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Discussion on Weaning off alfalfa?
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 - 10:58 am:
I know you have to do it slowly... but how slowly? My lease mare is home now, but full of fire...want to douse it a bit!
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 - 2:01 pm:
It seems I read somewhere you should not make more than 20% or 25% change the first day, and to gradually complete the change over a period of a couple of weeks. At one point I was SUPPLEMENTING a horse with some alfalfa, and in that case I simply stopped it. How you make the change depends upon the whole picture of what the horse has been eating and what you want her to eat. In other words, how much are you trying to change?
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 - 2:13 pm:
Thank you Vicki,
She is free fed oat and timothy hay, is supposed to get 2 flakes (8 pounds!) of alfalfa pm. I've already changed it to one flake am and one flake pm (but is still free fed the timothy and oat hay).
She wasn't eating much of anything at first, now she'll eat the alfalfa and timothy, peck at the oat, but is supposed to also have stable mix pellets at night, she did eat those the first day, but not the second.
I'm excited to be able to free feed her! I just want a tad less bucking up and down the pasture... and a lot less nervousness. I want to get her down to 2 pounds (half flake) am/pm of alfalfa eventually, maybe off completely if she doesn't settle in...
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 - 6:08 am:
There is no need to discontinue a feedstuff slowly that I am aware of, it is when adding a new foodstuff that you need to be careful.
DrO
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 - 10:23 am:
Thank you Dr. O!
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 - 11:06 am:
What Dr. O says is my understanding also. Discontinuing or cutting back is not a problem -- it is the adding of something new that requires the gradual change.
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