Grass nuts for the newly barefoot, ulcery horse?

[Michen]

Hi all,

Newly barefoot horse with horrendous feet, navicular bruising etc etc. Thin soles. He has grade 3/4 ulcers even after 4 weeks of gastroguard (carrying on with the GG now)

So I've read all I can about barefoot diet. I've ordered him the forage plus balancer. I've had him on linseed before and he will eat it in small amounts well mixed.

I bought fast fibre for him and he won't eat it, leaves it overnight as well and got seriously cross when I gave it to him for breakfast this morning!

So I was going to put him on speedibeet, linseed, supplement but then read an entire thread about people who have improved their ulcer horses by removing beet pulp. ARGHHHH!! Nightmare. So I'm considering plain grass nuts as a base but I am worried they are too high in sugar?

Thoughts?

 

[NellRosk]

My bf mare has grass nuts and they haven't affected her feet negatively I got some advice off here to soak them though. You'd be amazed at how much they swell up in water!!

 

[Bay TB]

My barefoot boy has grass nuts through the winter as his base for his vit and min supplement and a tiny handful of oat straw chaff and he's done great this winter.

 

[Darkwater]

My old barefoot (and a history of ulcers) pony has grassnuts in winter as part of her hay replacer with no problems - Like NellRosk said, just make sure you soak them first like you would with beet She is doing really well on Topspec Ulsakind as well, if you need any more options that might be worth looking into

 

[Scarlett]

I feed grass nuts to my barefoot TB's. I've tried all sorts of feed combos over the ears and always end up back on grass nuts wishing I had never changed! I know the sugar looks high on paper but maybe it's because it's natural sugars and not molasses but I have no problems with it, even with the gut sensitive one. I cant feed alfalfa or beet without it affecting feet so sticking with good old Simple System Red Bag grass nuts with linseed and vits/mins.

 

[gocharliego]

I was advised by my trimmer, when I first took my horses shoes off, to feed grass nuts and he's done really well on them. Fed them soaked to start with and he loved them, then after being on them for a couple of months he just refused to even entertain the idea of eating them! He now loves fast fibre with his supplements mixed in and a cup-full of grass nuts (not soaked), seems to like a pellet in his mush. I use the Simple Systems blue bag grass nuts.

 

[JoClark]

I feed my horse who used to have ulcers Saracen re-leve which he loves, he also gets a balancer, dengie alfa pellets and alfa a molasses free. He also has ad lib hay.

This is the perfect balance to keep a nice weight in winter and him being comfortable.

I used to use simple system but seems a lot of money for alfa which you can get elsewhere cheaper. My dengie alfa pellets are £9.50 compared to the £13.90 SS pellets.

 

[Kat]

My trimmer suggested Copra for my mare as an alternative to beet or fast fibre. She hasn't been diagnosed with ulcers but the trimmer suspects them. mMy very fussy horse loves it and I have seen some improvements.

She has Alfa a molasses free and oats with it together with forage plus linseed and salt. The alfalfa didn't have a negative effect on her feet. Like yours she won't touch fast fibre.