Older lady, Barefoot, good doer, feeding advice please?

kezz86

kezz86

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Hi All,

I don't post on here very often but would very much appreciate some advice on what to feed my lovely older lady.

If I'm completely honest she's not in much work 3-4 times a week for approximately an hour each time with maybe a longer walk hack at a weekend.

She's been barefoot for coming up to a year now and my trimmer is super pleased with her progress.

Trouble is there isn't much grass around at the moment and even though she has hay in her field she's not doing as well as I'd like (don't get me wrong she's not skinny by any stretch of the imagination!) but I would like her to have a bit more weight on her than she has as she's an older gal (dentist thinks about 20ish, but sold to me as 16.)

As I've mentioned in the title she's normally a very good doer but I don't want her to loose weight if I increase the work load (she near enough had the winter off and was a bit tubby coming out of winter but now the weight has just fallen off).

My worry is there are so many feeds I should avoid since she's barefoot and I don't want her to be too sparky (she never acts her age anyway!).

Would I be ok to just feed horse and pony nuts with some sort of happy hoof chaff stuff to fluff it out a bit?

Thanks in advance.

Dr Pepper and Starburst for those who made it to the end of my post! :D
 
Maybe try the chaff with some old fashioned grass nuts - that's what I give to my barefoot natives if they need a little extra and hasn't caused any problems
 
Another vote for fast fibre. Our 28yo connie x arab looks the best she has ever looked since being on this. She is unshod but has cushings (no lami so far though so fingers crossed). I add Baileys Lo Cal balancer as she does not have a large portion of fast fibre. She is out 27/7 on fair but not lush grazing. My vet saw her yesterday for her teeth and was thrilled with her condition. We feed the rising 4 year old the same diet and she said he was "spot on" too. He has bags of energy and is sharp anyway so it is non heating which he needs. If they need more condition we just increase the amount and in the winter add unmolassed beet. They both love it and it is dead easy quick and simple:)
 
I second what forest fantasy says. Its brilliant. The fast fibre is low in protein so won't add tonnes of weight. It's also great for oldies who find it hard to chew because of teeth and in winter you can add warm water to heat them up a bit in the cold. It can also be used as a hay replacer and you can feed tonnes of the stuff if you need to. The linseed will be great for her feet skin and coat. The combination is really low in sugar so should be fine for her feet.
 
Thanks everyone, I'll look into getting some fast fibre and some linseed for the time being and see how it goes!

I've never had to feed before except my very first horse who we just fed chaff and pony nuts! (10 years ago and I knew nothing about feeding then except what I had learnt at pony club!)

Really apprieciate it thanks all.
 
I feed my 26 year old (with poor teeth)

Fast Fibre, Speedibeet, unmolassed hay chaff, balanced minerals, lysine, Vitamin E capsules, micronised linseed and herbs.

Older horses benefit from additional vitamin E - I squeeze two 1000iu capsules into his feeds.

Lysine is another good addition - to provide additional protein to them. There are more developments in proteins (destined to be the next 'big thing') but I am doing OK with the lysine currently.

We have recently discovered that Spiller's High Fibre Nuts are barefoot friendly too!

I have used Readigrass in the past, but I didn't need it this winter.
 
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