Should You Feed Alfalfa Before Riding to Prevent Gastric Ulcers?

By Dr Duncan Houston

Riding a horse on a completely empty stomach can increase the exposure of the upper stomach lining to acid during exercise.

A small forage meal before work can provide stomach fill, stimulate saliva production and reduce direct acid exposure. Alfalfa, also called lucerne, may provide an additional buffering effect because it contains relatively high levels of calcium and protein.

That makes pre-ride alfalfa a useful management strategy for some horses. It does not, however, guarantee ulcer prevention or replace gastroscopy and veterinary treatment when gastric disease is already suspected.

Quick Answer

Feeding a small, measured amount of alfalfa hay before riding is a reasonable strategy for horses at risk of equine squamous gastric disease.

For an average 450 to 550-kilogram horse, approximately 0.5 kilograms, or 1 pound, of alfalfa hay given around 20 to 60 minutes before exercise is a practical starting point. There is no scientifically validated universal dose, so the amount should be adjusted for the horse’s size, body condition and normal ration.

Alfalfa is most useful as one part of a larger ulcer-prevention plan. It cannot cure established ulcers, and the evidence is stronger for squamous gastric disease than for glandular disease.

What Does Alfalfa Actually Do?

Alfalfa may support gastric health in three main ways.

It Helps Buffer Gastric Acid

Alfalfa contains more calcium and protein than many grass hays.

Both nutrients have buffering properties. In laboratory testing, considerably more hydrochloric acid is required to reduce the pH of alfalfa than common cereal grains. In horses, an alfalfa-based ration has also produced a higher stomach pH during the first several hours after feeding. (PubMed)

This effect is temporary. Alfalfa does not permanently reduce gastric acid production.

It Encourages Chewing and Saliva Production

Horses produce saliva primarily when they chew.

Saliva contains bicarbonate, which helps buffer stomach contents. Long-stem alfalfa generally requires more chewing than a small pelleted or grain meal, although the amount of saliva produced depends on particle size, eating rate and the individual horse.

It Provides Physical Stomach Fill

A small forage meal creates fibrous material within the stomach.

This stomach fill may help reduce the movement of acidic liquid towards the upper squamous lining during exercise. It is sometimes described as a protective fibre mat, although this physical protection is biologically plausible rather than precisely measured in every feeding situation.

The real benefit is likely a combination of chemical buffering, saliva production and physical stomach fill.

Why Does Exercise Increase Squamous Ulcer Risk?

The horse’s stomach has two very different regions.

The lower glandular portion normally contains highly acidic fluid and has protective mucus, bicarbonate and blood-flow mechanisms.

The upper squamous portion does not have the same protection. It is vulnerable when acidic stomach contents repeatedly contact it.

During exercise faster than a walk, increased abdominal pressure compresses the stomach and pushes acidic contents upwards towards the squamous lining. This is often called the acid-splash effect. The exposure becomes greater as the intensity and duration of exercise increase. (PubMed)

An empty stomach provides less fibrous material between that acid and the vulnerable upper lining.

This is why feeding some forage before exercise is usually more appropriate than deliberately fasting a horse before every ride.

Squamous Ulcers vs Glandular Ulcers

The term equine gastric ulcer syndrome covers two clinically different diseases.

Disease	Where it occurs	Main concern
Equine squamous gastric disease	Upper non-glandular stomach	Excessive exposure to hydrochloric acid and fermentation acids
Equine glandular gastric disease	Lower glandular stomach, including the pylorus	Failure of the stomach’s normal mucosal defences

Alfalfa’s buffering effect makes the clearest biological sense for squamous disease.

Glandular disease is more complicated. It appears to involve stress, inflammation, impaired mucosal defence and other factors that cannot be corrected simply by buffering acid. A horse can have squamous disease, glandular disease, both or neither. The presence of one does not predict the other.

This distinction matters because feeding alfalfa before riding may help reduce one risk factor without resolving the horse’s actual gastric disease.

What Does the Research Show?

Alfalfa Increased Gastric pH and Reduced Squamous Lesions

In a study involving six horses, an alfalfa hay and grain ration was compared with a bromegrass hay ration.

