Barefoot feeding - young competition horses.

TarrSteps

TarrSteps

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I've probably ridden more young horses without shoes than with them - breeders are cheap ;) - but they've always eaten regular rations and we've not had problems. Different country, different feeds, maybe some blissful ignorance. :)

But I have a couple of horses now that are on very specific 'barefoot diets' and while they look well and are clearly healthy I'm aware that they seem to be struggling a bit to gain the muscle and strength they will need to do the work they are being targeted at.

So what do people feed say 3 to 7 year old horses starting out on competitive careers to give them the building blocks they need for increased demands without running into trouble with the barefoot aspect?
 
Off the top of my head, one gets Kwikbeet and bran, a small amount of linseed and a custom mineral mix. She wears a muzzle and eats soaked hay only.

The other is on grass pellets and chaff (not sure of brands) and limited grazing but dry hay.

The others, I'm not sure. :) One had recently started on a balancer and that has definitely helped.

I'll confess my question came after a conversation with an owner who was informed by her trimmer that a working horse even one that is also growing does not have any special nutritional needs and that if a growing horse is not strong enough to work it needs to not be working. I can see the
 
TarrSteps said:
Off the top of my head, one gets Kwikbeet and bran, a small amount of linseed and a custom mineral mix. She wears a muzzle and eats soaked hay only.

The other is on grass pellets and chaff (not sure of brands) and limited grazing but dry hay.

The others, I'm not sure. :) One had recently started on a balancer and that has definitely helped.

I'll confess my question came after a conversation with an owner who was informed by her trimmer that a working horse even one that is also growing does not have any special nutritional needs and that if a growing horse is not strong enough to work it needs to not be working. I can see the
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Although I can sort of see the logic in that I don't think it is as black and white as that. I'd say a growing horse should have work modified accordingly, but a baseline amount of work would be beneficial to gradual strengthening / muscle mass building.

I suppose it's difficult to say catagorically what an individual horse needs, as it would be dependant on what they are getting from their fibre, which can only really be ascertained by regular analysis.

2 products I'm using and happy with are 'Event' which is a monthly orally syringed chealated vit/min liquid stored in tissue and released according to horse individual needs.
The other is equitop myoplast, a source of essential amino acids, for lean muscle.
The former is excellent value for money, the latter is extortionate and I'll be likely looking into potential alternatives (despite it really making a difference)
 
I do completely understand that it is individual, both to the horse and the situation. I was more curious to see what people in the same situation were doing and if they were using protein, amino acid supplements etc. (You've answered my question, ihw. :) )

Feeding young horses can be a bit fraught and probably one of those things we're never going to get perfect.

I was a bit curious if this was another one of those situations where knowledge is becoming so specialised that it's easy to disconnect from the big picture.
 
I too start with a base of linseed, unmolassed sugarbeet and bran and custom minerals but add to it Coolstance Copra and Oats depending on work, time of year, weight etc.

Also does the custom mineral mix includes Lysine, I feed it as part of my custom mix - quantity being partly dependent on work. It's lacking in feed and forage and essential for muscle production

If you look at this designed with barefoot horse in mind, compare the difference between the performance balancer and basic summer balancer (higher levels of lysine and selenium as well as other added extras), ask whether their custom mix is the equivalent of the basic or the performance.

http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/e...h=/Shops/es137718/Categories/"Horse minerals"
 
Does the custom mineral mix have lysine added?

For energy I would feed oats after work to replenish the muscles.

Plenty of salt too.
 
Most of mine are barefoot and on a low sugar diet. None are short of energy - especially the youngsters! Their main feed is grass. I electric fence parts of the field then move them on when eaten down, so they're always on the long, woody stuff not the short sweet bits. I use a muzzle to keep their weight stable, and if it drops or they're growing particularly fast, it comes off at night. They have enough speedibeet to mix supps into (mineral/vit supp, yeast), and a few of my TB's ERS nuts to make dinner taste nicer. That's it. At one point last summer I was riding one of the youngsters on long hacks + a schooling session daily - she was still as raring to go at the end as she was at the beginning.
 
mystiandsunny said:
Most of mine are barefoot and on a low sugar diet. None are short of energy - especially the youngsters! Their main feed is grass. I electric fence parts of the field then move them on when eaten down, so they're always on the long, woody stuff not the short sweet bits. I use a muzzle to keep their weight stable, and if it drops or they're growing particularly fast, it comes off at night. They have enough speedibeet to mix supps into (mineral/vit supp, yeast), and a few of my TB's ERS nuts to make dinner taste nicer. That's it. At one point last summer I was riding one of the youngsters on long hacks + a schooling session daily - she was still as raring to go at the end as she was at the beginning.
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The point is what do you feed if they are not full of energy? Or struggling to put on enough muscle to help cope with their workload? I'm syre the majority of b/f horses do cope fine, but whats the options for the ones that don't?

