BF feed

Queenbee

Queenbee

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Ben is currently on a small handful of Alfa oil morning and evening, but I realise this is not ideal for barefooters. I'm planning on bulk buying feed for winter and from last year I know that the diet that worked was linseed meal, speedie beet and fibre. With regards to fibre, I'm considering something like ultra grass, is this suitable for a barefooter? Any thoughts?
 
Queenbee said:
I feed unmolassed sugar beet cubes, linseed, copra, mineral mix, and oats as needed for the hunters. Fibre comes from ad lib hay and what grass they can find in the field. ( they have ad lib hay in the field too).

I used to add chaff, then asked myself why? It's basically chopped hay or straw. I haven't added fibre, other than umsb, to their bucket feed for 18 months now.

Don't know ultra grass, but it could be high sugar??? Depends on the type of grass and stage of growth when harvested.
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I've never used Ultra Grass but have just looked it up and the blurb on the Baileys website says it's not suitable for laminitics so prob quite high in sugar. If your horse is doing well on the Alfa Oil then why not stick with that? Some horses are sensitive to alfalfa but many don't have any problems with it.
 
He is doing well on alfalfa because he is on a small handful as a token gesture twice a day, however in the winter he needs substantially more, last winter he was on 2 scoops of speedie beet, 2-3 cups of linseed meal and 2 scoops of alfalfa oil.... I ended up giving the alfalfa away because when I upped it to that much, he just 'felt' the stones a bit, and my boy is a proper rock cruncher. Alfalfa is recognised as not being ideal for a barefooter and it certainly made a difference to Ben, I'm just trying to find a suitable replacement for him that is alfalfa free and will help him keep his weight in the winter without compromising his hooves. He only does so well on it in the summer because he barely gets any.

Cragrat, copra isn't the easiest to come by in Cornwall and although I have fed it before, I'm pretty happy with the linseed, chaff, speedie beet, salt and a broad spec supplement. This winter I will be adding haemavite b plus which should help him maintain his weight better, he also gets a full Hayhutch in his stable and in his field. With regards to the chaff, I do feel its necessary as I've said, Ben doesn't like slop, and since his feed is slop he needs the chaff to make it palletable for him. Like you, I do not see the point in feeding a straw based chaff, and as discussed, that level of alfalfa is not to my liking for him, it doesnt make him awfully footy, i can just 'feel' that he is just that little bit more sensitive/cautious. what I need is a 'chaff' type feed without straw or alfalfa, so yep grass based. I even considered getting a cutter and making my own from our hay, but it would be so much easier to just buy it in! :). I will be investing in some hoof boots this winter too, but I don't think that that should stop me being aware of this and making the necessary changes to his diet.
 
Google Halleys Timothy Chop. It's chopped hay with no added anything and available for delivery.

I've used dried grass chaff on and off with my horses over the years and have never had them go footy on it even though they do with alfalfa, it's worth a try. Our favorite is Just Grass purely for the fact it mixes in really well.
 
Mine is barefoot, prone to dropping weight and won't eat slop. I use mollichaff calmer chaff which is alfalfa free and the lowest sugar I could source locally. If you can store large quantities halleys or pure feeds would be worth a look though.
 
Well, I'm still investigating all this but have just spoken to baileys about their ultra grass, interestingly their alfalfa oil is only 2.5% sugar, their UG is 12%. However, the nutritionalist agreed that there is 'something' about alfalfa that can cause foottiness. The UG apparently weighs about 220g per stubbs scoop so the sugar content of a scoop would not be excessive. I find it all pretty interesting to be honest, I do really like the look of halleys and thunderbrook but found it really wierd that the alfalfa was so low in sugar but caused this issue.
 