The alfalfa ration produced a significantly higher stomach pH for several hours after feeding. Horses also developed fewer and less severe lesions in the squamous region while receiving the alfalfa ration. (PubMed)

This study supports a buffering effect, but it was small and compared complete diets rather than isolating one small pre-exercise serving of alfalfa.

Exercising Horses Had Less Severe Squamous Ulceration

A later Texas A&M study compared alfalfa and coastal Bermuda grass diets in exercising horses.

Alfalfa reduced squamous ulcer severity and helped prevent ulcer development in most horses that were ulcer-free at the beginning of the relevant treatment period. Eleven of 12 remained ulcer-free while receiving alfalfa, compared with three of 12 while receiving Bermuda grass. (CABI Digital Library)

This is encouraging evidence, but the work was published as a conference proceeding rather than a large multicentre clinical trial.

Alfalfa Pellets May Also Affect Glandular Disease

A 2023 trial examined trotting horses in training. Half of their high-starch concentrate was replaced with dehydrated alfalfa pellets.

Among the small subgroup with clinically relevant glandular lesions at the beginning, one of six horses in the alfalfa group still had relevant lesions after 42 days, compared with six of six in the control group. The findings are promising, but the ulcerated subgroup was small and the confidence interval around the result was very wide. (PMC)

This study also involved a major reduction in concentrate starch. It cannot tell us how much improvement came from alfalfa itself and how much came from feeding less starch.

What Alfalfa Can and Cannot Do

Alfalfa may help	Alfalfa cannot reliably do
Buffer stomach contents temporarily	Guarantee that ulcers will not develop
Provide stomach fill before exercise	Diagnose gastric ulcers
Encourage chewing and saliva production	Cure severe established ulcers alone
Replace part of a starch-heavy ration	Correct every cause of glandular disease
Reduce one risk factor for squamous disease	Replace prescribed omeprazole or other treatment
Support a broader prevention plan	Prove that behavioural problems are caused by ulcers

The strongest conclusion is not that alfalfa prevents every ulcer.

It is that alfalfa can be a useful component of a sensible gastric-health programme.

How Much Alfalfa Should You Feed Before Riding?

There is no universally validated pre-ride dose.

For an average adult horse, a practical starting point is approximately:

0.5 kilograms, or around 1 pound, of long-stem alfalfa hay

This can be adjusted according to:

• Body weight

• Whether the horse has eaten recently

• Body condition

• Total daily calorie intake

• Metabolic health

• Work intensity

• The amount of alfalfa already in the ration

University veterinary guidance notes that as little as approximately one pound of forage can contribute useful buffering and recommends offering a small hay meal before riding. (Horse Report)

A 300-kilogram pony does not need the same serving as a 650-kilogram Warmblood.

Do not use “one flake” as the dose. Alfalfa flakes can vary from less than 1 kilogram to several kilograms depending on the bale.

Weigh the hay.

When Should Alfalfa Be Fed Before Exercise?

Giving the forage approximately 20 to 60 minutes before riding is a practical approach.

The exact minute is not critical. The objectives are to ensure that the horse:

• Has recently chewed

• Has saliva entering the stomach

• Has some forage material in the stomach

• Is not beginning strenuous work after a prolonged fast

If the horse has been grazing or eating hay normally immediately before work, an extra alfalfa meal may offer little additional benefit.

If the horse has been without forage for several hours, the pre-ride meal becomes more important.

Do not withhold forage all morning and then expect two handfuls of alfalfa beside the mounting block to repair the entire management system.

Does the Horse Need to Wait Before Riding?

A horse does not generally need to wait an hour after eating a small forage meal.

Horses are naturally adapted to move while grazing. A small hay meal is very different from a large cereal-based concentrate meal.

Large grain-based meals should not be offered shortly before strenuous exercise. Current feeding guidance advises against giving more than 0.25% of body weight in grain-based concentrate within one hour of hard work, transport or similar stress. For a 500-kilogram horse, that threshold is 1.25 kilograms. (Merck Veterinary Manual)

The practical rule is:

• Small forage meal before riding: usually appropriate

• Large grain meal before riding: avoid

• Horse already showing abdominal discomfort: do not ride

Is Alfalfa Hay Better Than Alfalfa Pellets?

Long-stem hay and pellets have different practical advantages.

