What are all the BAREFOOTERS FEEDING?

My old man is on a forage replacer diet:

Out in the day, in at night

Alfalfa pellets, Speedibeet, Wheatfeed, Oats, Carob, Readigrass, Micronised linseed, Brewer's Yeast, Yea-sacc, 2000iu Vitamin E, salt, turmeric, fenugreek, mint and a mix of plants and herbs.

and haylage to play with and pretend to chew.

Big lad gets grass/ad lib haylage

Alfalfa pellets, Speedibeet, micronised linseed, brewer's yeast, mixture of plants and herbs.

I could buy a bag of sooper dooper feed with a nice, shiny package that contains all the above. But I buy seperates and mix myself to keep costs down and I also know exactly what I am feeding.

I don't understand why some people get so indignant over a 'barefoot' diet - I put alot of effort into ensuring I am feeding what I believe is the very best for my horses. Why shouldn't I?
 
Wow lots of replies. How interesting to see so many high fibre low sugar diets. I wonder if the percentage of similar forage based low sugar/carbs diets would be the same in the shod horses diets as it appear to be in the unshod horses diet according to this thread.

enfys said:
This intrigues me, why should the diet for a 'barefoot' horse be different for that of a bare foot trimmed horse?
(Allowing for individuality of course before anyone says that;))
Click to expand...

I am not saying a horses diet should be one thing or another. Just my unshod LGL good-doer horse thrives on a high fibre, low sugar/carb diet. He has 8kg of soaked hay over night, and 8 hours of turn out during the day. The only "hard feed" he has is Thunderbrook (balancer). When on anything with molasses in or even unsoaked hay he is footy and miserable as his body tries to deal with the sugar overload. I doubt I would have seen these symptoms as what they are LGL if he were shod.

I just wonder how many shod LGL horses there are out there on unsuitable diets which are thought to be "lazy" or "switched off" when really they probably have tummy ache. But arent showing footiness due to being shod.

As someone else said earlier perhaps all/ more horses would benefit from a high fibre/low sugar diet...a bit more like they would get naturally.
 
I used to feed a multivit/mineral supplement, looking at the analysis that has 12 minerals in it, not vitamins just minerals.
Of these I am feeding four that are missing in his forage and the way I see it I am feeding less not more.

However it is alot more hassle to measure each one that just add one easy scoop of a branded multivit.
 
I am also concerned about ulcers.

A yard mate was thrown off her horse very badly. Before beating him up ( :) ) she had a vet look at him. Vet found 3 massive ulcers.

This horse has year round turnout, ad lib haylage and a 'sensible' commercial diet.

If he can have them - anyone can:(
 
tangosmum said:
I just wonder how many shod LGL horses there are out there on unsuitable diets which are thought to be "lazy" or "switched off" when really they probably have tummy ache. But arent showing footiness due to being shod.
Click to expand...

A scarily large number I suspect.

It's common sense really. Look at what the horse evolved to eat - low sugar/high fibre very varied diet - and replicate as best you can. The hardest thing to regulate is the grass in take. UK grass is nothing like the grasses they evolved eating, plus they are much more active in the wild, therefore burning off more calories. The vast majority of UK horses are getting far too high sugar in take simply from grazing. Controlling this can be very hard for those on livery yards and there is still the mainstream belief that lovely green grass = Dr Green and is good for horses.
 
tangosmum said:
Wow lots of replies. How interesting to see so many high fibre low sugar diets. I wonder if the percentage of similar forage based low sugar/carbs diets would be the same in the shod horses diets as it appear to be in the unshod horses diet according to this thread.



I am not saying a horses diet should be one thing or another. Just my unshod LGL good-doer horse thrives on a high fibre, low sugar/carb diet. He has 8kg of soaked hay over night, and 8 hours of turn out during the day. The only "hard feed" he has is Thunderbrook (balancer). When on anything with molasses in or even unsoaked hay he is footy and miserable as his body tries to deal with the sugar overload. I doubt I would have seen these symptoms as what they are LGL if he were shod.

I just wonder how many shod LGL horses there are out there on unsuitable diets which are thought to be "lazy" or "switched off" when really they probably have tummy ache. But arent showing footiness due to being shod.

As someone else said earlier perhaps all/ more horses would benefit from a high fibre/low sugar diet...a bit more like they would get naturally.
Click to expand...

Switched off/tummy ache could be due to liver toxicity due to too many balacers so popular these days.

I mean, what's wrong with just a fibre diet e.g. hay. If lacking, in certain things it shoud be tested for in all honesty. So many many people offer tests after all.

Of course each to thier own but i wonder, if people opened thier eyes from the deep deep sleep of convention, what they would see.
 
my two arabs are barefoot & living out, they are currently getting;

ad-lib grass/haylage

healthy hooves
high fibre cubes
speedi-beet
aloe vera gel added as a supplement

they also have access to a couple of all-round paddock vitamin and mineral blocks.

i'm rubbish with feeding & as so many people seem to have a good grip on it, could they see an area of improvement for their diet?
 
