Simple Systems Balancer - Seaweed - Barefoot friendly?

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beatrice

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Hi, I’m very new to the world of barefoot and I’m trying my best to get diet correct so have been looking at Simple Systems.

My mare is new to us, 5yrs old so needs to grow/develop and is having treatment for glandular ulcers so thought the fibre based, low starch Simple Systems feed would suit however, their balancers all seem to contain seaweed meal. My understanding is that seaweed is no longer recommended for barefoot horses due to the high iron content so should I avoid simple systems?!

In case relevant she’s on ad-lib haylage when in, poor grass during the day and then her feed is Meadow light chaff/honey chop lit (shared with my ems horse) spillers lite & lean (no added iron and high lysine so good for muscles) and omega rice.

Shoes have been off 3 weeks and so far so good (she had only recently started being shod before we bought her hence taking them off quite quickly).
 
beatrice said:
Hi, I’m very new to the world of barefoot and I’m trying my best to get diet correct so have been looking at Simple Systems.

My mare is new to us, 5yrs old so needs to grow/develop and is having treatment for glandular ulcers so thought the fibre based, low starch Simple Systems feed would suit however, their balancers all seem to contain seaweed meal. My understanding is that seaweed is no longer recommended for barefoot horses due to the high iron content so should I avoid simple systems?!

In case relevant she’s on ad-lib haylage when in, poor grass during the day and then her feed is Meadow light chaff/honey chop lit (shared with my ems horse) spillers lite & lean (no added iron and high lysine so good for muscles) and omega rice.

Shoes have been off 3 weeks and so far so good (she had only recently started being shod before we bought her hence taking them off quite quickly
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Contact them for advice, they're really good. My EMS horse is on their feeds and I took him barefoot last January and his feet are great. They're a great company and as much as I say be wary of companies advice as they're only out to make a sale, SS is not like this at all.
 
Agree, definitely no to feeding seaweed u less your soil has been tested and it's low in iron. Typically UK soil is high iron and low in copper and zinc. Iron also inhibits the uptake of copper.

Am I right in thinking you at looking to swap the Spillers balancer for something "barefoot friendly"?

If so it's worth having a look at Progressive Earth. They have a range of power vit/min (balancer) supplements. From the lower spec Pro Mineral through Pro Balance, Pro Balance Plus, Pro Hoof and Pro Hoof Platinum (I think that's the right names). All of the details are on their website

I can't remember what spiller balancer it is but one of two of them are considered ok because they don't add iron and are relatively low iron.
 
holeymoley said:
Contact them for advice, they're really good. My EMS horse is on their feeds and I took him barefoot last January and his feet are great. They're a great company and as much as I say be wary of companies advice as they're only out to make a sale, SS is not like this at all.
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Thank you, I contacted them through website and they gave me loads of advice but I hadn’t realised there was seaweed meal in most of their balancers.
 
TPO said:
Agree, definitely no to feeding seaweed u less your soil has been tested and it's low in iron. Typically UK soil is high iron and low in copper and zinc. Iron also inhibits the uptake of copper.

Am I right in thinking you at looking to swap the Spillers balancer for something "barefoot friendly"?

If so it's worth having a look at Progressive Earth. They have a range of power vit/min (balancer) supplements. From the lower spec Pro Mineral through Pro Balance, Pro Balance Plus, Pro Hoof and Pro Hoof Platinum (I think that's the right names). All of the details are on their website

I can't remember what spiller balancer it is but one of two of them are considered ok because they don't add iron and are relatively low iron.
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Thank you, I’m just checking that in my hunt for the best diet for her I’m right to discard the Simple systems because of the seaweed.

Will take a look at Progressive Earth, although she can be a little fussy so would need to check if she would eat it’s

The spillers balancer she’s on is one that doesn’t add any extra iron.
 
When I checked the SS website recently, I think the lunar eclipse doesn't contain seaweed. My old horse suffered with iron overload and I put him on the equimins advance balancer - at the time there were only a few options.
 
PoppyAnderson said:
No to SS cos of the seaweed. Also no to the Spillers. The ingredients list isn't great.
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I sort of agree but spillers feeds compared to some are not that bad, mine will not eat powdered balancer so I feed half of spillers balancer and half of the powdered stuff it's the only way I get them to eat it.

Both of mine are barefoot and I really don't think that small amount has an impact on them
 
beatrice said:
Thank you, I’m just checking that in my hunt for the best diet for her I’m right to discard the Simple systems because of the seaweed.

Will take a look at Progressive Earth, although she can be a little fussy so would need to check if she would eat it’s

The spillers balancer she’s on is one that doesn’t add any extra iron.
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Mine won't eat the full dose off progressive earth balancer on its own so I feed it with a low dose of spillers and they are both barefoot and they are fine.
 
Foxford said:
When I checked the SS website recently, I think the lunar eclipse doesn't contain seaweed. My old horse suffered with iron overload and I put him on the equimins advance balancer - at the time there were only a few options.
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Thank you - Will check how the lunar eclipse compares to the one SS recommended for my mare.
 
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