What does everyone feed their ''barefooters''

Grass, and a handful of Hi Fi to carry the Oestress and Top Spec.

In Winter, it's grass, hay, alfa A and Top Spec, with some Speedibeet when it's really cold!
 
For those people snorting in derision about what I feed my horses and saying "why so many supplements".

The 'simple' bag of feed you are feeding. Do you KNOW what the ingredients are? You'll find a long list of stuff - much longer than my list!

If you are happy with that then fine. I personally won't pay for what my horses don't need.
 
We recently (October 09) moved from a fat cattle yard to a very much upland rough unfertilised grass yard - lots of species in the grass, and lots of herbs in the ley - it's been described as "rough crappy grass"

Our guys aredoing very well indeed on it - with far fewer problems than they had before

I think everyone in the UK needs to rethink what is "good horse pasture" - good horse pasture ain't rich and it ain't lush and green
 
brucea said:
We recently (October 09) moved from a fat cattle yard to a very much upland rough unfertilised grass yard - lots of species in the grass, and lots of herbs in the ley - it's been described as "rough crappy grass"

Our guys aredoing very well indeed on it - with far fewer problems than they had before

I think everyone in the UK needs to rethink what is "good horse pasture" - good horse pasture ain't rich and it ain't lush and green
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I know and i think alot of people know that too, but when your at a livery yard your at a livey yard there is little else you can do and unfortunately alot of yard near me are ex dairy farms which is even worse!

x
 
Livery yards could at least strip graze, or offer tracks - lots of advantages wiht that approach

However the yards are often too focussed on the bill at the end of the month and not enough on customer service and safety of the horses I'm afraid.
 
brucea said:
Livery yards could at least strip graze, or offer tracks - lots of advantages wiht that approach

However the yards are often too focussed on the bill at the end of the month and not enough on customer service and safety of the horses I'm afraid.
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Well yes and no, Some yard allow you to play around with your own little field, whereas mine is out with a fair few other horses in a 10acre field, so there is nothing I can do (though horse is happy.. lol)

If I ever manage to get my own land, I will definitely have the track system, this I love and you can really play around with it and make maybe two or three outer circles so the pony paradise system is fab and yes, totally agree with that one.x
 
In my feed store;-

Baileys Lo-Cal
Tiger Oats
TopSpec TopChop
Speedibeet
Allen & Page Fast Fibre / Performance Cubes / Calm & Condition / Ride & Relax
Linseed Oil
Hormonise
Navi-Lam O
Buteless
Omeprazole (gastroguard)
Naf EnerG
Salt

They all have a combination of the above depending on what they are doing and what they look like, at the moment i am actually feeding more than i do in winter as i have had zero grass cover for weeks so alongside the above they are having last yrs hay as well as being out 24/7 on a varied paddock (not fertilized or anything for over 15yrs now)

It's a lot written down especially as one of them is pretty much having most of the list at the moment (not all the A&P stuff obviously!) but it is carefully considered and tailored to the individual and the above combinations really have worked for me.

This time last yr they all had Balancer as their basic feed and nothing else - LOL They simply didn't need it as i had grass!
 
Ooooh interesting thread, thanks OP :D

Why do people feed brewers yeast instead of a vitamin and mineral supplement? And what does seaweed do? :confused: I don't mean to appear sceptical, but surely feeding fungus and seaweed isn't exactly any more natural than chemicals is it? :confused:

I feed
Hay in stable during day
Grass overnight
D&H Safe and Sound
Codlivine Mobility supplement
NAF Biotin

:D :D :D
 
I am sceptical about feeding cod liver oil to a herbivore.

Brewers yeast is the main ing in the well loved Pink Powder. It is often used with good effect to assist in gut function and also helps with sweet itch. Seaweed has been fed for years.

I personally don't call my horse's diet natural. I don't know where that impression comes fro
or who stated it on this thread?
 
Oberon said:
I am sceptical about feeding cod liver oil to a herbivore.

Brewers yeast is the main ing in the well loved Pink Powder. It is often used with good effect to assist in gut function and also helps with sweet itch. Seaweed has been fed for years.

I personally don't call my horse's diet natural. I don't know where that impression comes fro
or who stated it on this thread?
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Thanks for the replies to my queries Oberon :D

I may have to hold my hands up and take responsibility for adding the natural thing to a thread that had otherwise avoided the description :o It was a bad assumption to make, sorry.

The brewers yeast supplement (having subsequently googled it) seems to make sense, but surely feeding seaweed only because it has been fed for years is a bit random??

