Feeding advice for underweight barefooter please?

EmzT

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I have a 8 year old, 16.3hh warmblood type who has been barefoot for over a year now. He is very grass sensitive and is turned out in a grazing muzzle. He currently gets fed a very small amount of high fibre cubes with Pro-Balance, salt and 1 1/2 mugs of micronised linseed, alongside his haylage. He cannot have unmolassed sugar beet as it sends him loopy.

I cannot get him to put on any weight worth talking about. His coat is in amazing condition but his withers and the back of his ribs are boney

He has had sacroiliac problems and received steroid injections into both joints last December. I know he had muscle wastage due to this problem that had been persisting for some time.

So I am not sure what I can feed him that will allow him to have enough energy to work and build muscle, but not affect his feet?
 
Sorry - I hadn't finished before it posted......
I have switched to speedibeet and oats and my vet has prescribed myoplast for muscle wastage. I hope this is of some help.
 
You could increase the linseed. Copra is also supposed to be very good for adding condition and is Barefoot friendly... Soya bean meal is also very good :) anything with a high oil content - D&H ERS pellets are one such feed, though they do contain alfalfa which sometimes affects sesnistive horses

I would be careful of feeding high fibre cubes to a sugar sensitive horse (as my boy is) as they do contain mollasses. I would instead feed Fast fibre as a base feed :)
 
Umm just re-read your post about unmolloased sugar beat, maybe repost in vet and hoof care section as I got lots of advice in there!!
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Think I'm gonna try him on the ERS pellets and see how he reacts to them, and I have increased his linseed.

It really is trial and error isn't it?

Oats? Are these really safe for barefoot horses?
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Think I'm gonna try him on the ERS pellets and see how he reacts to them, and I have increased his linseed.

It really is trial and error isn't it?

Oats? Are these really safe for barefoot horses?

Yes it is trial and error!

and yes, I have found oats to be safe :)
 
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