feeding for good feet (done to death i know)

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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taz is going barefoot (yippiiee) but his feet are, well, crap tbh :/

he is fed on chaff, pasture mix, fast fibre and has codlavine as a supplement

he drops off weight and his is difficult to get it on him, he is big (17.2hh) medium build ISH

he is 9 years old and weighs about 604kg currently

he will have as much time off as he needs for the transition but i would like some ideas for feed that will keep his weight on but also improve his feet (i know it isnt going to happen over night)

he isnt a fussy eater he will eat anything so not to worry about that either ;)
 
Just basic ideas first, have his teeth checked by an epd and if not already on it, ad lib hay or late cut haylage.
Begin by studying ingredients on all feed bags, I tend to guage sugar content by the Digestible Energy Mj/Kg, it should be below 10% or the lower the better.
I feed my TB Ready Fibre Mash plus Ready grass Gold, which is 8% or less. I would say you could feed as much as he'll eat of those.
I would stay away from alfalfa and I've stopped feeding Speedibeet.
You can cut out any grains and give as much fibre as possible and if he still looses weight it could be stress related so add magnesium to his feeds to help keep him calm.
Glad you took the leap to barefoot hooves, good luck;)
 
yep on adlib hay and lots of grass which was grazed by cows, his teeth have been checked :) so fast fibre is good but mixes and chaff arnt, hes not a stressy horse spends most of his life eating and chilling the only time he uses energy is when he is ridden other then that hes very chilled and laid back :)

thank youu for your help!
 
I put my 22 year old barefoot TB mare on Dengie Healthy Hooves at the beginning of the year and she's never looked better! It's a complete fibre feed with biotin included and has pony nuts in the mix aswell so very easy to feed. Good for keeping condition throughout the winter, but still with low levels of starch and sugar.
Another horse on the yard is going on it next week too after seeing how well she looks.

Included the link to their website:
http://www.dengie.com/pages/products/healthy-hooves.php

Maybe give them a ring/send them an email they're very helpful :)
 
What about a small scoop of biotin in each feed? Robinsons sell a tub for £7 and you get a small scoop with it, it's worked for my TB :)
 
StormyMoments said:
taz is going barefoot (yippiiee) but his feet are, well, crap tbh :/

he is fed on chaff, pasture mix, fast fibre and has codlavine as a supplement

he drops off weight and his is difficult to get it on him, he is big (17.2hh) medium build ISH

he is 9 years old and weighs about 604kg currently

he will have as much time off as he needs for the transition but i would like some ideas for feed that will keep his weight on but also improve his feet (i know it isnt going to happen over night)

he isnt a fussy eater he will eat anything so not to worry about that either ;)
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The way I look at it is that forage is my foundation. The bucket feed I give is to provide the minerals that aren't in my forage. I had a forage analysis done and bespoke diet created from it.

If you haven't got a forage analysis, then you have to do the best you can.

I'd feed Fast Fibre and a good supplement. I recommend Pro Hoof - new on the market but designed for people without a forage analysis to work from
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-HOOF-...r_Equipment&hash=item415c6b4240#ht_1466wt_952

If he needs any more than that, then Speedibeet works well for me. You can also add oats if he does hard work (fed AFTER the exercise).
http://www.barefoothorses.net/feedingforstronghooves.htm
http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/nutrition.html
http://www.hoofrehab.com/diet.htm
 
Hey Oberon, that's the first supplement I have seen where the Zn/Cu is at the correct ratio and Vit E at a decent level which will save me having to add these seperately - and the biotin etc etc.
At last Progressive Earth has come up with a barehoof addative that's worth trying!
 
I am not too sure about the time off, if the shoes are removed there should be a bit of hoof growth even with a light trim to round off the walls, so would you not start with walking out in hand on tarmac and build up from there. I think you will go though a difficult stage no matter how steadily you proceed. I have plateaued [yes] and am going to try hoof boots as really, I need to get some use out of the horse!
According to Feet First, the barefoot regime is management, diet and trim, in that order
Some pasture feeds are a bit of a con imho , useful for a summer snack, but not so good for a winter diet.
 
