Re: Re: hydration and hay type

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> Susan:  Don't horses that are fed straight alfalfa or an otherwise high in
> protein diet usually take longer to recover, and have higher pulses while
> being worked?
>
> I know I don't see very many people feeding straight alfalfa hay at rides
> that run in the top ten on rides with a 60 pulse criteria.  I know more
> used to feed straight alfalfa years ago, when the pulse criteria was like
72.


I get a lot of feedback from riders that went from straight alfalfa to a
grass based forage (including alot of top ten riders in all parts of the
country) and part of the list includes lower pulses, faster recoveries, less
general metabolic problems (tying up, thumps, colicky), sweat less, better
attitude overall, thinner sweat, fewer skin problems like scratches, etc.
There are physiologic reasons to explain all of those.  I also work with a
lot of show people and while they don't track the performance parameters
that endurance people do, most of them have noticed improvements, too.  You
just have to be looking for the differences.

The best feedback I ever got was from a very large breeder/show person that
recently told me they used to send at least five horses a year for colic
surgery to have enteroliths removed, and they didn't always survive.  They
stopped feeding alfalfa five years ago at my suggestion and havent sent a
horse for enterolith surgery in the past four years.  Pretty strong argument
if you ask me.

Susan G