Alfalfa hay is a high-protein, nutrient-dense legume forage that is commonly fed to animals with additional nutritional needs, such as young, pregnant or nursing animals, as well as horses, ponies, livestock and browsing animals. Due to its high nutrient levels, it’s often not suitable as a sole forage for healthy adult animals, and is instead commonly combined with other hays, such as Timothy hay, for a balanced and varied diet.  

Alfalfa hay offers many benefits to horses and ponies. It’s commonly fed as an additional source of protein and nutrients for breeding stock or performance horses. Here’s a summary of the key benefits:

• The high calcium content acts as a buffer against gastric acid, helping to promote stomach health and reduce the risk of gastric ulcers.
• Alfalfa hay is a high-quality source of protein. It contains essential amino acids like lysine, which are essential for growing horses, broodmares and helping to repair and develop muscle in performance horses.
• It’s highly palatable, which can help encourage picky eaters or older horses with reduced appetites.

Due to its high calcium content, alfalfa hay should be considered as part of the wider dietary ration, with any additional forage or concentrate feeds selected to complement its nutrient profile and maintain an appropriate nutritional balance. If you are unsure whether alfalfa hay is the right choice for your horse, pony, or collection species, please speak to our experienced nutritionist, Briony, who will be happy to advise.

Yes, alfalfa hay is considered to be high in protein. Our compressed alfalfa hay bales typically contain 13-20% crude protein, in contrast to our compressed timothy hay, which only offers 6-10% crude protein. It’s a high-protein, nutrient-dense forage that’s most suitable as a nutritional boost for performance horses, broodmares and young horses, as well as a wide range of browsing zoo animals.

Alfalfa hay can be a valuable forage source for horses, ponies, and a range of zoo browsing species. However, due to its distinctive nutrient profile, particularly its high calcium content, it should be considered as part of the wider dietary ration. Any additional forage or concentrate feeds should be selected to complement the nutrients supplied by alfalfa and help maintain an appropriate overall nutritional balance. This is particularly important for growing animals, where maintaining suitable mineral ratios is essential to support healthy development.

Always speak to a nutritionist if you are unsure if alfalfa hay is right for your horse or pony, or if you have any questions about how to mix it with other forages for a balanced diet. 

Yes, alfalfa hay is commonly combined with other forages, such as grass hay or haylage, for horses, ponies, and zoo animals. Its high-quality protein and calcium content can help complement the nutritional profile of the wider ration. Providing a variety of forage types can also encourage natural foraging behaviours, increase dietary diversity, and offer additional environmental enrichment, particularly for browsing and grazing species. 

While alfalfa is often fed alongside other forages, the most important consideration is that the overall diet is appropriately balanced to meet the nutritional requirements of the individual animal or species.

Alfalfa (also referred to as lucerne) is a nutrient-dense legume rather than a grass. It’s high in protein and calcium and is often combined with grass hay to offer a nutritional boost to performance horses, breeding stock or underweight horses. 

In contrast, grass hay is higher in fibre, lower in protein, calcium and energy (although this can depend on the type of grass hay, e.g. meadow hay offers higher energy than timothy hay). Grass hay is better suited to good doers, horses at rest or in light work, or adult animals that require a low-calorie diet to maintain their condition.

Our double-compressed alfalfa bales are approximately 20kg, making them convenient to feed and store and often more cost-effective than bagged hay. They are also strapped and pre-sliced for easy feeding.