Tying Up- Don't blame Alfalfa

Although there is still no concrete answer to the cause of tying up, many people are quick to point to alfalfa as a problem. True, an average horse is probably less likely to tie up if fed grass hay due to the lack of protein, but the average horse is stuck in a stall at least half of the time with little exercise and fed an otherwise high carb diet. I feel the real answer is to look at the whole picture before ruling out alfalfa for your horse. Most horses can benefit from alfalfa without tying up if they are properly managed.*

Take the following for example: an overweight couch potato one day decides to do something "healthy" and goes for a good run. Just gets up, runs until he can't run anymore, and goes back to resting on the couch. What do you think he's going to feel like tomorrow? He's going to be so sore he can't hardly get out of bed. He didn't stretch after he ran, he didn't take his lack of fitness into account, he was just too short sighted to see what would happen the next day. And he will probably be less likely to run in the future because he's learned that it hurts! Unfortunately this is usually what happens with our horses.

How many times do you pull your horse out and ride for just 15 minutes, making sure to stop when your he's just starting to sweat, and walk him out until he's completely cool? That's what you'd have to do if you wanted to build up his fitness slowly without causing any soreness. Now if he's stuck in a stall all day you've just added to your problem. Each horse is different, but unless your horse is in peak fitness and on open pasture, I'd be willing to bet that he's tying up for other reasons. If he's never tied up, here's what you need to do right now: get down on your knees, fold your hands together, and seriously thank God!

Now I agree that not every horse will tie up, but proper management can stack the odds in our favor. If you can keep your horse at pasture that's the best, with all day turnout being second. But if you have to keep your horse in a stall, then you or someone else needs to be carefully exercising him daily. A lot of people just switch their horses to grass hay so that they can bypass the need to be careful about their exercise requirements, but in the long run the horse will not be happy. Think of the couch potato after his long run- he's not going to want to do it again, and neither will your horse.

Some horses do have serious problems with tying up, but I've found that even the most serious cases can still be fed alfalfa and do very well if their nutrition is balanced* (low carb grains can help) and they are looked after carefully. With all of the benefits alfalfa can offer, such as high protein for energy, great taste, and high vitamin and mineral content (think less money on supplements), you'd be short changing your horse to feed grass if your he didn't absolutely need it.

In summary, each horse should be evaluated as an individual. They are athletes and their diet, exercise, and other requirements deserve consideration. If your horse ties up, look at all the factors, don't just blame alfalfa.


*A certain racehorse trainer at Emerald Downs found that not one of his horses tied up all season (including horses with chronic conditions) when fed a low carb grain called Re-leve. The horses were fed only alfalfa hay as well.