The Barefoot vs Shod debate - where do i stand?

[Fransurrey]

lol! Love this and so true when it comes to this topic! I'm afraid I'm half and half in a different way (one might say the more traditional way).

Henry is shod when he needs it (when weather conditions dictate that I simply can't keep up with his metabolic issues, in a nutshell). I could just walk him in hoof boots, but that doesn't nearly keep him fit enough and his hooves are just tiny. Even gloves aren't ideal for him as they come off, but adding the new attachments (can't remember the name) will add too much bulk and he already stumbles in any boots. So, in April he'll possibly be shod for the summer - or not. If we have another bone dry spring, then he'll stay barefoot probably - poor farrier is used to me by now.

In more predictable weather times (wet springs, so-so summers, wet and cloudy Autumn), he was shod from April to October and then unshod through the winter (with me trimming and farrier coming back in the Spring). I have the farrier all year round, now, as I first hurt my back and then just got lazy/out of practice, but I still do the odd interim trim as he knows I can balance a foot.

 

[cptrayes]

If the Red Rock offers iron maybe I need to just look to supplying an optional copper/zinc supplement they can take if they want/need it? and forget the general vit/mins.

I don't think it's that simple unfortunately. If you have excess iron, manganese and/or molybdenum then my understanding is that these will take up the receptor sites for copper, and the horse will not feel that it "needs" copper because the available slots for copper are full. I think that if you cannot offer the horse free choice of lower iron/manganese/molybdenum then it's necessary to "overdose" copper in order to avoid a deficiency.

Anyone know whether free access to copper is taken up by a horse too high in iron/manganese?

 

[amandap]

Anyone know whether free access to copper is taken up by a horse too high in iron/manganese?

I don't know but I doubt it going by the difficulty some have getting their horses to eat the mixes of straight minerals.

Mine take salt, brewers yeast and some cal mg if offered free choice but I haven't tried copper etc. I must admit. One breath and it would blow away.

 

[tallyho!]

Before you consider adding even more in, I would give the liver a break and the kidneys and give the horse a chance to purge what excess it has. Then, just keep it simple by gradually adding things in to see what works and doesn't.

As cpt and amandap say, mineral absorption in horses and humans is complex, but the main things to consider is an over supplementation of one, inhibits uptake of another. So if the body is already struggling to eliminate one it does not need, the build up can cause other problems particularly in the liver and the kidneys.

As for free choice copper, I tried it in feed but that was a no-no. In the form of red Rockies, he licked it like it was a lollipop.