ArabHorseLover said:
my two arabs are barefoot & living out, they are currently getting;

ad-lib grass/haylage

healthy hooves
high fibre cubes
speedi-beet
aloe vera gel added as a supplement

they also have access to a couple of all-round paddock vitamin and mineral blocks.

i'm rubbish with feeding & as so many people seem to have a good grip on it, could they see an area of improvement for their diet?
Click to expand...

:eek: What??? :eek: No ice-cream?????
 
ArabHorseLover said:
my two arabs are barefoot & living out, they are currently getting;

ad-lib grass/haylage

healthy hooves
high fibre cubes
speedi-beet
aloe vera gel added as a supplement

they also have access to a couple of all-round paddock vitamin and mineral blocks.

i'm rubbish with feeding & as so many people seem to have a good grip on it, could they see an area of improvement for their diet?
Click to expand...

Again I would say if they are sound over any surface then why change anything. However if you did see any changes, eg become less confident over stoney ground, then there are a couple of things you're feeding that do contain molasses - Healthy Hooves and High Fibre Cubes. Depending on the brand the High Fibre cubes can contain as much as 20% sugar/starch content, where ideally you'd only want a feed with half that percentage content. I'd also double check your vit/min blocks to make sure they are completely molasses free. I like the Rockies blocks for this reason.
 
winergy equilibrium condition (2.5 big scoops per day)
micronised linseed (2.5 large mugs per day)
1 scoop (dry weight) speedibeet

vit e/selenium supp
joint supp
Equitop myoplast
coligone.

being an ex racer he would be prone to ulcers and since being on the coligone (only a 1/4 does works perfectly) he is much forward and not grumpy off the leg, i experimented with bringing the dose down and he is the same on the 1/4 dose as the full, and is clearly happier so will stay on that.

being a TB, and working hard(schooling adv med,will go out at medium in feb 2011) i doubt i could keep him conditioned on fibre only. he gets ad lib haylage and is on excellent grass but i just dont see it working for him.

he is sound over all surface, incl sharp gravel so clearly has no diet related feet issues.
 
mrdarcy said:
Again I would say if they are sound over any surface then why change anything. However if you did see any changes, eg become less confident over stoney ground, then there are a couple of things you're feeding that do contain molasses - Healthy Hooves and High Fibre Cubes. Depending on the brand the High Fibre cubes can contain as much as 20% sugar/starch content, where ideally you'd only want a feed with half that percentage content. I'd also double check your vit/min blocks to make sure they are completely molasses free. I like the Rockies blocks for this reason.
Click to expand...

That is a worry. I had considered a handful of high fibre cubes in my LGL's snack-a-ball per day. Havent got round to it though. Do you know which brands are highest in sugar?

I aim for under 7% sugar in everything

I had been looking at the spillers and Dodson and Horrell ones
 
cptrayes said:
Any horse can be unshod.

Only horses that are in work can be "barefoot" the term means "no shoes but doing work that it is widely believed can only be done wearing shoes".
Click to expand...


Interesting. Where did that definition spring from? If a horse has never had shoes on, how can you "unshoe" him? Pedantic argument, but I feel quite strongly that "unshod" is a negative term - barefoot isn't much better - can't think of a better one, though.

Hay, Simple System Purabeet and lucie nuts and soaked oats. Himalayan salt licks ad lib.
 
A large well known often used horse feed manufacturer doesn't publish the full ingredients of their products on their website so I thought a little sleuthing was needed.

Found a bag in the feed room - (insert mix of shame at looking at someone else's feed and a bit of relief that it isn't mine - is there an emoction for that?)

Product aimed at laminitics and with an LT badge

First three ingredients?

Straw
Chopped Straw
Molasses (although with a fancy name - it is molasses)

I think it retails for at least £10 a bag.

I could buy at least a couple of bales of straw for that and not have the added sugar........

Oh and the print was so small it was barely readable and couldn't be picked up by my camera phone
 
Last edited:
LucyPriory said:
Spillers don't publish the full ingredients of their products on their website so I thought a little sleuthing was needed.

Found a bag in the feed room - (insert mix of shame at looking at someone else's feed and a bit of relief that it isn't mine).

Product aimed at laminitics and with an LT badge

First three ingredients?

Straw
Chopped Straw
Molasses (although with a fancy name - it is molasses)

I think it retails for at least £10 a bag.

I could buy at least a couple of bales of straw for that and not have the added sugar........
Click to expand...

Straw is ok but to pay for molasses???!!!!
 
tallyho! said:
yes, not just ANY old organic ice-cream.... it's LOCAL organic ice cream.... milked by hand...

(only cos the automatics forze over and we can't work 'em)
Click to expand...

Well, now you're just showing off you M&S advert you!!

Intouch, does it matter what name people give to horses working without shoes? I must admit that I don't understand the problem with different names? I am just happy that my mare works well without shoes (better than with actually!) and has feet that are in excellent health. I wouldn't feel more or less happy about that if I described her as unshod or barefoot.
 
