Can you run horses on alfalfa?

My alfalfa is to short to make another crop this year, I sell all of it to a neighbor lady that has five mustangs. Could she just bring them down to my fenced hay field and let them graze it down? It is only a couple acres.
 
Depends on the horse and the diet they have been on. She should talk to her vet. I put mine on alfalfa grass mix pasture without a problem. They do eat the alfalfa down first and have bright green road apples. Other than that I see no other changes. I do watch close and change the amount of grain when I see more weight gain than I like to see which can happen on all alfalfa.

She still needs to talk to her vet rather than follow other peoples plans.
 
I second the customer checking with her vet. Generally, most horses need just a small quantity and some should not have any.
 
I wouldn't even consider it. Would you call the pediatrician to ask if your kid could have a 100% ice cream diet?
Horses are very sensitive to over eating....be careful. Most mustangs are genetically programed to survive on a very sparse diet, which likely makes them more prone to problems.
 
I have lost way more bovines to alfalfa then I have horses. That being said I see lots of cattle grazing the stuff.
 
Why not just mow it let it set a day or 2 then turn them in. It will have dried some and they would be acclimated by then for the regrowth.
Keep in mind if it get wet they will make your smooth hay field rough from hoof tracks. Doesn't take much to do that either.
 

Most horses would founder on it while a few would not. Can not tell you why a few horses will not founder on it.
 
Our neighbor does it all the time.

When I was a kid, the rule was cows would bloat on live alfalfa, but it was OK to put horses on it.
 
A true neighborhood story: Neighbor A grew really tired of neighbor B's horses getting out onto his land because they were underfed. Called county animal control who conveniently turned the complaint over to the local Humane Society. Result was neighbor B was mildly told to mend his fence and neighbor A was strongly criticized for having his own horses overfed!!
 
Be very very careful with this. Too much that and a sizeable drink of water could have bad results, very rich feed and I have fed alfalfa hay to our horses, just not too much at any one time. Hi Test fuel for equine's.
 
Horse people are funny about having strong opinions about hay. I have some neighbors that will only feed grass hay. The neighbor across the road from me will only feed pure alfalfa hay that has not been rained on. All their horses look good regardless of the type of hay fed. Different breeds of horses process hay differently. That is why if a person does not know the horse they should consult a Vet. Not being as smart as the average horse owner I consulted my Vet. My Vet recommends free choice hay for my registered miniature horses balanced with sweet feed grain and free choice minerals. I have no idea what he would recommend for the different breeds of riding horses or draft horses.
 
Wife's great uncle cows kept getting into the neighbors field. Try as he might he could not keep his cows in the pen. So to remedy the problem he bought the neighbors field. Cows still got out but now they are getting out into his own field.
 

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