Feeding Pro Hoof - could I feed something different?

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Fifty Bales of Hay

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I started quite a while ago feeding Pro Hoof to my pony to improve his feet, and to make sure he was getting of the right minerals. But have realised this costs me £1 a day to feed, which is quite a lot I think for a mineral/vitamin supplement ? Although this might be the cheapest and easiest way to feed all the different things?

If I am needing to feed - zinc and copper (as there is a deficiency in our soils locally) specifically, is there another way which might be a more economic option. I could also feed an all round vitamin/mineral supplement like 365 which is quite comprehensive.

Even the forage plus balancers work out at less than £1 a day, so perhaps this is another option?

What do we all think?
 
Just buy straight pro copper and pro zinc from progressive earth, a 0.9kg bag of each lasts for about 250 days and is only about £15 per bag, so really cheap, only about 12p a day (its even cheaper if you buy the bigger size!) :)
 
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Are you sure that your soil is only defficient in copper and zinc? Ours is also deficient in magnesium and selenium and that is common. Pro balance is about 35 pence a day.
 
teasle said:
Are you sure that your soil is only defficient in copper and zinc? Ours is also deficient in magnesium and selenium and that is common. Pro balance is about 35 pence a day.
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Haven't had any analysis done as forage comes from multiple sourses, but I make my own supplement consisting of Cu, Mg, Zn, Se and vit E plus lysine and methionine just to cover all the bases. Works a treat on my barefoot boy and doesn't break the bank.
 
Thanks I'll look into the pro balance, or buying the individual bags of copper and zinc. Hollybear is it possible you could PM me with the denominations/quantities to feed with the mix you make up. I've not had the soil tested just took advice from the local farmer. I too get my hay from multiple sources so impossible to work out completely accurately. Thats sort of what I want to do hollybear cover all bases, and also make sure he's got enough of the copper and zinc especially (interested to read there is another thread up today about a black pony) my pony is black and get's tinges at the end of his coat/mane with the deficiency although he's better than he was a few years ago.
 
Have been looking at things myself. The 365 supplement looks quite good at face value until you delve into the amounts that you are actually going to be feeding so it was a no go for me.
 
I feed pro hoof in the summer and pro balance in the winter, well I think so! Its the cheapest in the winter anyway! I had mine in a field deficient in copper and zinc as the iron was soo high the water was orange :( Thankfully I've moved now! I've moved now but if my fields were def deficient I wouldn't change for the world! I lost 2 horses in that field, and it *probably* wasnt due to the iron, but it may well have been :(
 
When I looked at feed costs for the barefoot boy, it was the minerals which made up a significant amount, I knew we had no particular environmental problems, so I used hoof pro when pony had a problem [starvation abuse actually], but my main minerals were 2/3 Benevit original and 1/3 hoof pro mixed, but fed at less than recommended rate, I would have tried pro balance, but never got round to it.
I reckon that it is imperative to feed 12 months of the year due to delay in hoof growth, and also the linseed even if only 50gms. I pride myself in condition, but there is no doubt the coat was dark all year round due to feeding minerals [and possibly linseed], also no itch, which I put down to linseed.
I never in my life fed an ordinary pony in summer before, but it did work.
 
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