Horses THE BENEFITS OF FEEDING ALFALFA PELLETS & CHUNKS TO HORSES One of the biggest challenges facing the horse owner is identifying and properly using top quality roughage. Roughage must be fed regularly to keep the horses digestive system functioning properly, to minimize vices such as wood chewing and to help meet some percentage of the horse's daily nutritional requirements. Since roughage is the foundation of a safe and successful feeding program, the effort given to selecting the best roughage available is well worth the time involved. The legume roughage used most for horse feeding is alfalfa. Alfalfa products are popular with horsemen because horses usually consume such feedstuffs very readily. Alfalfa can even be used to promote the intake of feeds that horses are otherwise reluctant to eat. Because of this, alfalfa is often the preferred roughage for young horses and brood mare nursing foals. Alfalfa also is richer in nutrients than some other roughages and is especially helpful in supplying crude protein, fiber, and calcium. Alfalfa has almost 6:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus, so it can be used to adjust the inverted calcium : phosphorus ratios of cereal grains and decrease the amount of mineral supplement needed in a grain mixture. Furthermore, because alfalfa normally contains between 20 and 28 percent crude fiber, it can be an important source of bulk in the horse's diet.
PELLETED AND CUBED ALFALFA Recent research has concluded that alfalfa pellets can be fed in lesser amounts than long stem alfalfa, primarily because the pellets usually contain a higher percentage of nutrient rich leaves. Other research has shown that pelleted alfalfa has a higher nutritive value index than long stem hay. Like pellets, cubes can be mixed with grain based feeds at 10 to 20%.'
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