Hello Dr Getty:

I have another question about feeding my new 2 year old filly. You advised that I feed her a pound of alfalfa pellets along with her free choice hay. I think that a pound of pellets is about equal to two lbs. of alfalfa hay. Is that right, or have I got it backwards? The filly will be getting alfalfa hay rather than pellets. Also, someone once told me that alfalfa ferments in the hindgut of horses. Is this true and, if so, do you consider it a problem?

Also, in reading through some of the old posts, I see that you often recommend Safe Choice and Purina Ultium as good low starch/low sugar and high fat feeds. I like the list of ingredients in Ultium (except for the molasses). But the ingredient list on Safe Choice is confusing because the main ingredients are: grain products, plant protein products, processed grain by-products, roughage products, and on and on. I don't know what is included in these general terms. Do you? Does Safe Choice have beet pulp, stabilized rice bran, ground soybean hulls, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Flaxseed (all of which Ultium lists first and foremost). I did contact a rep and he said it is proprietary information. The fact that the first ingredient is grain products makes me nervous since I don't want to feed grain.

I was planning to feed the filly free choice hay in addition to whatever is left in the pasture (she'll be out there 24/7), along with a small amount of alfalfa and a very small amount of either Safe Choice or Ultium. Any recommendations/alterations and amount specifications you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your help,
Jennifer

Where are you from? Boerne, TX

How did you locate this forum? Friend

OH, Dr. Getty: may I ask one more question on this topic? Since Ultium and Safe Choice both list dehydrated alfalfa meal as #5 in their ingredients lists, do you still recommend feeding additional alfalfa?

Thank you very much,
Jennifer

Where are you from? Boerne, TX

How did you locate this forum? Friend

Hi Jennifer,

I, too, talked with the people over at Nutrena about the ingredients in Safe Choice, and they would not give me specifics, other than to say that it was very low in non-structural carbohydrates (starch and sugar). So, the first ingredient, "grain products" is likely derived from grain, but without the starchy center.

It expect that it contains beet pulp and soybean meal. I don't think that it is high in flaxseed. So, the Ultium product is a better choice, though more expensive. Don't worry about the alfalfa meal -- that is minimal when you consider that you will not be feeding very much.

You're right about the pellets -- about twice as concentrated as hay. Alfalfa, like all hay, gets fermented by the bacteria in the hind gut. That is how horses get their energy from roughages. But, you don't want to overfeed starch, because if that ends up in the hind gut (it is normally digested in the small intestine), its fermentation causes problems. So, an alfalfa to hay ratio of approximately 30/70 is quite safe for most horses.

As far as specific amounts, I really cannot give those to you without doing a more in depth evaluation. Perhaps you would like to fill out the "You and Your Horse" questionnaire and I can better assist you.

All the best,

Dr. Getty :)

Thank you so much for the info., Dr. Getty. Now I feel confident that I have a good plan for feeding the filly. You've given me peace of mind.

Thank you,
Jennifer

Where are you from? Boerne, TX

How did you locate this forum? Friend