# How many Alfalfa Cubes?



## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

My 8 year old OTTB mare is 50-100 pounds underweight. I've been giving her 7 alfalfa cubes a day for 2 weeks. I was wondering if I should give her more, if so, how many should I give her a day?


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

All horse food should be weighed, not a guess especially on cubes which are never the same size. Cubes break and not break and some are not as solid as others.
You also need to increase gradually the amount of "extra" feeding of something like cubes imo....
They should be _at the least_ moistened if not soaked as they are dry and create a dry throat and choke opportunity if the horse does not chew well or tries to bolt them down.
So, that said....
I would_* fill *_a bucket with dry cubes...20 - 24 quart size_ {5 gallon}_. 
_Weigh it if possible, remember to account & add for the pail weight._
Now pour out half the cubes into another bucket.
One bucket you add water to moisten or soak the cubes in so they are not hard. You need to watch and test the cubes for how much water is needed as that can vary each time.
Once the cubes are softened adequately feed them to the horse.
Later, do the same thing with the other bucket... a few hours apart.
_I do not ever feed dry cubes,* period.*_
In the case of your horse needing dental work possibly, I would be making the cubes near soaked so easier for the horse to chew them, reduce the risk of chunks and added water intake into the gut for better digestion and lessen the chance of a dry matter impaction.
Horses will slurp the excess water off as they eat any cubes or feed wet/soaked._ 
{yes, I have a horse who eats soaked food as he choked!}_

Cubes come in 50 pound bags by me.
I would be feeding about 10 pounds a day in addition to the hay the horse is normally fed, NOT in place of it.

For your horse to gain weight and maintain it you must supply more calories in than they use daily....

Best of luck.
:runninghorse2:


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Seven alfalfa cubes is nothing, really. I don't even think that would cover the bottom of a regular-sized bucket.

I agree with everything hoselovinguy said.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Using hot water will break the cubes down faster.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

If you're trying to put weight on a horse, think of feed in terms of POUNDS of feed, multiple times a day. Use a bathroom scale if you don't have a fishing scale or a food scale. 

For weight gain, first, make sure there are no underlying medical issues- for example bad teeth can make is so they're not chewing and then digesting their food properly. Bad kidneys can mean they're going to have trouble with high protein diets, insulin resistance means you need to avoid sugary feeds, etc.

Then, make sure the horse has free-choice hay in front of it whenever possible, preferably 24/7. If she's running out of hay, feed more. This is the MOST important step. If you skip it, expect to find yourself spending far more money on other things that you could probably avoid. A salt block and clean water too.

If she's not gaining weight like you want on just free-choice hay, then start adding in supplements like alfalfa cubes, etc. Start with just a pound two or three times a day and go up from there to 5-10 pounds spread into at least two feedings. Seven cubes is nothing to a horse other than a small snack/treat. You could also use beet pulp or rice bran instead of or in addition to alfalfa. If simple feeds aren't working once you're feeding 5-10 pounds a day, you might consider adding fat calories (veggie oil, "cool calories", etc) in addition to those feeds.

Take it slow though- no need to pack on fat too fast, since you want them to gain muscle too. Quick changes in diet can cause colic, so it's generally recommended to ease into feeding supplementary feeds over a week or two to give their system time to adapt.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

This may be simplistic...but increase feed gradually until she starts gaining weight?

I use hay pellets, about half the size of one's little finger. Feed them dry. Pellets make up one of their three daily meals, with hay for the other two. But if the wind blows hard, or it is muddy, they may live on hay pellets for a few days.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

What else are you feeding?
Alfalfa cubes on their own wouldn't be a very balanced diet, they're something I would usually add to a feed


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

jaydee said:


> What else are you feeding?
> Alfalfa cubes on their own wouldn't be a very balanced diet, they're something I would usually add to a feed


This is what I was wondering as well. Does she get hay? Is she out on pasture? Does she get any pelleted feed? Supplements?

TB's have a reputation for being hard keepers (though not all are), so it wouldn't be surprising for her to need something more than just grass hay to stay at a healthy weight.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

bsms said:


> This may be simplistic...but increase feed gradually until she starts gaining weight?
> 
> I use hay pellets, about half the size of one's little finger. Feed them dry. Pellets make up one of their three daily meals, with hay for the other two. But if the wind blows hard, or it is muddy, they may live on hay pellets for a few days.


So you don't worry about feeding them dry, digestion wise? I always thought you had to soak them... I do ours all day, which is also helpful to hold the supplements in there and hide the flax I recently started them on that they aren't fond of. 
And what do you mean by having them for several days in those circumstances? That you don't feed hay then because of the mess factor?


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

jaydee said:


> What else are you feeding?
> Alfalfa cubes on their own wouldn't be a very balanced diet, they're something I would usually add to a feed


Alfalfa is actually the best thing to feed a severely undernourished horse first. This is why it is important to know the body condition score of the horse before making recommendations.


