Is straight alfalfa going to make my horse hot?

alfalfa only can cause kidney stone like masses in the intestines and can cause fatal colic if not removed. it has happened to several of my friends. I feed 2 flakes alfalfa daily but my horses are turned out on 40 acre grass pasture daily and eat alfalfa in the barn at night. always have grass hay too or your horse can get these stones from too much protein and usually you dont know they have them until they colic and die from the obstruction.

Straight alfalfa is never suggested as total forage for horse. One flake or mixed bales is fine, but alfalfa is a legume, not a grass hay, and is not a balanced forage for horses.

Some horses get hot on alfalfa and some get very sick. Some do not have the ability to digest alfalfa. A lot of people swear by alfalfa but if you read all of the research available on its content at university and extension websites, quality grass hay is what I would feed a horse.

So if your horse is out to good pasture, a flake of alfalfa would be ok. If he is stall kept and is getting 12-20 pounds of alfalfa per day, big problem for me.