What do you feed your barefoot horses?

muff747 said:
You are very lucky to be able to feed loads of carrots and all day t/o on good grazing.

My boy can't have any carrots :( and I have to watch him like a hawk when he's on grass, I feel a real meany:o
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Some are just like that i guess! My mare isn't great on grass (but is fine on carrots) and unless the grass has burned away in the summer she never gets 24/7 t/o.

Atm, although there's no footiness or porkiness, my mare is getting hamster pouches and coming in bloated from the fresh grass growth this unseasonably mild weather has produced. Very strange in January! :(

And when i say good grazing, it's short winter grass in a mahoosive field....it's just not a mud bath that most seem to be experiencing at the moment! :D
 
paddy555 said:
Well your original post comented she was a little footy on stones so perhaps it would be worth looking into mg? along with minerals?
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Yes a little footy on stones. She's had her shoes off for approx 6 weeks so i wasn't expecting her to be perfect straight away - also this is only on her weak boxy foot, which has quite a deep frog sulcus which i suspect has a bit of thrush (that i am treating - farrier here next week to have a nosey)
The other foot is very good and looking well.

If it carrys on i will explore other avenues - i'm not pumping her full of supplements she may not need.
 
Could anyone advise how zinc and copper should be fed? Ie. Do they come in a supplement, or do you buy them as individual ingredients? Does anyone know what the RDA is for a TB of 15.3 and approx 650kg?

I currently feed;
Micronised linseed
Speedi beet
Charcoal
Magacal (magnesium oxide)
Moody mare (the herbs)
Pink powder (want to swap this for yeasacc as seems to be full of many unneccessary ingredients)
12hrs soaked hay

Am wondering whether a supplement like baileys lo cal balancer would be good to make up the zinc and copper requirement?

Thank you for your advice!
 
All our horses, barefoot or shod, are fed on Top Chop Lite, Top Spec Anti Lam and micronised linseed. They live out 24/7 with hay fed morning and night now that the grass has been eaten down.
 
We have used feedmarks HardyHoof very successfully on a 17.2 WB with poor hoof growth and a 10h Shetland rescue with ver soft and crumbly feet. The change was amazing in both cases. They both got it for about 6 months at the recommended levels and never needed it again after.
 
diamondrockharvey said:
My barefoot cob is on 500g of Spillers Lite Balancer with 1 tablespoon of course rock salt plus ad lib hay/grass.

He has a foot score of 7.7 from my EP - amazing feet!

If he has any issues in the spring I may add Magnesium Oxide to his feed too, but he doesn't need it at the moment.
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Where do I get coarse rock salt, the kind with coloured minerals, preferably.
 
Gracie said:
Could anyone advise how zinc and copper should be fed? Ie. Do they come in a supplement, or do you buy them as individual ingredients? Does anyone know what the RDA is for a TB of 15.3 and approx 650kg?

I currently feed;
Micronised linseed
Speedi beet
Charcoal
Magacal (magnesium oxide)
Moody mare (the herbs)
Pink powder (want to swap this for yeasacc as seems to be full of many unneccessary ingredients)
12hrs soaked hay

Am wondering whether a supplement like baileys lo cal balancer would be good to make up the zinc and copper requirement?

Thank you for your advice!
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The problem with adding a balancer is that it probably won't supply the levels of copper and zinc you need and will add lots of stuff you don't.
You can get straight Copper and Zinc from Forageplus or Equimins, however you can overdose both those minerals so you have to be careful about adding them without knowing exactly what is in your forage.

If you can't get a forage analysis done which would tell you exactly what levels to feed, Pro hoof is a good starting point and it also has Yea sac and magnesium in it so it would supply at least part of that requirement too.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-HOOF-1-8KG-HIGH-CONCENTRATED-EQUINE-SUPPLEMENT-/280763394528
 
Thank you Criso! I have some pro hoof on order :), am about to move to a new yard so will analyse their grass and hay from there, i already have a handful of their hay to test in advance. I wonder how long it takes for the footiness to go and the sole to thicken once you have the mineral balance right... I have the excercise right so far, but until we crack the mineral element, I guess i'll have to wait and see!
 
Gracie said:
Thank you Criso! I have some pro hoof on order :), am about to move to a new yard so will analyse their grass and hay from there, i already have a handful of their hay to test in advance. I wonder how long it takes for the footiness to go and the sole to thicken once you have the mineral balance right... I have the excercise right so far, but until we crack the mineral element, I guess i'll have to wait and see!
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To get a meaningful sample is important, otherwise you will get poor results, take several small handfuls from several bales from several batches of hay , mix up and then you are ready to send your sample off for testing.
 
My 12hh pony gets

Handful of lucie stalks
A mug of pure beet (soaked and split between 2 feeds)
Total eclipse
Linseed
Joint eclipse
And cider vinegar

Soaked hay
 
Sorry forgot to mention

Had his shoes off since june! Spent 3 months on field rest due to injury!

Now hacking out and long reining! Feet are holding up okay and no soreness !
 
I'm about to move yards too, when I went up to take my deposit, I had the yard manager on top of the stack taking handfuls from the top while I picked at random bales from the side.
They cut their hay from their own fields which will make balancing easier.
 
mine is barefoot and always has been she has wonderful hooves, i only do small local shows with her no big competitions so i just feed her champion easy mix and chaff from the local tack shop, she is perfectly fine on that :)
 
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