Spring feeding for barefoot

[Barehooves]

I know it should make no difference whether a horse is barefoot or not as to what it is fed at a certain time of year but let's face it us barefooters tend to think about a bit more...

I'm on a livery yard where there is no options for anything else so my summer grazing is an oak lined 5 acre field that is fairly over grazed, when they are first turned out in it there is some grass so I tend to muzzle till it gets a bit sparse.

What will you be feeding this spring? I'm obsessed with my horse getting the right vits and mins especially for her hooves. At the mo her hooves are ace, rock crunchers but I'm worried sick about that spring grass!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks x

 

[brightmount]

I've got a barefoot horse that I don't stress about as she does fine on any pasture with any feed. However I understand what you're asking, as there are certain recommendations given out by certain barefoot organisations.

Spring grass is obviously rich, but your horse has been equally at risk from the sugar content of frosty grass over the winter. In both cases, barefoot gurus recommend magnesium supplementation, best in the form of Magnesium Oxide, though sometimes given as Calcined Magnesite (CalMag) though this is rather gritty and designed for cattle, so MagOx is kinder on the digestion. This is supposed to act against LGL or low grade laminitis, but barefoot or not, lami is something any horse owner should be aware of in spring and these supplements won't stop a full blown attack.

Best all round supplement has to be Formula 4 Feet from the Laminitis Clinic/EquiLife.

http://www.equilife.co.uk/products.htm

 

[RolyPolyPony]

All the horses (except one) where i keep my boy are barefoot. They all go onto a track system just before spring grass and are fed ad lib hay. I also give my boy a small hard feed of allen and page veteran vitality. He gets very sore on rich grass/sugar - he had VERY bad deep sulcus infections when i got him - so the track suits him perfectly.