Barefoot diet

[Sandstone1]

What do people with bare foot horses feed? Would prefer to avoid Thunderbrooks. Needs to be suitible for good doers. Also given the current crisis not too expensive. Not much to ask I know! Thanks.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Presuming you are in the UK I would signpost you onto one of the FB barefoot groups: I'm on the "Barefoot Horse Owners Group UK" which is an excellent one and if you pose your question there you will get some very good advice.

 

[GinaGeo]

As a base I use a small handful of Honeychop Topline and Shine. Or a small amount of Emerald Green Grass Chaff and Meadow Nuts.

Then add one of the good balancers (Forageplus, Progressive Earth, Equivita, Equimins) I also add 20g Salt.

 

[planete]

A soaked cupful of mixed Speedibeet and cheap grass nuts plus salt and a good balancer.

 

[AntiPuck]

I am just about to take my horse's shoes off for the first time, but working with a podiatrist, and the constraints of the current livery yard, i've settled on trying the following for my good doer, which sounds quite similar to the other replies so far; 160g Fast Fibre soaked with 3 heaped tablespoons of salt, vitamin E, and a pelleted balancer.

Then 24/7 grass in Summer with a muzzle, and in overnight with trickled-netted haylage over Winter.

 

[PurBee]

I am just about to take my horse's shoes off for the first time, but working with a podiatrist, and the constraints of the current livery yard, i've settled on trying the following for my good doer, which sounds quite similar to the other replies so far; 160g Fast Fibre soaked with 3 heaped tablespoons of salt, vitamin E, and a pelleted balancer.

Then 24/7 grass in Summer with a muzzle, and in overnight with trickled-netted haylage over Winter.

I’d be very surprised if my horses were to eat 3 tablespoons of salt mixed with with just 160g fibre and some pellets. They like salt but are put off from any mix thats too salty. If you find your horse eating it slowly, nodding or not eating that mix, id advise lessen the salt, and have a salt lick free available too.

With 400g each speedibeet soaked, a heaped teaspoon of salt added is the max i can add. When ive trialled more salt 1 especially hates it.

Maybe mine are weird, but thought it worth a mention in case yours doesnt eat it up with enthusiasm, it could be the amount of salt rather than the other ingredients. With mine i changed balancer thinking they hated that, then cut out magnesium thinking they hated the taste of that, when it turned out to be the 2 heaped teaspoons of salt. Once i cut the salt down they gobbled it up snorting like piggies again ?

 

[Surbie]

My horse is on half a sloppy jug of Allan & Page Veteran Light (we get through a 20kg bag in about 8 months) morning and night and a big handful of Honeychop Lite & Healthy. Plus salt, boswellia and another joint supplement.

I've taken him off the Forageplus balancer for now, he really disliked it at the rates he was supposed to have it.

He won't touch magnesium either unless there is a hefty amount of linseed added. Also won't eat speedibeet unless it's mixed with something nicer. (don't blame him, I tried some and it's very bland)

 

[AntiPuck]

I’d be very surprised if my horses were to eat 3 tablespoons of salt mixed with with just 160g fibre and some pellets. They like salt but are put off from any mix thats too salty. If you find your horse eating it slowly, nodding or not eating that mix, id advise lessen the salt, and have a salt lick free available too.

With 400g each speedibeet soaked, a heaped teaspoon of salt added is the max i can add. When ive trialled more salt 1 especially hates it.

Maybe mine are weird, but thought it worth a mention in case yours doesnt eat it up with enthusiasm, it could be the amount of salt rather than the other ingredients. With mine i changed balancer thinking they hated that, then cut out magnesium thinking they hated the taste of that, when it turned out to be the 2 heaped teaspoons of salt. Once i cut the salt down they gobbled it up snorting like piggies again ?

Thank you, PurBee! It is a hard one to get right, I did have to increase the FF to have her eat it happily, I started off with a very stingy 80g.

She goes crazy for her salt lick even with 3 heaped tablespoons in her feed (only has access to it briefly in stable once per day), and technically should be on more salt for her size, so I was trying to figure out how to give her more without putting her off her feed, but am a bit stumped there without increasing the size of her feeds, which she doesn't need as she still has weight to lose.

