Happy Hoof sending my 6 year old potty!

Trot_On_Dressage said:
Sorry i get a bit heated talking about nutrition, i used to work for a feed company and am nutritionally trained. It is quite shocking how much the equine community do not know about feeding.
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And another patronising post :rolleyes:

You don't seem to realise that quite a few of the 'equine community' also have qualifications; there are vets, farriers and nutritionists amongst posters on these boards.

There is no 'one size fits all' answer with horses; whatever the question is. When someone insists their way is the 'only' way then I tend to think they haven't met too many horses... :p

And feed companies are in the business of selling feed, funnily enough. If everyone fed according to guidelines from feeding companies I think we would have an even bigger problem with obesity in this country.

Agree it could well be a combination of factors in this case.
 
I would nt say the feeds doing any harm, he's probably testing the boundries.

Chaff wise Dengie Healthy Hooves is almost the same as happy hoof but doesn't have molasses
 
Oh, agree with the poster above about recommended amount of feed . If my boy had 3 round scoops of chaff a day he Wpuld be overly obese and probably have laminitis!!
 
Both happy hoof and dengie healthy hooves send my cob absolutely wild.....he is 18 years old!!! But d&h safe and sound is fine for him as is any of the dengie hifi range
 
Thanks for the positive responses. He's the first horse I've owned but not the first horse I've looked after. I'm very aware of all the factors but just was interested in peoples experiences on this particular feed. He went to liphook for an ulcer on his eye so unconnected. I'm not going to suddenly change his feed but wanted to slowly cut back on the HH and substitute with an unmolassed chaff to see if it made a difference. It's like detective work after all surely?!
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
5 out of 100 is pretty low!!! Grass contains more sugar than this. Hay contains more sugar then this also!
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If we're talking about sugar, it isn't 5% out of 100% though, is it? The horse isn't eating just HH, he is out at grass and he is getting hay....as you say, there is sugar in both. It's an accumulative affect.
 
ReggiePerrin said:
So total novice owner fail. I've had Barney for 9 weeks now and we lurch from one drama to the next!! He's generally got a lovely personality, likes to be around people and/or horses and is very nosey. He's already been to Liphook but since he's been home he's been lovely. Until about 2 weeks ago when he started to turn into a total pain, chucking his head about when ridden, never settling in his stable, chucking his feed bucket around, not wanting to be caught etc etc. I initially thought it was the linseed so cut this out but it's been getting worse.

He lives out 24/7 and they're getting some hay in the field but I was worried that he wasn't getting enough fibre. Being a numpty novice, I thought happy hoof was harmless so upped his ration, but now I've found posts on here saying that the molassess in it can send some loopy. Sigh! So I've cut it right back and I'm now looking for an alternative. He has to have something as his field mate gets a massive breakfast and tea. Any suggestions for a non heating chaff?

Oh and the insurance have said today that they're not paying out for his Liphook stay - joy of joys!

Wine and canapes for all who got this far!
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Sorry you are having problems. Give yourself and your horse a break and relax. Take the pressure off both of you.

Well done for looking at the feed. Aside from pain, it is the most likely candidate when things go wrong.

I'm not a qualified nutritionist, I don't have a degree in the subject and you can take anything I say with a pinch of salt. I am not a fan of HappyHoof, or many commercial feeds to be honest.

Your horse WILL get enough fibre from grass and hay. He will get all the vitamins he needs from grass, hay, sunlight and internal bacteria - the only thing he may ever need supplementing is vit e, if he is older and has poor teeth.

The only thing he may need is extra minerals (the like of which may be missing/low from his grass and hay) and for this reason only he may require a mineral balancer, especially one containing magnesium due to his current behaviour. I like Pro Hoof (see eBay).
You can mix this into a base (I use Fast Fibre) made from hay chaff or oat straw or even just unmolassed beet. Pure feeds do a straw chaff. If you ask at your feed merchant they can usually get a bag of hay chaff in for you.
If you want to supplement the missing omegas from the grass - then linseed (it is very rare to find a horse that doesn't do well on it).
If he needs more energy (if he was in heavy work), then add a small amount of oats (half a cup) after exercise.

That is it - no need for shiny bags of feed that claim lots and deliver little.

First rule (and this is my advice after making many mistakes after 20 years) DON'T TRUST ANYONE ELSE WITH THE BEST INTERESTS OF YOUR HORSE. This goes for feed companies and anyone you are paying or listening to. Always question and never take what they say as gospel.

Also - don't trust the Laminitis Trust. As far as I can make out it is a marketing tool for feed companies to 'donate' to in order to gain advertising. If they were up to date with the current research in laminitis and it's causes, they would not be endorsing the same products or treatments!
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
Do you actually now anything about laminitis? If a product is approved by the laminitis trust and for ponies prone to laminitis it HAS to be suitable for them! I think maybe feed companies may know a little more than some people on here about nutriton! Most have vet consultants on their teams by the way. I love the fact everyone always thinks they now better than everyone else, even scientists who have many degrees in equine nutrition!
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Trot on Dressage - you need to pull you head out of your own backside and have it examined, if you think feeding molasses, no matter how small the % on the bag says, to a lami is acceptable! Anybody who thinks that the laminitis trust is a source of info to be trusted also needs their head examining. As has been pointed out its effect is accumulative, 5 % per 7% here 20% in grass 15% in hay blah blah blah IT ALL ADDS UP TO WHAT IS MAKING THEIR HOOVES DISINTEGRATE.

At the end of the day OP you are your horses voice, do NOT rely on what the feed companies/merchants say, at the end of the day all they want is your money in their pocket. Do your own research and dont rely on what over opinionated people on here say either :rolleyes:
 
Merry Crisis said:
I have the hotest of hot TB, he gets happy hoof, kwik beet and a balancer. As T_O_D says its the cereal that causes the problems. I felt broke once and instead of the Balancer I put him on D&H sixteen plus, big mistake. Alpha A is also a no go for a fizzy horse.
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Agree with this my mare goes silly on any mix, i feed HH & A&P Sugar & Cereal Intolerance diet - no sillyness, no lumps (she used to get lumps on her side - we think from excess sugar in mixes & chaffs)

I used to feed cool mix & chop and she was loopy! I won't be changing from HH!
 
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