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Hi Horselover, All!

I hand out alfalfa cubes for treats sometimes. Critters don't seem to have any trouble with them dry, but then that's only a couple at a time.
I also make an alfalfa mash for them on very cold mornings. This consists of a couple double handfuls of cubes (the ones I have been getting are about 1 1/2in cubes if intact. So 20 or 30 of 'em ?), and maybe a gallon of water in a large pot. Heat/stir over the barn "camp" stove until the cubes all break down. This is generally just short of boiling, and absorbs most of the water. I divide this four ways over their usual breakfast cereal and supplement, and serve steaming hot. MmmMmm Nose-down Good.
I think that for most animals you will have to feed 100% alfalfa over a relatively long period to realize much weight gain. It's still "forage", just a higher nutrient content forage than grass hay. I'd suggest simply feeding bailed alfalfa, or alfalfa/grass mix for awhile to see if that doesn't help.

ByeBye! Steve

PS They get spoiled, and will whine and cry when you switch back to grass; do it gradually.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

GracielaGata said:


> So you don't worry about feeding them dry, digestion wise? I always thought you had to soak them... I do ours all day, which is also helpful to hold the supplements in there and hide the flax I recently started them on that they aren't fond of.
> And what do you mean by having them for several days in those circumstances? That you don't feed hay then because of the mess factor?


If you have a horse that bolts their feed, then soaking is a good idea, as it prevents choke. It also helps with water intake to prevent dehydration. I've always soaked any hay pellets I've fed, simply because that's the way I was taught.

And yes, you feed the pellets to prevent a mess and to help lower the amount of wasted hay when it's muddy. We get high, sustained winds here quite frequently.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

We've fed the finger sized pellets to our horses once/day for 7 years now. We feed them dry. The horses have water, but they don't seem to feel a great need to rush over and drink while eating pellets. Maybe the bigger blocks need soaking, but the little ones have never caused any problems - 3 horses, fed them at least once/day for 7 years. You can put large rocks in the buckets to prevent them from gobbling, but I don't and my horses don't gobble.

They live in a corral, which is common in Arizona. Lots of horses in Arizona don't know what a pasture is. My horses will pull hay out of a hay net, then let it fall to the ground, and THEN eat it...so when the wind is blowing 25-30 mph, most of the hay blows away.

Also, when it rains a lot, the corral turns into a swamp. I can put hay into their buckets, but they pull it out and it all gets trampled into the mud. But they eat the pellets out of their buckets, so there is no waste. It would be very hard to feed them anything when the mud gets deep. That doesn't happen often or long in southern Arizona, but they just went 3 days in a row eating pellets. And when I offered them hay again, they looked at me like, "_What is this $%^P? Holding out on the good stuff, eh?_" When it was clear no pellets were coming, they eventually gave up and ate hay.

In addition, the hay we get is of very variable quality. I don't have the resources to test my hay. The hay pellets ARE tested and adjusted to have a stable amount of protein, etc. So it provides a steady base of nutrition I can trust.

When the weather turns cold, I feed them pellets that have corn in them to provide more calories. In the summer, they get pellets made with bermuda hay, so fewer calories.

I think they are a great product for Arizona. I honestly don't know how I could keep my horses healthy without them. I've never tried the blocks, just the little pellets. Scoop them with an old coffee can. Over time, I've learned how many cans each horse needs to stay a steady weight.

Oh...I also buy wheat bran. When I give my horses their biotin supplement, I put wheat bran on the pellets and then add the supplement to that. They love the wheat bran and will eat pretty much anything I mix in with it. All dry.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> If you have a horse that bolts their feed, then soaking is a good idea, as it prevents choke. It also helps with water intake to prevent dehydration. I've always soaked any hay pellets I've fed, simply because that's the way I was taught.
> 
> And yes, you feed the pellets to prevent a mess and to help lower the amount of wasted hay when it's muddy. We get high, sustained winds here quite frequently.


Mine don't bolt, but would throw a fit if asked to eat them dry. I did it a couple of times in the beginning when I was learning, and all they did was tip the bowl and eat them off the dirt in hopes of finding better stuff. When I wetted them, the bowl tipping stopped. It also gives our slower eater a fighting chance to keep his bowl, so I don't have to sit out there all night with him.



bsms said:


> We've fed the finger sized pellets to our horses once/day for 7 years now. We feed them dry. The horses have water, but they don't seem to feel a great need to rush over and drink while eating pellets. Maybe the bigger blocks need soaking, but the little ones have never caused any problems - 3 horses, fed them at least once/day for 7 years. You can put large rocks in the buckets to prevent them from gobbling, but I don't and my horses don't gobble.
> 
> They live in a corral, which is common in Arizona. Lots of horses in Arizona don't know what a pasture is. My horses will pull hay out of a hay net, then let it fall to the ground, and THEN eat it...so when the wind is blowing 25-30 mph, most of the hay blows away.
> 
> ...


