It is like children. If they have sugar, compared to spinach, which will they eat? We all know what is best for our kids. Sometimes we have to get creative with our horses too.
I personally only ever feed alfalfa if it is mixed with a grass hay. Given you likely already have your hay, you might try this: "Spike" their grass hay by shaking some alfalfa leaf through it. I have done this at rides when alfalfa is offered as the ride hay. I open my crew bag with a flake of grass hay and shake the A hay over it, mix it in a bit, and my horses have always dove into it.
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Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:33:57 -0500 From: rnbianchi@xxxxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] grass hay
How do people get their horses to eat grass hay? I have some nice soft, second cutting grass hay that my horses turn their noses up at and like to use as bedding. Is it that they aren't hungry? Or are they so spoiled that they are waiting for something better (I also feed them grass/alfalfa mix hay and timothy). They didn't really like the Timothy when I first got it, which angered me as it is expensive hay in our area of MD this drought year, but now they eat it quite well. Should I feed only the grass hay until they start eating it? I know that people say not to feed a lot (any) alfalfa to horses, but least with that hay I know they are going to eat every strand! I like to offer the alfalfa at the vet checks at rides because I know they will eat it if they are hungry, not so with other types of hay.
