will have to be careful! In my experience in having an "easy keeper" for twenty something years, I found if I took her off grain completely and fed a grassy hay, she seemed to maintain a good wieght, neither gaining or losing. But, each horse is different and that's where the "feeding by eye" comes into action!

When feeding both hay and grain, one should always get at least an idea of the weight of what you're feeding. Grain since it is a concentrate, should be a bit more closely monitored for weight of what you are feeding than hay. However, I would like to include an example here. I remember a friend asking me one time if I could recommend a supplement for her horse. I am not a great fan of most supplements if the horse is generally healthy so I first asked her how much hay she was feeding. She told me six "flakes" in the morning and six at night. I suggested if he's getting that much then she better get her vet out since it sounded like he had a problem. I happened to be there not too long after this conversation when she was feeding....each flake of hay she was giving to her horse was wafer thin and probably didn't weigh much more than a half a pound! I suggested she get a "baby" scale and weigh her hay and try to increase the hay amount fed gradually until she was feeding more like 5 to 10 pounds twice a day. I also suggested she talk to her vet about this as he was coming out to check the general health of this horse. The horse was determined to be healthy and the vet agreed with increasing the amount of hay and feeding it by weight rather than "flake".

Free access to clean water is another issue one must take into account when attempting a safe feeding program. I have a full stock tank available to my horses 24 hours a day and in winter this contains a safely placed sunken stock tank heater. This tends to keep the water above freezing. Many horses will avoid drinking water in the winter that has ice floating in it. And do not go on the old "horseman's tale" that they "can eat snow" to get water! Some horses will eat a little snow, I have one who likes to "dunk" his hay in water if it is close by and in winter he will take a bite of hay, then a bite of snow! But this is just not a safe way for horses to ingest the amount of water their systems need.