ATTRIBUTES OF ALFALFA
By Dr. Amy K. McLean, PhD
Alfalfa is likely one of the oldest forages fed to horses. For over 2,000 years there are records from Persian to Roman empires feeding Alfalfa. The forage spread from the middle east to Asia and eventually Europe as people traveled the world with their horses. Alfalfa is considered a legume and belongs to the family Medicago sativa. Clover is in this same family. Most equine consume grass or legumes or a combination of both. A legume plants have a great leaf to stem ration and the leaves are more round and palatable or shall we say delicious for horses to consume. Other examples of legumes include beans such as soybeans. The leaves are key components to good nutrition. Legumes such as alfalfa are packed with nutrients and are easy to chew and digest making it an ideal feed for horses. Most alfalfa products from hay to pellets offer a high-quality source of protein meaning its more easily digested compared to other sources.
Protein is important for performance horses and muscle recovery. For providing a source of protein that’s alfalfa based can ultimately help keep your performance horse competing at a high level by restoring muscle function. Each time the horse exercises muscles are torn down and then rebuilt but this can only occur if the horse is receiving an adequate supply of protein that’s broken down into amino acids and rebuilds muscle tissue such as actin and myosin.
Alfalfa can help decrease oxidative stress as well in performance horses by supplying a quality source of vitamins and minerals to your horse such as Vitamin A, E, and K. Oxidative stress can lead to an early onset of fatigue and lead to your horse becoming tired or slower performing in a quick amount of time. Vitamins and minerals work hand in hand in performing equine athlete. Minerals such as Calcium and Phosphorous are required for muscle contraction and are readily available in Alfalfa. Young growing horses require 2:1 parts Calcium to Phosphorous and adults 2:1 or 1:1 depending on exercise and life stage.
In general, minerals that can be found in large quantities in Alfalfa when compared to grass-based forage sources. The following minerals Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Chloride, Sodium, Cooper, Zinc, and Selenium are all found in Alfalfa. Calcium and Phosphorus are the most abundant minerals found in the skeleton system. The lower limbs of horses are constantly being remodeled meaning there’s a shift in mineral content from the middle of the bone, bone marrow to the outer edges. Supplying your horse with an abundant source of minerals can help replenish minerals that were stored in the marrow and increase bone density and integrity. Also, feeding your horse alfalfa has been shown to help buffer the acidic stomach and small intestine of your horse prior to exercise and may possibly reduce gastric ulcers.
Other minerals such as Sodium, Chloride and Potassium are necessary to maintain a balance in horses’ blood stream. When a horse is exercising and sweating it easily loses these important minerals. However, they can easily be replenished by offering salt to your horse and alfalfa-based products.
The attributes of alfalfa don’t end with improving the health of performance horses, but they also help increase reproduction efficiency with stallions, broodmares, and foals. So, alfalfa has many attributes for horses at all life and exercise stages. If you are looking for the perfect feed for your equine consider alfalfa or an alfalfa based product and then feed according to the weight of your horse, exercise level, and life stage (example a young growing horse in training or a broodmare in the last part of gestation or a gelding ridden a few times a week).