Alfalfa hay	Alfalfa pellets
Requires more chewing	Convenient and easy to weigh
Encourages more saliva production	Provides calcium and protein buffering
Creates greater physical stomach fill	Useful where hay storage is difficult
Takes longer to consume	Can be soaked for horses at choke risk
More closely resembles natural forage	Easier for horses with some dental limitations

Long-stem hay probably provides a greater chewing and physical-fill benefit.

Pellets still contain alfalfa’s chemical buffering components, and research suggests that replacing high-starch concentrate with alfalfa pellets may improve gastric scores. However, no strong direct study has proven that a certain cup volume of pellets provides exactly the same pre-exercise protection as a measured amount of long-stem hay. (PMC)

This means the original advice to give “one or two cups” of pellets is too vague.

A cup can contain very different weights depending on pellet size and density. One or two cups may also be too little to provide meaningful stomach fill in a large horse.

When pellets are used:

• Weigh them

• Follow the product instructions

• Soak them for horses with poor teeth, rapid eating or previous choke

• Include them within the total ration

• Do not assume a token scoop replaces proper forage access

What About Alfalfa Cubes or Chaff?

Alfalfa cubes can provide useful fibre and calories, but dense cubes may need soaking, particularly for older horses, rapid eaters or horses with previous choke.

Alfalfa chaff provides greater fibre length than pellets but less than long-stem hay. Very coarse or sharp chaff may be unsuitable for some young or sensitive horses.

One study in weanlings found more severe pyloric lesions when alfalfa chaff was fed, while alfalfa pellets did not produce the same finding. This does not prove that adult horses should avoid alfalfa chaff, but it shows why findings in adult performance horses should not automatically be applied to every age group and every physical form. (PMC)

For an adult performance horse, clean, soft long-stem alfalfa or an appropriate alfalfa-grass mixture remains a sensible pre-ride option.

Does the Horse Need Pure Alfalfa?

No.

An alfalfa-grass mixture may provide enough alfalfa to improve buffering while reducing:

• Total calorie density

• Protein intake

• Calcium intake

• Potassium intake

This can be useful for:

• Easy keepers

• Horses already receiving a balanced ration

• Horses that do not need additional weight

• Owners wanting the chewing benefit without a large alfalfa serving

The exact mixture matters less than ensuring the horse receives appropriate forage and does not exercise after prolonged fasting.

Which Horses Are Most Likely to Benefit?

Pre-ride alfalfa is particularly reasonable for horses that:

• Exercise intensely

• Race or perform at speed

• Travel frequently

• Compete regularly

• Spend long periods stabled

• Have restricted forage access

• Receive concentrate meals

• Have previously had equine squamous gastric disease

• Become picky with feed during competition

• Are undergoing a veterinarian-supervised ulcer-prevention programme

The benefit is likely greatest when the alternative is exercising after several hours without forage.

Which Horses Need Extra Caution?

Overweight Horses and Easy Keepers

Alfalfa can be relatively calorie-dense.

A measured 0.5-kilogram pre-ride serving may fit comfortably into the ration, but repeatedly adding alfalfa without reducing another feed can produce unwanted weight gain.

Low sugar does not mean low calorie.

Horses With Insulin Dysregulation

Many alfalfa hays contain less sugar and starch than some grass hays, but this is not guaranteed.

For a horse with insulin dysregulation or previous laminitis:

• Test the forage where possible

• Use a measured portion

• Count it within the daily calorie allowance

• Avoid assuming all alfalfa is metabolically safe

Horses With HYPP

Alfalfa can contain considerable potassium and may trigger episodes in horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis.

Horses with HYPP generally require a ration containing 1% potassium or less, with individual forage tested rather than selected by appearance. (Merck Veterinary Manual)

A routine pre-ride alfalfa meal may therefore be inappropriate for an HYPP horse.

Horses With Reduced Kidney Function or Previous Urinary Stones

Alfalfa is rich in calcium.

Excessive calcium should be avoided in horses with reduced renal function or a history of urolithiasis. The entire ration should be reviewed before alfalfa is fed regularly. (Merck Veterinary Manual)

Horses That Gain Weight Easily

The horse may benefit more from a small portion of lower-calorie grass hay than additional alfalfa.

