Barefoot diet - can it be used for shod horses?

Hho Hho Hho said:
Why do you think the farrier would have reshod the horse, if it were not required? For fun? To earn an extra few quid?

Does nobody have any trust or respect for their farriers any more? :confused:
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Hho Hho Hho said:
Isn't that just like asking 'why do so many barefoot trimmers refuse to recommend shoes for a horse that clearly needs them' ...?

I trust my farrier completely, and should he ever decide that my horse needs shoes (which, to this day he never has ;) ) then shoes he shall have...
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Hho Hho Hho said:
Except, you didn't...
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Erm... yes I did :)
 
If I might slightly gate crash this thread (apologies OP but just a brief Q whilst the BF experts are here) - when you say add copper.....that is the one thing I dont think I have added to my horse's diet (it could explain a few things!).....how much and in what form is this supplemented please?
 
Hho Hho Hho said:
... other than those heavily laden with bias & prejudice, which sadly goes for most of what CPT posts
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As I have already asked. Specify where I have written anything "laden with bias and prejudice" and I will defend myself. This statement is not correct.



Oh & likewise CPT in regards to what you *think* you read. No nastiness will ever come from me.
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I must confess, it was pure sarcasm
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No nastiness will ever come from you? It already did.

Dictionary definition:
Sarcasm
sar·casm (särkzm)
n.
1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.






...
 
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JingleTingle said:
If I might slightly gate crash this thread (apologies OP but just a brief Q whilst the BF experts are here) - when you say add copper.....that is the one thing I dont think I have added to my horse's diet (it could explain a few things!).....how much and in what form is this supplemented please?
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That is very difficult to say as no one knows how much your horse actually needs. Minerals can't just be added a spoonful here or there or you upset the balance as many minerals compete for absorption sites.

Coppe:Zinc:Manganese supposedly is safe fed 1:3:3 but the best advice I can give on a forum so that you safely supplement your horse is to have your forage tested.

There are some good supplements like prohoof which aims to balance well known UK forage but you won't know until you test.

I add copper but in mineral blocks. I know we lack copper and it's quite small amounts so copper licks are ideal for me. Actually CPT gave me some advice on this a couple of years ago and I haven't looked back!
 
I can't quote, but I see no reference in those posts to many of the things that you raised initially to prove my 'bias' :rolleyes:

CPT, do you actually want me to do that? Last time you told me to provide proof of something you had said, you threatened to sue me :D
I'd be happy to do so though, if required... :)
 
I reckon that you can "get away" with feeding the maximum which is in any of the prepared balancers. So you need to know how many milligrams are in what you feed already, and then you can safely top that up to 400. Topping it up is easy, you by bioplex copper from current cheapest supplier Charnwood and it should be exactly 10% copper so to add 100 milligrams of copper to your horses feed, you add one gram of copper bioplex. It's a tiny amount and copper in high excess is poisonous so you do need to weigh it the first time.

Hope that helps!
 
IMO I hav an excellent farrier who I trust implicitly. My mare was diagnosed with navicular last year. Her feet are balanced & shoes made to fit her feet rather than her feet being made to fit the shoes.
Barefoot is good for some horses & shoes fit others. I believe in doing what's best for the horse & they aren't all the same so no one thing works for every horse IMO
 
Hho Hho Hho said:
CPT, do you actually want me to do that? Last time you told me to provide proof of something you had said, you threatened to sue me :D
I'd be happy to do so though, if required... :)
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You were wrong then, as well. If you post libel, you can be sued, full stop.

I am not biased about barefoot and therefore you cannot prove that I am. I refer you first to this post which I first put up two years ago, as I doubt that you have seen it, or if you have you most certainly have not read it.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=405124


If I was to be writing it now I would add horses with IR, Cushings, EMS and EPSM as being difficult to keep without shoes on. And add the information that there are turning out to be many undiagnosed metabolically diseased horses whose first noticeable symptom is foot soreness.
 
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I'm awaiting the court case with baited breath :)
Although since I've never posted any libel, I highly doubt you'll be suing me any time soon :p
 
JingleTingle I think you are safe at any level which is sold in a commercial mix/balancer that does not have any warning about overdose on the side. That's my personal opinion, use it at your own risk :D
 
I am a shoes junkie but do find the BF threads interesting and I do feed a sort of 'BF' diet - whatever that is! BUT somewhere on NL is a thread about my way or no way and that is so true, why can anyone never agree to differ?
Surely if your horse is sound BF then great, you are saving a fortune, and if your horse is sound shod then great too...why do people have to take it so personally? It is like being back in school.
 