 

[paddy555]

What do people with bare foot horses feed?

same as I would feed a shod horse if I had one. ATM ie last winter, this summer and next winter a variety of molassed sugar beet, dengie grass or alfalfa pellets and mole hi fibre cubes. Plus salt, equimins AC and vit E. plus soaked hay/grass. Plus carrots.

I used to feed copra and micro linseed but they became so expensive and they didn't appear to notice when I stopped.

 

[planete]

The most palatable balancer I have found is made by Equivita. He has had Pro Earth and Forage plus but goes nuts about the Equivita, licking the bowl as clean as he can no matter what else is in it.

 

[SEL]

I feed my shod and barefoot horses varying amounts of the same stuff. A barefoot friendly diet is really just a good diet and it drives me up the wall that so many trimmers pass themselves off as some form of expert nutritionists

The vast majority of your horses feed is the hay and grass it takes in. If you've got one particularly sensitive to grass then you might need to look at restricting grass. If your hay is from one source then test it. If it's from multiple sources then a decent balancer should help with any dietary shortfalls

Otherwise unless you're feeding a tonne of high sugar coarse mix whatever goes in the bucket is usually a tiny part of what they eat. My lot have a combination of grass pellets, Kwik beet and oat chaff. Extra vitamin E when there's no grass and one needs a fair amount of magnesium.

 

[Surbie]

A barefoot friendly diet is really just a good diet and it drives me up the wall that so many trimmers pass themselves off as some form of expert nutritionists.

This - so, so much!

 

[Tiddlypom]

I feed my shod and barefoot horses varying amounts of the same stuff. A barefoot friendly diet is really just a good diet and it drives me up the wall that so many trimmers pass themselves off as some form of expert nutritionists

This!

Steer clear of the Facebook barefoot groups, there are so many deluded and blinkered posters on them.

 

[FFAQ]

Clare McLeod is an independent nutritionist and often has some sensible advice on her Facebook page.

 

[lynz88]

Mine has done extremely well on alfa A oil, fibre, a 50/50 haylage/hay mix, linseed and then I also have him on MSM, FP Hoof & Skin (though looking at trying the Equivita), Protexin Gut, vit e, and oily herbs. I tried some other herbs/hedgerow but he ended up super stuffy and grumpy so went back to just the oily herbs and re-evaluating what I do to get the right balance in his gut fron my equibiome report. Since going back to the basic oily herbs he is happy to be ridden and worked again...?‍

After about 2 months from adding the oily herbs, the farrier noticed a huge difference in his feet. Farrier was out yesterday and said he's really impressed with how little he needs to do now.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Lynz which type of oily herbs do you use and where do you get them from?

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I feed a ‘barefoot diet’ minimal cereals and more fibre and oil based.

sunmer feed is now

Baileys lo cal balancer
Big handful of readigrass (stops him bolting it)
Tsp Measure of magnesium
100g Of linseed meal
Soaked with a round scoop of water

winter is the above plus a sound scoop of soaked grassnuts/alfalfanuts/beetpulp pellets. I mixed together one bag if each in a big bin and a round dry scoop soaked in a medium trug does me four days

 

[lynz88]

Lynz which type of oily herbs do you use and where do you get them from?

Thyme, Oregano, and Rosemary. I buy in bulk from wholefoods online. I mix equal amounts of each (minus sometimes a small bottle for myself in my cooking lol). The difference it makes for mine is huge- non-rideable vs rideable and...added benefit is in 4 months he has lost 3.5/4 sarcoids! Mine also gained weight in 2 months - he is your "typical tb" that looks at food and loses weight.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

Our feed room is stocked with Dengie grass pellets, Dengie meadow grass chaff with oils, Dengie Alfa Beet, Speedi-Beet, micronised linseed and Forage Plus hoof and skin balancer.

Everyone gets their own mix and match of the above. One also gets D&H Mobility which is a combination of herbs and devils claw.

Shod or unshod, that is what they will get. No one seems to need any more than that, and Mimosa needs less!