Any forage meal can provide chewing, saliva and stomach fill. Alfalfa offers stronger chemical buffering, but it is not the only useful pre-ride forage.

Horses With Poor Teeth or Previous Choke

Long-stem alfalfa may be difficult to grind.

These horses may require:

• Soaked alfalfa pellets

• Soaked cubes

• A chopped forage product

• A complete senior feed

• Veterinary dental treatment

Horses in Areas With Blister Beetles

Blister beetles can contaminate alfalfa hay and contain cantharidin, a potent toxin.

Cantharidin poisoning can cause severe colic, mouth and gastrointestinal irritation, frequent urination, electrolyte abnormalities, shock and death. Purchase alfalfa from reputable suppliers and never feed hay containing visible beetles or suspicious clusters of insects. (Merck Veterinary Manual)

Does Alfalfa Prevent All Gastric Ulcers?

No.

The evidence is strongest for reducing acid exposure and lesion severity in the squamous region.

Equine glandular gastric disease has a different pathophysiology. Factors may include:

• Stress

• Intense or frequent exercise

• Impaired mucosal defence

• Reduced blood flow

• NSAID exposure

• Individual susceptibility

Alfalfa may still be useful within a glandular-disease diet, and one small trial involving alfalfa pellets produced encouraging results. That does not establish pre-ride alfalfa as a reliable standalone treatment for EGGD. (PMC)

The mistake is treating “gastric ulcers” as one uniform disease.

Can Alfalfa Treat Existing Ulcers?

Alfalfa can support management, but it should not replace appropriate treatment.

Established squamous gastric disease commonly requires veterinarian-prescribed acid suppression. Glandular disease may require a different or longer treatment strategy, often involving acid suppression, mucosal protection and management changes.

Gastroscopy remains the only reliable way to confirm gastric ulceration, identify its location and distinguish squamous from glandular disease. Clinical signs alone are too nonspecific for a dependable diagnosis.

If the horse is already being treated, follow the veterinarian’s instructions about:

• Medication timing

• Fasting before medication

• Feeding after medication

• Exercise

• Repeat gastroscopy

Do not allow a pre-ride alfalfa meal to interfere with the prescribed administration schedule.

What Are the Signs of Gastric Ulcers?

Possible signs include:

• Reduced or inconsistent appetite

• Walking away from concentrate meals

• Weight loss or poor body condition

• Recurrent mild colic

• Poor performance

• Behavioural changes

• Increased irritability

• Reluctance to go forward

• Resistance during grooming or saddling

• Changes during training or competition

• Bruxism

• Unexplained nervousness

These signs are not specific.

Some horses with severe-looking lesions show few obvious symptoms, while horses with dramatic behavioural problems may have no significant gastric disease. Consensus guidance specifically advises against diagnosing ulcers solely from behaviour or clinical signs.

Girthiness is a clue.

It is not a gastroscope.

What Else Can Look Like Gastric Ulcers?

Poor performance or resistance under saddle may also result from:

• Back pain

• Sacroiliac pain

• Hindlimb lameness

• Suspensory injury

• Poor saddle fit

• Dental disease

• Ovarian or reproductive pain

• Equine asthma

• Cardiac disease

• Training problems

• Rider imbalance

• Hindgut disease

• Sand accumulation

• Parasites

• Chronic colic

• Inadequate fitness

• Overtraining

• Behaviour learned through previous pain

A horse can also have gastric ulcers and another painful condition simultaneously.

The mistake I see most often is diagnosing a horse with ulcers because they react to the girth, then repeating treatment while never examining the back, saddle or limbs.

How Worried Should You Be?

Lower Risk

The horse:

• Has consistent forage access

• Maintains a healthy weight

• Eats normally

• Performs normally

• Receives small concentrate meals

• Shows no recurrent gastric signs

What to do: continue a forage-first routine. A small pre-ride alfalfa meal may be used but is not mandatory if the horse has recently eaten.

Moderate Risk

The horse:

• Occasionally becomes picky with feed

• Shows intermittent girth sensitivity

• Performs less consistently

• Travels or competes regularly

• Sometimes begins work after several hours without hay

• Has no severe pain or weight loss

What to do: improve forage timing, reduce fasting, review starch intake and discuss the pattern with your veterinarian if it persists beyond several days or repeatedly returns.

