Feed for barefoot horse?

PonyIAmNotFood

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My mare is fairly recently barefoot and my youngster is also barefoot. They're both currently on Dengie healthy hooves no mollasses. Both seem a bit thrushy, I've heard of this being exasperated by feed before? Would this feed be causing issues or is it just the wet weather?

I have also read in several places that people wouldn't feed this, but no explanation as to why. Any good reason as to why it would not be good for them?

Both go footy on alfalfa and I won't feed anything that's mollassed. They both get brewers yeast, micronised linseed, old lady also gets a joint supplement and slippery elm for her gut.

If not this feed, what's best? Mare doesn't need any calories, youngster doesn't hold weight as well, but I don't want him piling pounds on either. If I'm worried about his weight, he'll get more linseed.
 

PonyIAmNotFood

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You say your horses get footy on alfalfa, but you do realise Dengie Healthy Hooves contains alfalfa don't you?

How thick am I! I didn't! I'll be honest, I went into the local feed store and asked advice on what to feed, this was the result. Mare is still footy after 5 months bare and youngster suddenly went none footy after having miniscule summer rations. The reason I thought they couldn't do alfalfa was because they didn't do well on alfa a oil - or youngster didn't anyway.

Hmmm, maybe a feed change is in order then? I'm all confused now!
 

TGM

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Never rely on the advice from the feed store, there is no necessity to have any sort of nutritional training to work in a feed shop! Much better to learn to understand feed yourself and particularly read the labels. All feed bags should have the ingredients listed on them, and lots of manufacturers list them on the website as well, so always check to see if there are ingredients you wish to avoid. Likewise don't rely on manufacturer's descriptions of feeds being 'cooling', 'conditioning' or 'low starch' - instead go and look up the MJDE/kg (calorie count) or the starch percentage yourself.
 

Leo Walker

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I'd add a mineral balancer as well. Mine have always seemed to get a bit thrushy when the iron/zinc/copper ratios are a bit out. My current boy is very easy to mange and gets progressive earths cheapest balancer which works out about £10 a month :)
 

JillA

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I was told recently (in a thread on FB) that you won't get thrush if the frog is in good contact with the ground and getting good blood flow as a result. Anyone else found this?
 

Exploding Chestnuts

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25+gms minerals like forageplus / progressive earth / equimins ..... all offer advice

Diet may need 10+gms MgO, if in work barefoot
25gms white salt
Things to avoid: seaweed, molasses/moglo, sugary treats, alfalfa, pony nuts , wheatfeed, chaff with molasses, any cereals other than oats

Once you have thrush you will need to treat it.
I think hygiene, bedding and boggy ground all play their part and SUGAR
Keep diet low in sugar [includes lush grass] and high in fibre, to me if I had thrush, I would have horse on dry shavings, or dryish wood pellets and on soaked hay , minerals, salt, 25gms+ micronised linseed, soaked non molassed beet.
He would ideally be stabled six hours per day, avoiding the morning grass.
 
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be positive

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I was told recently (in a thread on FB) that you won't get thrush if the frog is in good contact with the ground and getting good blood flow as a result. Anyone else found this?

Definitely, having a decent frog means the blood is pumped round properly as it should and also it self cleans from the outside with every step taken, they may still get a bit smelly if the clefts are deep but my barefoot horses never get thrush, my shod ones don't either as they also all have good big frogs, it seems the better the frog the healthier the foot in general or is in my experience.
 

Exploding Chestnuts

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I was told recently (in a thread on FB) that you won't get thrush if the frog is in good contact with the ground and getting good blood flow as a result. Anyone else found this?

Unfortunately there is more to it than that, good hygiene, good management and good diet also may be needed!
 

PonyIAmNotFood

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Thank you all. Would you say to feed speedi-beet or fibre - beet instead of the healthy hooves then? Mare is a fussy thing, won't eat salt, tried the equimins balancer and she ate it for a bit then refused :( baby horse will eat anything so no problems there.

Her frogs are much improved, but still have a suculus split though this is wide and not deep.
 

TGM

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Time for you to do a bit of your own research, it is easy to find the ingredients of Speedibeet and Fibrebeet on the Internet, so have a look and you will easily deduce which one is more suitable for your horses!
 

PonyIAmNotFood

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Haha, busted. I am going to spend my night shift trawling the Internet for feed now...Whilst working hard obviously. It's a shame I can't source an agrobs supplier near me, they look fab and very easy to understand what is in them. Hey ho.
 
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