Im also interested in this post as facing my first winter with a barefooter. Currently he has one scoop fast fibre micronised linseed and seaweed with prohoof supplement. Seems to eat this happily at the moment. Ad lib haylage, which worries me a little so I soak it. Is hay a better option than haylage? My yard insist their haylage is lower sugar than their hay! Can anyone explain the food labels to me please? For instance a lot dont specify sugars, starch is mentioned does this include sugar?? To be honest I am a bit confused I know happy hoof is supposed to be a no no but looking at the food label it looks low in sugar and starch compared to other feeds. Any advice here greatfully accepted!
 
jessieblue said:
Im also interested in this post as facing my first winter with a barefooter. Currently he has one scoop fast fibre micronised linseed and seaweed with prohoof supplement. Seems to eat this happily at the moment. Ad lib haylage, which worries me a little so I soak it. Is hay a better option than haylage? My yard insist their haylage is lower sugar than their hay! Can anyone explain the food labels to me please? For instance a lot dont specify sugars, starch is mentioned does this include sugar?? To be honest I am a bit confused I know happy hoof is supposed to be a no no but looking at the food label it looks low in sugar and starch compared to other feeds. Any advice here greatfully accepted!
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Feed labels drive me bonkers too!

Happy Hoof contains alfalfa and Moglo (molasses) which is why some BFs don't like it. But it's only 4% starch and 3% sugar so not as bad as some!

No, the % starch doesn't include the % sugar. If they're not both listed on the feed label, check the company website or phone/email their feed helpline and ask.

You don't need to soak haylage to remove water soluble sugars as the levels of these will have been significantly reduced by the fermentation process, so your yard owners are correct, their haylage will be low in sugar than their hay. The http://www.thelaminitissite.org/h.html explain why soaking haylage isn't recommended.

Btw, seaweed isn't generally recommended these days because of the high iodine content ;-)
 
Alfalfa can upset some as it is high in calcium, which competes with magnesium for absorption. If your horse is deficient in magnesium or on the borderline, the extra calcium can upset the balance.

Mine get fast fibre or unmolassed sugar beet with their minerals and hifi molasses free - it contains herbs that seem to hide the yucky taste of minerals more than anything else I can find! The hiding has molasses in, but I feed magnesium so they are still rock crunching
 
Buddy'sMum said:
Feed labels drive me bonkers too!

Happy Hoof contains alfalfa and Moglo (molasses) which is why some BFs don't like it. But it's only 4% starch and 3% sugar so not as bad as some!

No, the % starch doesn't include the % sugar. If they're not both listed on the feed label, check the company website or phone/email their feed helpline and ask.

You don't need to soak haylage to remove water soluble sugars as the levels of these will have been significantly reduced by the fermentation process, so your yard owners are correct, their haylage will be low in sugar than their hay. The http://www.thelaminitissite.org/h.html explain why soaking haylage isn't recommended.

Btw, seaweed isn't generally recommended these days because of the high iodine content ;-)
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Thank you for this! Theres me been soaking damn haylage for weeks! Urghh this is very complicated! So haylage may actually be better than hay in general? I heard that there can me more acidity in haylage as well which is another thing I was worried about due to gastric ulcers which he has. Its a shame if seaweed is a bad choice as this seems to help him eat the minerals due to the salty taste! Seems I still have much to learn about this feed/barefoot business!
 
I would recommend giving the thunderbrook a go. My mare was on fast fibre and linseed and she was always a bit footy but within a week or two of being on it she was rock crunching! Lots of improvements in every area nd despite me initially thinking it was hugely expensive, it's working out cheaper than what I was buying before. A bag lasts me about eight weeks. I was buying mag ox, seaweed, pre biotic, pro biotic, Fast fibre, linseed, copra. Much cheaper for me to buy this and then I'm just adding salt and boswellia.
 
All mine get fast fibre, equimins advance complete, mag ox, and linseed that's it. All eat it and the fast fibre lasts me forever as none need weight gain so don't get anything, just enough to mix the vits in.
 
mine would go footy on a handful of alfalfa chaff yet he happily consumes loads of Dengie alfalfa pellets and is very sound on them. It seems to be the chaff that causes the problems, the pellets are less likely to.
 
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