So....I have a 3 yo who gets nothing more than great quality hay...has a copper lick (which he actually seems to like a lot) plus is generally 24/7 T/O except for now when he is in after the abscess, to let his sole harden with an iodine wrapped hoof...when he goes back out, I would like to up his game dietwise for optimum hoof health...so would what you recommend...??

I've heard mention of seaweed, magnesium, linseed...and presumably I'm going to be giving him these things with some unmollassed chop...anything else....??

ETA: he is not shod and previously has been enjoying good hoof health before this prolonged wet weather
 
JT, you'll have to ask the other Hhoers. I've met a great deal of them, so feel free to ask about if you'd like your question answered without any *bias* :)
 
Hho Hho Hho said:
I'm confused as to where my bias is, exactly?

I keep my horses without shoes, and I appreciate all barefoot advice this forum offers... other than those heavily laden with bias & prejudice, which sadly goes for most of what CPT posts :(

Oh & likewise CPT in regards to what you *think* you read. No nastiness will ever come from me.
Have another smiley :)
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Bottom line Hho Hho Hho... Do you concede that CPT has through her advice on here been able to support other people to getting a sound unshod horse, post crippling shoeing... If the answer is yes, even just once, do you really truly think that her 'harping on' is misplaced? It would seem that you are taking personal offence to the poster not the stance she takes, this is a poster who I have seen encourage people to keep shoes or boots on when necessary, she is passionate and not afraid to speak out when she believes that she can offer genuine advice... Can you?
 
I think the principles of barefoot feeding are good principles in most cases. But, as with every single thing in the horse world (And out) every case must be judged on its own merits, feeding has to be tailored to the individual animal and environment. I read that uk grazing is almost without exception, lacking in selenium, zinc and copper...
 
Mine are both on a 'barefoot' diet - basically just low in sugars and starches and mainly rough old forage based. They have a mineral lick and magnesium.

They have both been unshod for the last three years.. they both have feet of stone that grow like weeds.

Last month I had fronts put back on my PRE cross. Nothing the matter with his feet, but his conformation is such that he copes better in shoes, having been shod from age 3 to 12 and probably never had any attention paid to his feet from birth to age three. The anglo has nigh perfect conformation and no problems at all.

I am lucky, I have a farrier on tap, so to speak, so 'speshul shoes' are not an issue.
 
JingleTingle said:
Hho Hho Hho are you this unpleasant and deliberately objectionable and antagonistic IRL? Just curious tis all?:rolleyes:
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I don't think HHH was being particularly unpleasant, she was questioning something that she did not agree with, only to be jumped on by those who worship at the feet of self proclaimed experts.
 
cptrayes said:
Well that's no surprise but I fail to see why you think a smiley is appropriate when all you intended was nastiness.



You have a barefoot horse. Almost by definition that means you have an open minded and good farrier. Not everyone is so lucky. Some people's horses would be dead or paddock ornaments by now if they had trusted their farriers."

Genuine question here, you say Hho Hho has a barefoot horse. I have 2 ponies and a donkey here, none have shoes on. One pony (aged 20) and the donkey (mid 30s) have never been shod, the other pony (24) has not had shoes on for around 5 years. They are all trimmed by my farrier who previously shod the one pony and stills shoes the horse. To me my gang are just plain unshod, not barefoot, as I had unshod ponies way before I ever heard of barefoot. So is there a difference, or can I give them a more fancy name now.
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cptrayes said:
What did your horse say? His opinion is far more important than the farrier's. If he was sound he didn't need the shoes.
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Well mine would say "please just leave the feedroom door open, with the lids off all the feed bins, if you please"

Doesn't mean it would be good for him!
FWIW I recently asked a barefoot taliban here for some advice. I asked them and am seeing results, but the ultimate aim is to have feet good enough to keep a set of shoes on!
 
Well, if you do ever leave your feedroom door open Stiggy, be sure to give him a good kicking whilst he's in there, so he knows to stay away... :D
 
joeanne said:
Well mine would say "please just leave the feedroom door open, with the lids off all the feed bins, if you please"

Doesn't mean it would be good for him!
FWIW I recently asked a barefoot taliban here for some advice. I asked them and am seeing results, but the ultimate aim is to have feet good enough to keep a set of shoes on!
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Mine would say please stop beating me - you left the feedroom open - what do you expect???
 
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