High Risk

The horse:

• Has recurrent colic

• Is losing weight

• Regularly leaves feed

• Has a history of confirmed ulcers

• Shows significant behavioural or performance deterioration

• Fails to improve after management changes

• Requires repeated empirical ulcer treatment

What to do: arrange a veterinary examination and gastroscopy. Do not rely on alfalfa or supplements to establish the diagnosis.

Critical

The horse has:

• Severe or persistent abdominal pain

• Repeated forceful rolling

• Marked sweating

• Rapid heart rate

• Pale or tacky gums

• Weakness

• Collapse

• Severe abdominal distension

• Rapid deterioration

What to do: seek emergency veterinary care immediately. Severe colic must not be assumed to be a routine gastric ulcer flare.

When Is This an Emergency?

Most gastric ulcer cases are not immediate emergencies.

Call a veterinarian urgently if the horse develops:

• Persistent or severe colic

• Pain that returns after medication

• Repeated rolling

• Marked depression

• Complete feed refusal

• Rapid heart rate

• Pale gums

• Weakness or collapse

• Black, tar-like manure

• Rapidly worsening condition

Do not ride a horse that is showing abdominal pain, profound appetite loss or marked depression.

A pre-ride hay snack is prevention support. It is not emergency treatment.

A Practical Pre-Ride Feeding Plan

For a Healthy Average-Sized Horse

1. Maintain normal forage access throughout the day.

2. Avoid forage-free periods longer than approximately six hours.

3. Offer around 0.5 kilograms of alfalfa or alfalfa-grass hay before work if the horse has not eaten recently.

4. Allow approximately 20 to 60 minutes for chewing before strenuous exercise.

5. Keep clean water available.

6. Avoid a large cereal-based meal immediately before riding.

7. Adjust the serving for body size, condition and workload.

For an Ulcer-Prone Horse

1. Build the entire day around frequent forage.

2. Review the total starch and sugar intake.

3. Split necessary concentrates into several small meals.

4. Provide forage before riding and during transport.

5. Use pre-ride alfalfa as an adjunct, not the whole prevention plan.

6. Follow veterinary medication instructions.

7. Repeat gastroscopy when recommended.

For an Overweight or Metabolic Horse

1. Calculate the calories supplied by the alfalfa.

2. Replace part of another feed rather than adding extra calories.

3. Consider tested low-NSC grass hay if alfalfa is unnecessary.

4. Avoid grain-based pre-ride meals.

5. Monitor digital pulses, hoof comfort and body condition.

6. Build the plan with your veterinarian or equine nutritionist.

What Should the Whole-Day Ulcer Prevention Plan Include?

The pre-ride meal matters, but the other 23 hours matter more.

A stronger plan includes:

Frequent Forage

Forage-free periods longer than approximately six hours are associated with increased squamous ulcer risk. Fasting is a well-recognised contributor to ESGD.

Appropriate Daily Fibre Intake

Most horses should receive at least 1.5% of body weight in forage dry matter daily, with more appropriate for many horses depending on health and body condition.

Controlled Starch

For horses at gastric-ulcer risk, consensus recommendations advise keeping starch below approximately:

• 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per meal

• 2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day

For a 500-kilogram horse, that means no more than approximately 500 grams of starch in one meal and 1 kilogram in the day.

Smaller Concentrate Meals

Large daily concentrate requirements should be divided into several meals rather than fed twice daily in large buckets.

Constant Water

Intermittent access to water has been associated with a greater risk of gastric disease. Water should remain continuously available.

Hay During Transport

Do not transport an ulcer-prone horse on a deliberately empty stomach unless fasting is medically required.

Training and Stress Management

Provide:

• Turnout

• Social contact

• Appropriate rest days

• Gradual conditioning

• Consistent routines

• Pain assessment

• Reasonable competition schedules

Careful NSAID Use

Use phenylbutazone, flunixin and other NSAIDs only as directed. Excessive or inappropriate NSAID exposure can damage the glandular mucosa and other organs.

Common Mistakes Horse Owners Make

Assuming Alfalfa Cures Ulcers

It can buffer stomach contents and support management. It does not replace diagnosis or medication.

