Feed advice needed for tb and barefoot native

[Apercrumbie]

Hi this may be a bit long!

Horse no 1: 22yr old thoroughbred. We hack out and school so he is definitely classed in light work. While he is by no means a hat rack, he is underweight and isn't responding to his feed. He is currently fed on 1 scoop of Alfa-A, 1 scoop of Bailey's No 4 and half a scoop of 16+. He gets 5% of his bodyweight in hay a day (the recommended amount) and certainly isn't hungry. Unfortunately haylage isn't an option. He isn't fizzy and is a very well-mannered thoroughbred but I don't want this to change. The main issues he has is keeping weight on and keeping shoes on. I really want him to grow better hoof horn but am unsure which feeds would help this the most. What feed would you recommend?

Horse no 2: 14yr old Welsh Cob. He is barefoot and in the same amount of work as the thoroughbred. He has never had laminitus but I never run the risk so he stays on restricted grazing all summer. My main concern is that now he's barefoot he really needs the nutrients to keep growing good hoof horn. The ideal situation would be some form of a lick that would give him what he needed without adding it to a hard feed. He's a good doer, but I have succcessfully kept his weight well under control for the past three years. He's probably a bit underweight but I prefer to keep him that way so if he suddenly puts on weight it won't be of such concern. Again, what feed would you recommend?

I have been researching online and it's impossible to tell what is really good stuff. I love the look of TopSpec but its price is putting me off. Is it worth the cost?

Thank you in advance! Sainsbury's All Butter Quadruple Choc Chip Cookies for all

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I would try Dengie Healthy Hooves. My IDxTB 18 yo used to be on all sorts of different stuff but used to bang the door as I went past with the HH and eventually I put him on it with Spillers H&P nuts in it. He just scoffs it. A bit of pink powder and thats it. His coat mane and tail shine and hes well covered all over even in NE Scotland winter. He does have haylage but its lo cal one and he only has it as hay makes him choke.

The native could have that as well, as its lami approved and lo calorie. Or just get a solid mineral block and stick some powdered biotin in some Hifi lite chaff.

Edited to add the IDxTB oldie has such good feet on the above regime that we have now gone barefoot for the first time in his life! and my Haflinger has the HH too, she also is barefoot and has done an endurance ride up the mountain foothills on it no prob.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Thanks that sounds good. I'm thinking of nearly cutting the Alfa-A for the tb because it just slows him down and he gets plenty of fibre anyway. I think when Summer kicks in I will start the cob on a handful of chaff and biotin every day to help his hooves. I'm assuming that biotin would help the tb as well?