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Sorry to Hijack.. but is the Pro-Hoof designed to be fed alongside a balancer, or on it's own with forage? Think I might try it but my horse already has 700g Baileys performance balancer so I don't want to overdose him on anything!! :o

OP- I'd recommend looking at Feet First, very well written and interesting read. One thing I have learnt is to try to avoid too much starch (and sugar) as these can both cause sole sensitivity/footiness or possibly LGL.. even in TBs! :)
 
You can ask the vendor about the pro feet, I assume it is a supplement like Farriers Formula For Feet, but I must admit I would rather feed a "proper feed! rather than a balancer plus another concentrated supplement, a good molasses free chaff [Dengie] would do , it is palatable and not too expensive, just looks more interesting than a mug of pellet, and it is bound to be easy to digest.
 
Damnation said:
Limestone flour.
Cheap, available in most feed stores, hardens feet up amazingly!
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Unless your forage's calcium and phosphorous are already balanced - my forage is high in both. Adding more calcium to the mix would be a bad idea for me, as it detracts from the copper and zinc (which are already low).
 
floradora09 said:
Sorry to Hijack.. but is the Pro-Hoof designed to be fed alongside a balancer, or on it's own with forage? Think I might try it but my horse already has 700g Baileys performance balancer so I don't want to overdose him on anything!! :o

OP- I'd recommend looking at Feet First, very well written and interesting read. One thing I have learnt is to try to avoid too much starch (and sugar) as these can both cause sole sensitivity/footiness or possibly LGL.. even in TBs! :)
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The vendor is very helpful if you contact her.

Pro Hoof is designed to be fed as a balancer alongside forage.

The concept is that the horse gets all of it's requirements form grass/hay/haylage and Pro Hoof adds the shortfall of minerals from that.

If you need a conditioning feed as well - then feed linseed. If you need more energy as well - then feed a mug of oats.

No filler or crap;)
 
TallulahBright said:
Min'e on Formula 4 Feet- her feet crumble if she doesn't get it.
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Exactly - her feet crumble because there is an imbalance in your horse's forage/diet. The Formula4Feet is helping by providing what your horse needs.

The feet are a mirror of the horse's whole body.
 
does the Pro feet help them if they have thin soles as well?? my mare has good horn, but crap soles - I have her on a highish fibre diet (readymash blue and fibregest) because she doesnt do anything other than sit in a field and look pretty (she aborted a colt foal back in September, so shes just an ornament until she goes back to stud!!)

she has diastomas - so she cant have fibre like Alpha A or the like, hence the fibregest - but am i doing ok?? its as low sugar as i can think of (though the readymash does have that mol-wotsit stuff that I think is a form of molasses??) but my field is an ex-dairy one, so its full of clover and very good grass, which i think might be not as good as it seems for one that you are trying to keep shoeless??

I is confused, but I want to keep her shoeless if at all possible - she was sound all summer without shoes (having had to have them and wedges for DDFT injuries to both front feet last year) but I want to do the best I can for her too...
 
My two barefoot horses are both on equilibria 500 balancer, fibregest, a lightly mollassed straw chaff (no alfalfa) and a hoof supplement called grand hoof made by grand meadows. They have brilliant feet and are happy on all the surfaces I've tried them on. I've found that if you get the right feed for the horse they tend to do brilliantly. Good luck.
 
Racergirl said:
does the Pro feet help them if they have thin soles as well?? my mare has good horn, but crap soles - I have her on a highish fibre diet (readymash blue and fibregest) because she doesnt do anything other than sit in a field and look pretty (she aborted a colt foal back in September, so shes just an ornament until she goes back to stud!!)

she has diastomas - so she cant have fibre like Alpha A or the like, hence the fibregest - but am i doing ok?? its as low sugar as i can think of (though the readymash does have that mol-wotsit stuff that I think is a form of molasses??) but my field is an ex-dairy one, so its full of clover and very good grass, which i think might be not as good as it seems for one that you are trying to keep shoeless??

I is confused, but I want to keep her shoeless if at all possible - she was sound all summer without shoes (having had to have them and wedges for DDFT injuries to both front feet last year) but I want to do the best I can for her too...
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I don't know what's in fibregest so I can't comment. An appropriate diet will help with thin soles - but it is only part of the picture.

Being on unrestricted, high sugar grass and doing no exercise to stimulate the soles into hardening and thickening is likely more the issue. Hooves were made to thrive on movement.

Also need to ensure that your hoof care provider isn't 'paring' the sole at all.
 