Mine (a yearling PRE X, a 2yr old Luso X and a 4 yr old Luso) are all living out 24/7 on rough parkland with natural hedgerows, no additional hay.

They each get Coolstance Copra, Just Grass mixed with an unmollased straw / alfalfa chop, a mug of Linseed and a 20ml measure of Equine Answers 365 supplement.

In weather like this when they are working harder to get the grass I also add a 1/2 scoop of warm sloppy mash consisting of soaked Speedibeet & grass nuts...more to make me feel better, but they do seem to enjoy it

I've fed a hi fibre / low sugar diet for the last five years and it served my other horses really well and both had fab rock crunching feet and were in full work (inc XC, hunting etc) None of these guys will have shoes on and the 4 yr old was backed and schooled / hacked out all Summer and Autumn perfectly happily without missing a beat on 7 weekly trims.
 
glosgirl said:
Intouch, does it matter what name people give to horses working without shoes? I must admit that I don't understand the problem with different names? I am just happy that my mare works well without shoes (better than with actually!) and has feet that are in excellent health. I wouldn't feel more or less happy about that if I described her as unshod or barefoot.
Click to expand...

Wasn't me started it!
 
Actually - all these barefooters are double-bluffing you.

No barefoot horses ever eats anything!!! They just live on fresh air and the odd floating dandelion accidentally breathed in on the odd windy afternoon.

Nettles perhaps too.

As a supplement.

Am I being nuisance?
 
LucyPriory said:
A large well known often used horse feed manufacturer doesn't publish the full ingredients of their products on their website so I thought a little sleuthing was needed.

Found a bag in the feed room - (insert mix of shame at looking at someone else's feed and a bit of relief that it isn't mine - is there an emoction for that?)

Product aimed at laminitics and with an LT badge

First three ingredients?

Straw
Chopped Straw
Molasses (although with a fancy name - it is molasses)

I think it retails for at least £10 a bag.

I could buy at least a couple of bales of straw for that and not have the added sugar........

Oh and the print was so small it was barely readable and couldn't be picked up by my camera phone
Click to expand...

I am always a little suprised why people are so taken in by these feed companies, you need to get your head round the fact that they are only interested in 'profit' and not the well being of your horse.

A fancy name and hefty price virtually guarantees it's going to be a bag of crap.
 
My 2 are out during the day, in at night at the moment. They get ad lib haylage whilst stabled (late cut, non fertilized field). I put some haylage in the field today, but they preferred to dig through the snow for grass (rough mountain grazing).

The only hard feed they are getting at the moment is Blue Chip Lami Light plus access to Himalaya/Rockie licks. Once I get around to having the grass/haylage tested for mineral/vitamin content I will probably drop the balancer & feed specifically what is missing in a bit of speedibeet.

I only had the shoes taken off last week. Gelding seems ok, but the mare is still quite footy walking on the drive & over the frozen poached gateway, but is better once in the field & on the rubber matting in her stable. I'm guessing this is to be expected but I do feel bad & wish the ground would thaw out a bit as everything is rock hard here at the moment. Poor girl.
 
intouch said:
Interesting. Where did that definition spring from? If a horse has never had shoes on, how can you "unshoe" him? Pedantic argument, but I feel quite strongly that "unshod" is a negative term - barefoot isn't much better - can't think of a better one, though.

Hay, Simple System Purabeet and lucie nuts and soaked oats. Himalayan salt licks ad lib.
Click to expand...

unbelievable doesn't mean it was once believed but is now not believed

unforgettable doesn't mean was once forgotten and is now remembered

unshod does not mean was once shod and now is not.

The definition came from America where is was coined to describe working horses which do not have shoes but should have been expected to. A horse turned out in a paddock, retired, without shoes on would not normally be described as barefoot. The distinguishing feature is that the barefoot horse is doing something that people did not expect it to be able to do.
 
Last edited:
Yuletide_Gal said:
Mine is on:

HiFi Alfalfa
Dobson and Horrell Pasture Cubes
Barley Straw
Hay

And yet I still have farriers asking me what supplements I feed to get my horses feet so hard. Nothing. Neinte. Nil. She just has awesome feet!
Click to expand...

Tell your farrier that it's what you AREN'T feeding, not what you are. Your horse is on a very low sugar and high fibre diet and if your signature is a picture of your grazing, then it's wonderfully "poor" quality instead of lush ryegrass designed for lactating cows!
 
The reason we started feeding a low sugar diet is that we had a mare with incredible behaviour problems (amongst other things) which were caused by eating refined sugar. She was fine with Spring grass. She had incredibly hard feet all her life, even when she was fed on a sugary diet, but very sensitive frogs. We put her onto a no-sugar diet aged 12 and her feet didn't change until her death aged 24, with or without shoes.
 
cptrayes said:
unbelievable doesn't mean it was once believed but is now not believed

unforgettable doesn't mean was once forgotten and is now remembered

unshod does not mean was once shod and now is not.
Click to expand...

Not convinced by that - unbelievable is not the same as unbelieved

unforgettable is not the same as unforgotten

unshoeable is not the same as unshod....

America, eh, now there's a thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top