I'm honestly not trying to have a pop- I'm just trying to learn :D
 
I think the premise of any diet is hit and miss. Unless you've had forage analysis done and you know what is in or missing from the horse's forage, you provide a broad spectrum diet to try and cover all bases without over doing.

I suppose it's a bit like throwing sand in the pothole and hopeing it all lands level.

Seaweed is a way of providing vits and mins.

I have to agree with you and say it is a bit random. I am feeding it as my horses seem to be doing well on it.

I have a nagging doubt though but not sure what else to do so I have enrolled onto Dr Kellon's online nutritional course for Sept to plugg some of the gaps in my knowledge.
 
Talking about forage analysis, I've just had one done and it turns out I have an almost full 25g sack of seaweed surplus to requirements if anyone in the Herts area wants it.
 
criso said:
Talking about forage analysis, I've just had one done and it turns out I have an almost full 25g sack of seaweed surplus to requirements if anyone in the Herts area wants it.
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Oooh interesting!! May I ask what you were feeding seaweed for? (Ie what you thought your forage lacked that you've since learned it does have) Thankies :D
 
Cliqmo said:
Oooh interesting!! May I ask what you were feeding seaweed for? (Ie what you thought your forage lacked that you've since learned it does have) Thankies :D
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Seaweed has amino acids, trace elements and Iodine. However turns out my grazing is relatively high in Iodine so would be doubling up and could overfeed this. Note this would also apply if I was feeding a branded multivit - I'd be doubling up on quite a few things.

For example, I just had a quick look at a multivit and it had 12 minerals in it (plus vitamins and other stuff), of these I will be feeding the 4 that are missing so in a sense I am feeding less but it does seem like more when you are measuring them all out.

I'm another one without the luxury of old pasture and took Frankie for a little pick in hedge today and it was interesting to see him ignore the grass and find all sorts of bits and pieces that were tasty.
 
My three Barefooters are fed Simple System products which lowers their sugar and cereal intake and increases their fiber intake.
My mares have lucie stalks and metaslim and my TB has purabeet, lucie pellets and Total eclipse. In winter it changes slightly.
they also get apple cider vinegar, rosehips and seaweed, Biotin, and magnesium.
I am currently in the process of having a nutrition analysis and Balance to ensure they're getting everything they need to remain healthy.
 
My lad has never been shod, always had fairly good feet, he gets safe and sound diluted with fibregy, it seems to have loads of nuts in it, plus magnitude, linseed and brewers yeast, he has been on the yeast for about three months and I do feel he is coping with the stoney ground better since he has been on it. He gets the magnitude as he can be rather spooky. In the winter he will get alpha beet and grass nuts added plus hay.
 
My barefooter gets nothing....
apparently her feet are as hard as can be and she will never need shoes if they stay that way.
Out 24/7, does a fair bit of work, inc schooling,xc, sj, showing.
She gets a handful of hifi lite as a special treat or to encourage her to come in.
In the winter she gets no food at all as she does less riding, is super duper fizzy and keeps her weight on no probs.
she's happy with hay/ grass and doesn't know any better, not going to waste money on food she doesn't need :S
 
My 20yo tb mare has been barefoot since she was eight and just has a Horslyx in her stable and mega hard feet. Same goes for my 5yo.
My 3yo has been growing rather faster than his feet, so we put him on TRM's Hoofmaker concentrated pellets and he started to grow foot noticeably within a month. the farrier has just had to use the 'nippers' to trim excess hoof for the first time ever! Great product, optimised for hoof growth and it does what it says on the tub!
All three are on forage diets - grazing all day, hay or haylage overnight and a handful of alfalfa in the manger when they come in.
 
Mine live out May to October and are on sparce grazing and in winter get ad lib stalky hay.

They get Just Grass, micronised linseed, black sunflower seeds, brewers yeast, clivers, salt and if needed, speedibeet. In winter they get Benevit and high fibre nuts in their ball.

Farra has a joint supplement as she is very close behind to help avoid problems.

Stinky at the moment is also having rice bran oil to keep his weight on as he is out doing a lot of travelling and competing at the moment.

Both have very good strong feet and I also apply Kevin Bacon in the summer months to them.
 
catkin said:
old ley full of herbs and bushes

Absolutely agree

It may not look smart or modern but the old pasture and the herbs and stuff are IMHO the single biggest thing in keeping the horses well - it's interesting to watch them choosing different things to eat at different times of the year. It also seems to suit lots of different types of horses from big TBs to fatty natives.
(I do know I'm lucky to have it)
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My brood mare has been on two acres of this for the last 5 years, and while the field looks wild and uncared for next to the neighbours sheep-grazed land the mare who is 20 looks fabulous and so do her feet.
 
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