Rocky01 said:
My two barefoot horses are both on equilibria 500 balancer, fibregest, a lightly mollassed straw chaff (no alfalfa) and a hoof supplement called grand hoof made by grand meadows. They have brilliant feet and are happy on all the surfaces I've tried them on. I've found that if you get the right feed for the horse they tend to do brilliantly. Good luck.
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OOh - I've never heard of Grand Hoof. What's in it?
 
you dont want to be feeding a supplement as that just makes the feet grow quicker..

you need to "feed" from the outside...something like Bacon Oil
 
Racergirl said:
does the Pro feet help them if they have thin soles as well?? my mare has good horn, but crap soles - I have her on a highish fibre diet (readymash blue and fibregest) because she doesnt do anything other than sit in a field and look pretty (she aborted a colt foal back in September, so shes just an ornament until she goes back to stud!!)

she has diastomas - so she cant have fibre like Alpha A or the like, hence the fibregest - but am i doing ok?? its as low sugar as i can think of (though the readymash does have that mol-wotsit stuff that I think is a form of molasses??) but my field is an ex-dairy one, so its full of clover and very good grass, which i think might be not as good as it seems for one that you are trying to keep shoeless??

I is confused, but I want to keep her shoeless if at all possible - she was sound all summer without shoes (having had to have them and wedges for DDFT injuries to both front feet last year) but I want to do the best I can for her too...
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TAKE HER OFF THE READYMASH BLUE!!!! It's 18% starch!!! Way too high for a barefoot horse imo. I love Rowan and Barbary products, but this is way to high. She would be better on the ready fibremash in the green bag - it's about 4% starch....
 
'S'teamed said:
feet that grow too quick chip and crack

as for :eek: just google
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I'm missing something. Please can you help me understand?

I can't understand how supplementing to provide excellent nutrition for the horse (which is what the advice on here is aiming towards) can be a bad thing?

How can anyone make feet grow 'too quick'? How can they grow any quicker than they're supposed to?

And what will bacon oil do in your view?
 
Holly Hocks said:
TAKE HER OFF THE READYMASH BLUE!!!! It's 18% starch!!! Way too high for a barefoot horse imo. I love Rowan and Barbary products, but this is way to high. She would be better on the ready fibremash in the green bag - it's about 4% starch....
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LOL - no need to shout!! :D

Shes only on the blue one becuse the place my feed supplier order from sent the wrong one and I was almost out - if the green is better thats fine, I can get that for her next time - thankyou for that, I dont even tend to look at starch content, and not being able to give her any sort of chaff is really beggering me about!!

Oberon - its not so much that shes unrestricted per-se its not an enormous field, but the darn stuff wont stop growing !!! Its full of clover and yummy stuff like that, but I really dont know what I can do short of moving her (which while I dont really want to and cant afford to at the moment, could be a possibility in the spring)if I did, would going somewhere with really rubbish grazing be better?? If I had a stable it would be easier,cos she could at least come off the grass for some of the time - but I dont at the moment. She shares with a heavy cob,so its sort of strip grazed,but Id have thought that wouldnt help what I want to achieve with mine becuase of moving every so often onto fresh??
The farmer has said we are going to get a proper gate (weve got a Hampshire gate at the moment so its a nightmare to get them out seperately!) which will make things easier for me to be able to take her for walks - and the lane is lane and a bit rough one way - and directly out of another gate is a quiet road - would they be ok to work her on to help??


You can probably guess from the amount of questions I really dont know what to do to keep her ok - i just want her to be as comfortable as she can and if I can do it without too much fuss, then so much the better.

Thankyou very much for the help so far :)
 
Racergirl - sorry for shouting, but I was actually on the Rowan and Barbary website earlier and couldn't believe how high in starch the blue bag was! The only thing with the fibremash is that it doesn't have any vitamins or minerals added.
What about Fast Fibre by Allen and Page? It's low starch and sugar, but high in fibre. It's great stuff (unfortunately my mare wont eat it!!AARRGGHH!!). You could add some magnesium oxide as that's supposed to be good for barefooters....
 
:D I was joking - dont panic !! All help is greatfully recieved :)

i had her on FF back in April last year when she had a tooth out,we didnt like it at all. Not convinced that she did brilliantly on it either, and she certainally wasnt impressed with having to eat it - which is a shame,cos I think its a good feed and recommend it to everyone who comes into work for any kind of dental procedure !!
 
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