Barefoot Diet for a horse that needs energy?!

[KatieLluvia]

I am looking to find a feed that will improve the quality my mare hooves. They are quite crumbly, pulls shoes often, generally poor feet. However, she does lack energy, so was wondering if anyone has any feeding advice or ideas?! Thankyou!

 

[thatsmygirl]

What diet is she currently on? Would be easier to ulter her current diet then a complete overhall maybe.
A diet of speedibeet, Alfa a, linseed and a balancer such as equimins advance complete is what I'd use plus add a high spec supplement such as equimins hoof mender or biotin 25.
Stay clear of cereal and sugar/starch plus the fitter the horse gets the more energy she will have.
I always find the hoof quality comes from within and reflects a good balanced diet along with a decent farrier

 

[Cragrat]

Mine work reasonably hard, and have more than enough energy(i.e. too much at times), and are fed adlib hay /grass, (one is muzzled in the spring/early summer), unmolassed sugar beet, copra, linseed meal, vit and mineral mix. ( pro- hoof). The total daily weight of the food before soaking is about about 1kg. They get a couple of handfuls of soaked rolled oats when they are competing or hunting. I read a report that found oats supplied the energy muscles need for hard work. I have never found oats to affect their hooves. But as KL said, your horses energy will increase when it gets fitter. How much work does your horse get?

(Mine are barefoot and now have really nice hooves on this diet)

 

[lurcherlu]

Imo I find horses lacking energy is because they are unfit . Get her fit on a barefoot diet , feed mine fast fibre , normally spillers conditioning fibre chaff but at pm hi if lite as they had run out of the spillers, a glug of corn oil , garlic, mint and fenugreek . She's above recommended rations as she's young and I have been working her more (4 year old returning from a field injury that happened in January left her out of work 6 weeks ) she's out 24 hours a day for 3/4 days a week and in by night the rest of the time adlib hay when in she never finishes it all and is fed loose off the floor , if not feeding the high amounts I'd add pro earth pro hoof or pro balance to supplement her. Linseed s great for extra calories and condition and energy comes from calories not cereal , cereal will give energy in short east bursts but calories in needs to be same as or more than calories out (depending on if u need weight gain too)

Also ime the fitter the horse the more work your doing the more work you do the better the feet, get the horse bare foot if possible or at least put n a barefoot diet, my girl always has been barefoot and is a right little mountain goat , had the farrier for first time in 14 months yesterday and he literally tidied the edges of her feet she's self trimming and pretty well balanced for a baby

 

[JillA]

Or is she lacking energy because her feet aren't comfortable? Low sugar/starch diet as above, plus all the vits and mineral, plus biotin for hoof quality and methionine which is the protein which helps feet. And linseed for skin and hoof - and do bear in mind that it will take weeks and months before the better horn quality grows down.
I had one whose feet were badly cracked, and I asked my farrier to take off his shoes. He was very doubtful, but next trim he had to admit it had been good for him, allowing the foot to flex and move and develop a good blood supply, plus good feeding of course. If you can bear it, give her a couple of months in the field without shoes - maybe now while the weather isn't so good?

 

[ester]

For energy most barefoot horses tolerate oats pretty well even in quite high quantities (so you do just need the right starch!). Mine is of the type that he doesn't automatically get more energy when he is fitter and when his grazing is restricted I think he genuinely struggles to have the energy to do the level of work I am asking of him - and I'd rather he get his energy from oats rather than grass!

We run on fastfibre (purely because he prefers that over speedibeet), linseed, oats, equimins advanced and extra magnesium (other supplements suggested would be forageplus/pro earth supplements

Am assuming it is the mare in your profile pic so I suspect maintaining weight is not a problem? I do find with the oats that mine gets more energy so he burns them off rather than adding lbs, it is also why I don't feed copra meal

 

[maccachic]

I used oats for mine for weight gain and was very successful - he didn't get more energetic either and he could heat up on an unbalanced diet (athletic redhead TB).