When my son was here the other day, looking at this thread, he asked me if anyone on here used alfalfa hay. He said he thought out west that was all they used. I didn't know.
We have a few of the horse vets out here that feed nothing but alfalfa. But to get decent alfalfa you have to ship in in from other places. Too expensive for most out here.
I'll have to tell him you use it.
Becky
We fed alfalfa to the Arabs in high school, when I was showing, and it was common for show horses. I think it's become a lot less common, the feed stores stock much more orchard grass than alfalfa, and alfalfa is mostly fed to cattle. It's cheaper than good orchard grass.
I actually think many have come to realize it is more protein than most family horses need, and most vets don't recommend it except perhaps for horses in really hard work.
We use exclusively alfalfa here. It runs about $100 a ton here, sometimes up to $120 ton, delivered. It has a lot more protein than grass hay, it's pretty consistant and it's cheaper here than grass. Grass hay runs about $8-10 or $10.50 per bale here. In addition, grass hay here is really just filler.
They also produce an alfalfa cube by the bag at most feed stores. I supplement with those when I feel the Orchard, Timothy mix is not up to my standards.
I'm reading all the posts I missed.
I don't feed alfalfa because my HYPP horse can't have it. Otherwise, I might keep a little on hand for treats.