Riding After an Overnight Fast

A horse that finished hay during the night and receives nothing before morning exercise begins work with limited stomach fill.

Feeding a Large Grain Meal Before Work

A grain bucket does not provide the same chewing or physical fibre benefit as forage and may increase starch and fermentation-acid exposure.

Calling One Flake a Dose

Flake weights vary enormously. Weigh the serving.

Treating One or Two Cups of Pellets as Equivalent to Hay

That amount may be nutritionally tiny and provides less chewing. Use dry weight, not cup volume.

Assuming Every Behavioural Problem Is Gastric

Girthiness, tail swishing and reluctance to go forward also occur with musculoskeletal and tack-related pain.

Ignoring the Rest of the Ration

Alfalfa cannot compensate for prolonged fasting, large high-starch meals, poor water access or constant competition stress.

Feeding Alfalfa to Every Horse Without Checking Suitability

HYPP, reduced kidney function, obesity, urinary-stone history and individual calorie needs can change the recommendation.

Can Gastric Ulcers Be Prevented Completely?

No management plan guarantees that a horse will remain ulcer-free.

Risk can be reduced by:

• Providing regular forage

• Avoiding prolonged fasting

• Feeding a small forage meal before exercise

• Using alfalfa strategically where appropriate

• Limiting starch and sugar

• Dividing concentrate meals

• Maintaining water access

• Providing hay during travel

• Reducing avoidable stress

• Treating pain

• Using prescribed preventive medication in genuinely high-risk horses

The best strategy is layered.

Alfalfa is one layer, not the entire fortress.

Will My Horse Be Okay?

Most horses with gastric disease respond well when the type of disease is identified and the treatment and management plan match the findings.

The outlook is generally better when:

• Gastroscopy is performed

• Squamous and glandular disease are distinguished

• Medication is administered correctly

• Fasting is reduced

• Starch intake is controlled

• Forage is provided consistently

• Training and pain problems are addressed

• Healing is confirmed where appropriate

Recurrence remains common when the horse returns to the same routine that contributed to the disease.

The goal is not simply to heal this month’s ulcer.

It is to change enough of the horse’s daily life that the stomach is not asked to repeat the same argument.

FAQs About Feeding Alfalfa Before Riding

How much alfalfa should I feed before riding?

Approximately 0.5 kilograms, or 1 pound, is a practical starting amount for an average 450 to 550-kilogram horse. Adjust the amount for body size, body condition and the horse’s recent forage intake.

How long before exercise should alfalfa be fed?

Around 20 to 60 minutes is a practical window. The important point is that the horse has recently eaten and is not beginning exercise after a prolonged fast.

Are alfalfa pellets as effective as alfalfa hay?

Pellets retain alfalfa’s calcium and protein buffering properties, but they require less chewing and provide less long fibre. There is no strong direct evidence that a cup or two of pellets provides the same pre-exercise effect as a measured long-stem hay meal.

Can alfalfa heal gastric ulcers without omeprazole?

No. Alfalfa can support gastric management, but established ulcers usually require veterinary diagnosis and appropriate medication.

Can every horse eat alfalfa before riding?

No. Horses with HYPP, reduced kidney function, urinary-stone history, obesity or specific nutritional restrictions need an individual plan.

Final Thoughts

Feeding alfalfa before riding can be a useful and evidence-supported way to reduce one important risk for gastric ulceration.

It works by:

• Buffering stomach contents

• Encouraging chewing and saliva production

• Providing physical stomach fill

• Reducing the effects of exercising after a forage-free period

The evidence is strongest for squamous gastric disease.

The most practical approach is to offer a small, weighed amount of alfalfa or alfalfa-grass hay before exercise, while maintaining frequent forage throughout the rest of the day.

Do not turn the recommendation into a magic trick.

Alfalfa cannot compensate for:

• Long fasting periods

• Large starch-heavy meals

• Poor water access

• Constant travel stress

• Untreated pain

• Existing gastric disease

A small pre-ride forage meal is good management.

A complete ulcer-prevention system is better.

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If your horse is girthy, leaving feed, showing recurrent colic or performing inconsistently, ASK A VET™ can help you organise the signs, feeding routine and training history before you discuss gastroscopy and treatment with your local veterinarian.