All very informative bsms, as usual.  We get muck here in eastern WA in the rainy season as well. I just try to find some dry-ish spots to feed on. 
We actually this coming spring are going to give them the other half of the 18x18 run in barn they use, and build some hay troughs on the wall, or at the least I am going to find places to put bags or just keep it clean to hay on the ground. Hopefully that should help with muck and hay. 
And I hear you on them letting the hay blow away- it drives me batty too, as we get some wind a good bit, though not like you guys. They don't have the issue with the bags, but their other non-bagged/non-dinner meal, they will lose it all over the place. And my 3 don't usually live in grassy areas. Where we are is quite a bit drier, so while their main living area is a couple of acres, they have tromped and eaten it to near dirt in most places.  Still learning this pasture stuff.
I also didn't realize your hay was so questionable. I haven't ever even heard of bermuda pellets! Here we can get orchard, alfalfa, O-A, and orchard-timothy I think they all are. I buy straight alfalfa pellets and they only get 1 dry lb split between the 3 horses 3 days per week to give supplements. The rest of their diet is a local (6 miles away lol) brome, wheat and fescue hay. They love it. 

We too tried the cubes... too difficult to get a good, constant measure to me, and also much longer to soak and bust up. They made a bigger mess of tipping the bowls to get them broken down, rather than taking small bites. While the dogs think this is great, because they quite enjoy the alfalfa too, I got tired of the wastage and measuring headache.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Here we can get alfalfa, bermuda, alfalfa-bermuda, timothy, and timothy-oat. At least, that's what they carry at the feed store my husband works at, which has the best selection of the three feed stores in town. 

To say our hay quality is hit-or-miss is an understatement. My husband is the yard manager for the feed store he works at, so does all the hay ordering. There have been times when he's had to call the hay guy and get the hay they had delivered sent back because what the supplier had sent them was supposed to be #1 (first cutting), but it was barely sellable as cow hay.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

Eeks, drafty! 
Our hay is grown by a family that raises cows, and so feeds it to them, but they make sure to go with horse-able hay in quality. I haven't ever tested it, and I don't know when/if they did... their horses look good on it, ours do... lol 

My friends all hate it because it is a fairly tough, stiff hay, compared to orchard.
I guess their horses agree, as they don't prefer it when offered it at my house or camping. They also get what looks like a long grass clipping some sheep farmer grows. Again, theirs love it, mine hate it. It used to be worth the huge price diff to force it upon them, but the farmer increased his prices, so now it isn't worth the bit extra drive or headache of force feeding, or that the bales don't match in size at all to our hay for stacking it. 

My horses hate orchard or any other softer hay I have tried. 
We do have $$ eastern/local orchard here- beautiful hay- but my mare saw fit to use it to pee on, as did the one gelding. They thought we were killing them. That was back when we first moved here and were trying out hays. We have stuck with or 'stiff' stuff since, as they are all fat and happy on it, and it is nice and close for pick up and decently priced.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

"but my mare saw fit to use it to pee on"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, been there, done that!


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

bsms said:


> "but my mare saw fit to use it to pee on"
> 
> BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, been there, done that!


Oh it was awesome (not lol). She was stalled for a month due to surgery. She got fed beautiful orchard, our 3 hay local, and oat for fun... She loved the 3 hay and the oat. She would literally move the orchard out of the mix and use it to pee in, no matter how thoroughly I had it mixed in. That continued even when in the pasture. It was $$ so I obviously didn't bother with that hay anymore!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

My old gelding was that way with timothy. Absolutely despised the stuff, even though his owners swore up and down that he loved it.

My gelding grew up eating straight alfalfa for every meal. Now, he gets bermuda for two meals and alfalfa for his evening meal. I've given him hay pellets (straight alfalfa) and he gobbled them up, but his current living arrangements don't lend themselves to feeding nommies without him being run off them and beat up.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> My old gelding was that way with timothy. Absolutely despised the stuff, even though his owners swore up and down that he loved it.
> 
> My gelding grew up eating straight alfalfa for every meal. Now, he gets bermuda for two meals and alfalfa for his evening meal. I've given him hay pellets (straight alfalfa) and he gobbled them up, but his current living arrangements don't lend themselves to feeding nommies without him being run off them and beat up.


Isn't it funny how they can have a preference the same as us? 
My mare was in coastal SC from birth to 3.5 yrs of age. So she ate a fairly tough hay then. It looked like weeds. Coastal maybe?
The one gelding is BLM wild caught, so used to junk I am sure. Loves oat.
Our newest gelding thankfully is so easy and falls right in with them. Esp. considering he is bottom of the herd, 17 and his previous owner said she fed him alfalfa hay over the winter. 
I don't want to mess with multiple hays unless I have to, and he keeps his weight just fine on what we feed and how we feed it. Plus I can put him alone if he needs a boost at any point.  I always give him more pellets than the other 2, and then sit with him to be sure they don't steal it.


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