My filly is starting to get a bit gassy on alfalfa.  My vet/sugon said to get her some good grass hay.  She coliced on the bermuda/coastal so I am a bit gun shy right now.  I'm kinda scared to give her anything now.  What do ya'll feed?  Anyone in the west TX NM area? 

I've been looking around and all that I can find is the alfalfa and bermuda/coastal hay and some that is alfalfa and weeds. 

As I have ventured into the barefoot world. People kept telling me to stop feeding alfalfa and feed a grass hay. Well it's hard to find a straight grass around here. It's not a favored crop of the arid states of Western North America. Alfalfa grows well in this dry climate. Where farmers get 1 -2 cuttings of grass they get 4 cuttings of alfalfa. So from a producers standpoint it's an economic decision.  Any alfalfa hay that has grass is usually from an older field. Where the grass is in filling  and usually just the 1st cutting, whcih also seem to have more weeds.

So last year I bought a semi load of Timothy Grass hay from Montana. It's been good hay. My horses eat it. They all seem to be keeping weight on, if not getting fat on it. It came in the 3'x4' bales that were great to stack in the hay shed with the skid loader and forks. But has been a pain to feed.  It's hard to get my arm around a 4' flake of hay and the grass seems to fluff as I try to peel a flake off the bale.

I'm probably going to go back to a grass/alfalfa mix this year, which is what I can get locally. A full semi truck of grass hay is more than I need and it was inconvienent to find others to share the load. I would like to find a grower with a hay buncher. A machine that bunches 16 small bales into one large bunch and straps them together. I could use the tractors to unload and stack in the shed and then break the buncher bands and feed small bales. The best of both worlds. I just don't look forward to hand stacking 400 small bales in the shed while the tractor sits idle.

You could also try supplementing with a senior type feed. I know she is a filly, but it is meant to be fed as a whole ration. It has alfalfa in it, beet pulp and hay. Check with your vet, this might be short term solution.

I particulary like Orchard Grass. It is high in protein, but not as coarse as brome, fescue etc. My 27 year-old is doing very well on the senior and orchard grass. I had been feeding alfalfa, but the blister beetle threat was always a concern with me.

Your vet should be able to recommend the appriopiate feed stuffs for your filly's situation. If not, consult a different vet.

As I have ventured into the barefoot world. People kept telling me to stop feeding alfalfa and feed a grass hay.

Why?  My horses have had shoes on once in the past 5 years.  That was when we moved up here because I wasn't sure of how rocky/rough the ground was.

Aren't most yards done in rock and stuff?   

They are if you don't want a $300 water bill.  Our property is 3 acres and it's all gravel.  Everything except the horse area.  That has a "livestock" mix.  sand and itsy bitsy rocks.

I can turn them out, but the only things for them to eat are my roses, and then it's only what the jack rabbits can't reach.

If horses could eat mesquite, Texas would have the fattest horses in the nation!(to go along with the fattest humans, apparently!)

The barefoot fanatics claim that alfalfa is too high in sugar and causes a sugar rush. Basically like a kid eating too much chocolate. Or a horse foundering on grain. So twice a day(as you feed) your hroses get this sugar high. The sugar rush causes a mini case of founder. They claim that a barefoot hoof does better with a constant nutriant flow vs the highs and lows.

I was having problems with my barefoot horses having some white line seperation. So I was willing to try a different hay to see if it made a difference.  So far I don't really think it made that much of a difference. I think my learning how to trim better has made the difference, not the change in hay. Of course as soon as I bought a load of timothy grass hay, I was told by several that it was too high in sugar also. I'm not going to the trouble this year to find an all grass hay.  We have lined up a alfalfa/grass mix from a local farmer. He has agreed to set aside some of the grasser hay he cuts this year for us. He produces serveral hundred ton of dairy quality hay each summer. And was glade to have another buyer for some of the hay with a higher % of grass that the dairy farmers don't want.

I've never heard that before.  So they think it's ok to feed a "high sugar" hay to a shod horse?  That just doesn't make much sense to me. 

I just talked to the guy I was getting my hay from last year, a alfalfa/grass mix and he will be cutting soon.  I bought the round bale that started this whole mess because he hadn't got in his first cutting yet and I needed hay.

My horses were barefoot before it was "cool".  Cause I was to broke to buy shoes!!!

I don't know if this stuff is available in your area...but it is very good for the troublesome feed horse...

http://www.lucernefarms.com/main.shtml

I believe the people that push that agenda believe that ALL horses should eat a grass hay.  And since barefoot horses are often pushing their hooves to the limit, they especially encourage them to be on a staight hay diet. I tried it last year and am not convinced it made a difference. I'll go back to the Alfalfa/grass hay that is easy to find around here and see.  Like your signature, my horses are barefoot more from economics than a strong conviction. I can trim 5 horses myself and all it cost me is a couple of hours of my time. 5 sets of shoes = $300 every 8 weeks. So as long as my horses are comfortable and suitable for use, there are no shoes.

If you want to buy a load of grass hay, I do know a hay broker that can provide it for you. But you will pay more for the trucking than what the hay itself cost.

I don't know what shoes around here cost.  We've been here for 2 years and I haven't priced them.  In TX where we were it was $50 per horse.  I can't do my own trimming.  I don't trust myself to not screw it up so I pay $20 per horse for trims.  I may ask what shoes run next time the farrier is out.  When we go somewhere really rocky I use old mac's on my horses front feet.

I've been looking into chaffhaye (chaffhaye.com).  I bought some for my old mare a few years go but she wouldn't touch it.  All the other hoses loved it though.  They make a alfalfa and grass and it's "supposed" to be good for older/colicy horses.  I hope my filly doesn't have any more problems, but I'm gonna treat her as if she does.  My husband thinks I'm being parinoid, but after spending almost $7000.....

I'd love to get a good load of grass hay, but I don't want to pay the deisel to get it here.  I just read that deisel is only $2 in Mexico by the way.  I may have to head over there to fill up. 

     After the sugury they started her on Sr. Feed then alfalfa leaves then alfalfa.  They said the leaves were the easiest thing to digest and they had most of the moisture.  They said to keep her on the alfalfa but when she started getting gassy last week they said to add a grass hay to help with the gas.  Alfalfa causes gas for some reason that I forgot.  They said horses need movement to help gas move but she is restricted to her stall and not getting much exercise, just a 5 min walk twice a day and what ever she gets up to in her stall. 

     When the suguron said she had rocks in her intestines (they were actually rocks, the mare was eating them) I asked about the enteroliths and they said that is mostly a Cali/western AZ problem because of something in the soil.  Even though she told me what it was I don't remember exactly what was in it either.  I have to write stuff down because I can't remember it.  See, your not the only one!

Looks similar...but chaffhaye has an alfalfa base...

http://www.chaffhaye.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=27