newly barefoot - diet help please?

lymeregis

lymeregis

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Hi all

My lovely thoroughbred, has had to have his shoes taken off. He has been back & forth from the vets since July & had every 'special' shoe under the sun on.... he has hairline fractures in both pedal bones in the front feet, however, the vet feels the foot balance is the cause.

He isnt keeping the shoes on & ripping pieces of foot with them, the farrier has suggested barefoot, to correct the foot balance......

Quick summary as not to bore you, but he is 7 yrs old, lives out 24/7 with a old shettie, on 3 acres, keeps weight on well - currently holding weight well. Not the stressy type!

Currently fed (at rest), scoop of hifi, 1/2 scoop of H & P cubes & pink powder. (twice a day)

Without over complicating a newbie barefooter- whats best to feed for him, with his newly barefoot status! & any other tips!

He is currently unable to be ridden - not sound due to feet issues, but I could walk him out in hand, when he gets more comfy. Seems pretty happy in the soft field, bit short walking on the concrete yard.

thank you so much!
 
I would echo the Fastfibre linseed and minerals (esp mag ox) but as the horse is used to having chaff I would mix the FF with some sugar/molasses free chaff like Top Specs Top Chop Lite or Hifi Molasses free as some horses dont like FF by itself and it will bulk it out a bit too.
 
ah thank you so much, thats very helpful.

So swop over to chaff which is molasses free, remove the H & P cubes and add Fast Fibre!

this I can cope with! I hate to overcomplicate things!!!

& the linseed? is this available at usual feed merchants? & how much? & how does this benefit the barefoot horse?

thank you so much for your help!
 
Some feed stores will order linseed in for you, but if not then you can buy it online from Charnwood Milling. Falcon Feeds also stock it, I've recently noticed. It's more expensive, but also a bigger bag, so works out about the same (as postage is free irrc).

The linseed is rich in omega oils, and is excellent for maintaining the moisture balance in hooves, among other things.

I'd also second switching to pro balance from the PP; much more bang for your buck.
 
I'm recently barefoot, I use Speedibeet (unmolassed beet) rather than fast fibre, partly because my horse is used to it and partly because she is a poor doer. I then feed linseed which I get mail order from charnwood, which is great for coat and weight as well as feet. Then I add salt (just ordinary stuff from the supermarket) and Pro Hoof suppliment from Progressive Earth - they have an ebay shop and deliver to your door, it isn't cheap but you get great levels of all the minerals and aren't paying for any bulking agents fancy packaging or marketing.
 
Another vote for FF, linseed- make sure it's micronised - and pro balance! Mine also gets a handful of hay chaff, salt, bicarbonate of soda and turmeric- which is a natural anti inflammatory. He's been on that since I bought him about four months ago as he was footy even in shoes- two weeks barefoot now and he's sound on all but the rockiest surfaces!
 
ah cheers for all the tips!

I dont think am a million miles away for a good barefoot diet, just need to make a few changes! molasses free chaff, fast fibre/speedibeet & get some linseed!

Is Pink Powder, the enemy or is it okay to use for the vits & minerals? Have a big pot, which I would rather use up, before swoping over to the pro hoof/balance stuff!

when did you guys start walking your horses out on different surfaces? am measuring him up for some hoof boots, so am sure that will help him!

will post some pics soon & you can let me know what you think!

thank you xxx
 
Do you know how much magnesium oxide PP has in it? The website lists it as an ingredient, but it's not shown in the analysis. I would guess that PP is not going to help, but probably won't hinder either (probably will just maintain the mineral imbalances that would be present if you fed nothing - though contains some yeast and extras so prob better than feeding nothing at all).

Re. walking on surfaces - be guided by your horse. Each horse is different, so do as much or as little as he is comfortable with.
 
I am Five months in, and touches wood my horse has carried on as normal, no need for boots, but he has seriously tough cob feet. His diet is fast fibre,chopped plain oat straw, forage plus winter vits and mins, protexin, micronised linseed, magnesium, ad lib hay at night, out all day, ridden five times a week. I must say the protexin has made a huge difference to his poos, they where never a hundred per cent formed, and he arrived with a high worm burden, my bf trimmer who is also a farrier suggested I tried the protexin and within three days his poos where perfectly formed, so if the guts are working properly then all the supplements that he is having for his feet will be getting better absorbed, I assume.

Best thing I have ever done horse wise( taking shoes off).
He is only five and had only had fronts on for eight months when I got him, I then had the backs put on because that's what I thought you did, my farrier told me to. Then started hearing about bf, put him on the bf diet for four months, then took all his shoes off, farrier and I parted on friendly terms it's just not his thing, and my new farrier is very pro bf.
 
With regard to the pink powder I think you have a few options:
1. Use it up and then subsitute ProHoof/Probalance or forage plus - you don't waste any and you might be fine, but if your horse is a bit low on anything then you might find he hasn't got maximum support when he needs it most - when transitioning.
2. Order ProHoof/Probalance now and start using it as soon as it arrives, advantage is that the horse gets maximum support for the toughest part, but you have some pink powder that you don't use, you might be able to rehome this if other people you know use it or you could save it and use it in future.
3. Analyse the mineral content of the pink powder and compare it to the "barefoot suppliments" then buy separate minerals to top on things you are short of - advantage horse gets the full nutritional support and you don't waste your Pink Powder, but it will be a bit more faff.

I think if it were me I might combine option 2 and 3, buy a new suppliment for now and then if your horse is better on the new suppliment you can always add to the pink powder to make up for what it lacks in future, if you don't see a difference you can go back to the PP.
 
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