I have an exracer I have taken barefoot, he's 6 and a big lump of a lad. His feet are great, he's sound and moving well, but isn't gaining topline the way he should, and by topline I mean muscle, not fat... What do you feed to add the right type of protein to aid muscle gain and stamina? I aim to compete him so he needs to be strong enough to do the job.

He won't eat beet, of any brand, or certain chaffs. I have been adding selenium and Vitamin E along with his barefoot supplements plus 2 cups of linseed and a measure of rice bran. His weight is good but with the amount and type of work he is doing he *should* be bulking up. I've now started him on Saracen Re-Leve (which many, including my trimmer, say isn't b/f friendly due to it having molasses in it, all be it with a low sugar and starch content) in a bid to help him out, but what are the other options if this doesn't suit his feet?
 
Scarlett said:
The point is what do you feed if they are not full of energy? Or struggling to put on enough muscle to help cope with their workload? I'm syre the majority of b/f horses do cope fine, but whats the options for the ones that don't?

I have an exracer I have taken barefoot, he's 6 and a big lump of a lad. His feet are great, he's sound and moving well, but isn't gaining topline the way he should, and by topline I mean muscle, not fat... What do you feed to add the right type of protein to aid muscle gain and stamina? I aim to compete him so he needs to be strong enough to do the job.

He won't eat beet, of any brand, or certain chaffs. I have been adding selenium and Vitamin E along with his barefoot supplements plus 2 cups of linseed and a measure of rice bran. His weight is good but with the amount and type of work he is doing he *should* be bulking up. I've now started him on Saracen Re-Leve (which many, including my trimmer, say isn't b/f friendly due to it having molasses in it, all be it with a low sugar and starch content) in a bid to help him out, but what are the other options if this doesn't suit his feet?
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Amino acids are the ingredient that the horse can create proteins in whatever flavour they want.

Horses can create a banquet from those amino acids....usually. But if there is a 'limiting' amino acid missing, they can't make anything from that particular menu without it. So they can struggle to put on muscle.

The only limiting amino acid that has been studied with any reliability is lysine.
Adding lysine to the diet may mean the difference. I have been giving it to my old boy for a year now (based on a bespoke diet plan from my forage analysis) - it is quite safe to do use. The bag has lasted over a year.
http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/es137718.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es137718/Products/L9

Plus B vitamins
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BREWERS-Y..._Equipment&hash=item41640dbc3e#ht_1095wt_1037

Or you could use this balancer (the maker does endurance - so she will understand the needs of a competition horse)
http://shop.forageplus.com/epages/es137718.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es137718/Products/FPP

The other option is to get a bespoke diet plan for your particular horse's need - an extra expense but IMO better than spending on random feeds in the hope they will work.

http://trinity-consultants.com/
http://www.equinenutritionist.co.uk/
 
Thank you Oberon, very interesting. The vitamin e and selenium supplement I started also has lysine in it, hopefully this will help. Forage analysis not possible as I don't feed hay/haylage from the same supplier week in week out so in that respect we have to improvise slightly, as I'm sure many do! :)
 
mystiandsunny said:
Most of mine are barefoot and on a low sugar diet. None are short of energy - especially the youngsters! Their main feed is grass. I electric fence parts of the field then move them on when eaten down, so they're always on the long, woody stuff not the short sweet bits. I use a muzzle to keep their weight stable, and if it drops or they're growing particularly fast, it comes off at night. They have enough speedibeet to mix supps into (mineral/vit supp, yeast), and a few of my TB's ERS nuts to make dinner taste nicer. That's it. At one point last summer I was riding one of the youngsters on long hacks + a schooling session daily - she was still as raring to go at the end as she was at the beginning.
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That must be wonderful for you! But for some, this is far from the case, despite being on a properly balanced diet according to forage analysis, restricted grazing etc etc...

I am trying my boy on oats. I will keep everyone posted on the effects - possitive or negative or if there are any at all!
 
My 4yr old is barefoot, hes out 24/7 on very good grazing so doesnt really need (or want, hes stuffed on all the grass) a large feed. He does however get a very small once a day feed (think a couple of handfuls) of soaked lucerne nuts with Globalvite, Linseed and Seaweed added to it.
 
I base the diet around Alfafa linseed and some oats most of my young one are at grass most of the time but I make sure they get some Alfafa and linseed daily ( with vits and minerals ) to ensure they have a source of high quality protein when they are working.
I know some bf people don't like feeding Alfafa but I have never had any issues giving it to my sport horse types.
 
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