Dear Dr. Getty

I am a professional barefoot trimmer and have recently purchased your book. It is extremely well done, detailed and very accessible. My question pertains to alfalfa. I know you praise it in your book, as do other insulin resistant specialists such as Dr. Frank Reilly (www.equimedsurg.com). I know in theory alfalfa sounds good, but in almost every single case of laminitis I have encountered, there was an alfalfa component within their diet, either as part of the roughage or within a complete feed or supplement. My practice exposes me to many cases of laminitis and founder, including my 2 adoptive mares which were rescued foundered horses. Whenever I convince the owners to remove the alfalfa out of the diet, their feet improve drastically, even when it’s within a feed that is guaranteed low NSC (10% of less). I have not seen good results when alfalfa is involved. Could it be the alfalfa grown in Quebec is different than the one in the USA ? My fellow trimmers seem to agree with me, even though it’s anecdotal evidence and not scientific. It seems some horses just can’t tolerate any alfalfa. Period. Have you encountered such evidence in your practice?

Where are you from? Rigaud, near Montreal, Quebec, Canada

How did you locate this forum? Saw your add in Equine Wellness magazine

Hello Catherine,

Thank you for your very kind words about my book -- I am delighted that you are enjoying it.

Yes, I have encountered some horses that are particularly sensitive to alfalfa. The reason is unclear and I have not been able to come across any studies that explain these situations. However, these horses are few -- the vast majority of horses benefit from the improved protein quality that alfalfa provides.

Too much alfalfa can be problematic and in my experience, those cases involved horses that were consuming at least half of their forage intake as alfalfa. So, I always recommended cutting back to no more than 10% alfalfa in the total ration.

Another issue with alfalfa is not the alfalfa itself, but the secondary weight problem that can occur in a horse with a slow metabolism (usually due to being without anything to graze on -- an empty stomach reduces the metabolic rate). Alfalfa is higher in calories than grass hay and can pack on the pounds in some horses. Overweight horses are insulin resistant and that leads to laminitis. So, the alfalfa, per se, is not the issue in these cases -- the obesity is.

One thing about alfalfa grown in Eastern Canada that I have noticed, is that it is high, sometimes too high, in selenium. This can lead to hoof damage.

So these are a few ideas. Protein quality is my goal in feeding alfalfa, so if it is not fed, other feedstuffs need to be combined to provide the amino acids that grass hay is missing (such as flaxseed meal, soybean meal, beet pulp, etc.).

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO