Barefoot diet - balancers or mix/cubes

L

Lucy_Ally

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 June 2004
Messages
2,494
Location
Surrey
Visit site
My horse has been without shoes since January and is on a fibre only diet (soaked hay and Dengie Healthy Hooves) plus T.E.N Challenged Hooves supplement. She is out on a reasonably bare paddock at night and in during the day. The shoes came off due to caudal heel pain but she is now sound and we're starting to increase her workload. She's been back in work since April and we're up to about an hour or so hacking (walk, trot and a bit of canter) and about half an hour in the school. Her fitness is continuing to improve and her topline is getting better, but I think she needs a bit more slow-release energy as she's just running out of puff and I want to ensure she has enough petrol in the tank as we continue to increase her work. She is an extremely good doer(!) and is quite sensitive to molasses, so this is a no-no. I have used Alfalfa in the past when she was working harder, but really looking for barefoot friendly ideas of balancers or mixes/cubes/pencils. She is a 16-year old, 16.1hh ISH.

Thanks!
 
Well some use spillers hi fibre cubes but it is no big deal to use quick beet plus minerals and micronised linseed plus oats if needed, doing it this way you know exactly what is in the diet, also cheaper in my experience.
 
Micro linseed or speedibeet are great.
Most modern horse feeds are a no no, just look at the ingredients it says it all
 
Thanks for your replies. I have stayed away from linseed as I was worried it would just make her fat?
Speedibeet could be an option.

I was considering Saracen Releve or Allen and Page Ride and Relax as they claim to be low in cereal or cereal free and no molasses. Anyone use these?
 
The ingredients of Ride and Relax:

Nutritionally Improved Straw, Peas, Maize, Wheat Syrup, Linseed Expeller (3.0%), Oat Straw, Soya (bean) Expeller, Expelled Soya Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Di-calcium Phosphate, Grass Meal, Salt, Mint, Herbs, Garlic, Fructo-oligosaccharides, Yeast

Re-leve contains:

Soya Hulls, Soya Oil, Bioplexed Minerals & Vitamins, Alfalfa Pellets, Micronised Soya Beans, Yeast, Unmolassed Beet Pulp, Molasses, Limestone, Micronised Peas, Dicalcium Phosphate Salt

Neither of which I would feed to my horses.

My barefooters get washed sugarbeet (because I can't get unmollassed here) plus 75ml micronised linseed and their hoof supplement. They look great, their feet are great, and my mare who is in work never lacks for energy.
 
NZJenny said:
Truly they are horrible - "nutritionally improved straw" what on earth is that?
Click to expand...

It's a way of treating straw (I think with sodium hydroxide) so more of the nutrients can be digested. Apparently good for milk yields in cows which is always a worry.

http://www.feedsmarketing.co.uk/nutrionally-improved-straw

However it is turning up in alot of lo cal feeds here, Fast Fibre, the Dengie Molasses free range and Pure feeds spring to mind. Often listed in the ingredients as NIS pellets.

I knew there was a reason I feed straights.

OP If you are worried about weight you could add plain straw chaff to the unmolassed sugarbeet.
 
criso said:
It's a way of treating straw (I think with sodium hydroxide) so more of the nutrients can be digested. Apparently good for milk yields in cows which is always a worry.

http://www.feedsmarketing.co.uk/nutrionally-improved-straw

However it is turning up in alot of lo cal feeds here, Fast Fibre, the Dengie Molasses free range and Pure feeds spring to mind. Often listed in the ingredients as NIS pellets.

I knew there was a reason I feed straights.

OP If you are worried about weight you could add plain straw chaff to the unmolassed sugarbeet.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise it was in pure feeds. I've just bought some pure easy and scrutinised the ingredients to make sure it didn't contain NIS:
Grass Chaff, Oat Straw Chaff, Grass Pellets, oat feed pellets (NOTE: not made from whole oats but made from the tough, outer husk of the oat which is compressed into a pellet and used as an extra source of fibre), Pure Balance, Soya Oil.
 
little_critter said:
I didn't realise it was in pure feeds. I've just bought some pure easy and scrutinised the ingredients to make sure it didn't contain NIS:
Grass Chaff, Oat Straw Chaff, Grass Pellets, oat feed pellets (NOTE: not made from whole oats but made from the tough, outer husk of the oat which is compressed into a pellet and used as an extra source of fibre), Pure Balance, Soya Oil.
Click to expand...

They may have dropped it then. I looked at the label on the bag when a friend was feeding it but this was probably 18 months ago.

Another reason I don't like mixes, they change the ingredients with no notice or warning even if in this case it's for the better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top