Posted by Managing your horse’s nutrition is essential so it can thrive, and developing a diet that suits its lifestyle is crucial when it comes to your horse’s health. Ensuring your horse has adequate energy and nutrient intake should be considered when choosing a feed to suit – with protein being one of the most important elements. Below, we’ll take a closer look at various sources of protein you could add to your horse’s diet and how alfalfa compares.
Why is Protein Essential in a Horse’s Diet?
In the past, many have thought that protein has been the cause of a range of issues for horses, but this has been debunked somewhat over the last few years – and just like humans, horses need protein for a range of processes to keep them happy and healthy. Protein is found in different tissues around the body, as well as in enzymes, antibodies, and hormones. Your horse’s body can not make some of the amino acids that make up protein itself and so these have to be supplied in the diet which is why they are called essential amino acids. It is the presence and levels of essential amino acids that determine how good a source of protein a feed is.
Your horse needs sufficient protein within its body to ensure muscle development, tissue repair, and overall growth to maintain a strong, healthy body, and to ensure crucial bodily functions can take place. But how can you ensure your horse is getting enough protein from its diet? Let’s take a look at some sources of protein within horse feed.
Sources of Protein
Forage
Forage should make up the majority of your horse’s diet, and mature horses should be consuming around 1.5-2% of their body weight in forage per day. Forage can be hay, haylage, hay cubes or pasture – these all contain protein essential for your horse’s well-being and will vary in levels according to climate, plant type and soil. Forage makes up a large proportion of the horse’s ration and so it should make a big contribution to their protein requirement. Poorer quality forage may be evident in poor performance or lack of muscle tone in your horse. If you’re worried that your horse is showing signs of protein deficiency, have your forage tested, or try a higher protein option.
Legumes
Legumes, including alfalfa and clover, are higher in protein than grass. Alfalfa can be used to supplement the protein intake of horses that require more of this nutrient in their diet, like young, growing horses, lactating mares, or horses in heavy work. As well as this, legume hay is more digestible, providing protein to the horse, whilst also maintaining a balanced and healthy gut. Legume hays can also supply horses with energy without the need for cereal-based feeds high in starch and carbohydrates, to reduce the chance of metabolic issues, laminitis, and behavioural issues.
Supplements
If you’re worried that your horse may not be getting the protein it needs through its diet, there are supplements that you can choose to add to feed to benefit your horse’s well-being. If your horse is in good condition, the amount of protein in your horse’s diet is likely to be sufficient, however, they may still be lacking amino acids such as lysine – which can happen for a number of reasons. Lysine is particularly essential for young horses as deficiencies can limit both development and growth. Adding a lysine supplement can improve protein availability, build muscle mass, and support a healthy immune system.
Protein and Alfalfa
So, how does alfalfa compare to forage – like hay and haylage – when it comes to protein content? Alfalfa typically contains around 15-22% crude protein, in comparison to grass hays like timothy, meadow or fescue grass which have around 8-12% – showing alfalfa is higher in protein. It’s also rich in calcium, which can be particularly beneficial for lactating mares and growing horses. Alfalfa is a form of highly digestible energy, which is beneficial for performance horses, and those in hard work, and can be used as an alternative to cereal-based feeds that can cause imbalances within the gut, ulcers, and laminitis when fed in excess.
Generally, alfalfa is a good option for those looking for a high-protein feed and can provide the building blocks your horse needs to thrive in terms of condition, and support essential functions around the body, without having to worry about digestive issues.