Feeding for healthy hooves

Roofio

Roofio

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Jul 23, 2006
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J currently has cheapy molassed chaff, spillers cool mix and D&H build up cubes plus his wide array of supplements, but i keep reading about sugar in relation to rubbish feet. what should I be feeding him to give his feet the best possible chance?

hes just gone on to summer grazing so his feed has been cut down so i'm thinking ahead to the winter really.

i like the idea of fibre-beet, but i'm confused by happy hoof, healthy hooves type chaffs.

Thanks :)
 
After looking long and hard, the best thing i feel, is Dodson and Horrel Safe and Sound... This is why....

QLC anti-oxidants to help promote long term health and neutralise free radical activity.
MSM for its soothing properties.
Biotin to maintain hoof integrity.
Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids and linseed to promote coat condition.
Stand Free herbs blended to help support healthy hooves.
Yea-Sacc to aid digestion and promote beneficial bacteria in the hind gut.
Enriched with vitamins and bioplex minerals.

No sugar. Pleanty vits and mins, not too high protien.

Other chaffs i have found to have either no sugar & minerals. Or the minterals i want, and sugar. Which i dont want! High protien--which is bad for alex :)

It has biotin for the feet, msm which is expencive bought alone, Yea-saac which if brilliant for the gut.

Maybe others have different views, and i do stand to be corrected if need be, but this is what ive found on my long 'best feed journey' lol
You may not even need to buy seperate suppliments, depending on what they are of course.

If thats confused you or anything just pm me :)
 
Personally I prefer a non-mollassed forage based diet with magnesium (CalMag or MagOx), linseed (good for the coat) and Top Spec Anti-Lam. You only need a half ration of Anti-Lam for the feet though I only feed 1/4 ration because it sparks Saff up a bit and she most definitely doesn't need sparking up :eek:

Some people find that they have problems feeding lucerne if they don't have enough magnesium in the diet. I don't know how scientific that is but I've heard it enough time to presume that it's true. There is also some circumstantial evidence of adding table salt to the feed too (but I can't remember how much).

Saff currently has Simple Systems stuff for her forage .... Enduro Complete & Ruff Stuff with soaked lucienuts to dampen it all down.
 
Echo Bay Mare.

My mare had serious problem hooves 2.5yrs ago and it's been a long road to get her halfway right on her feet. Feed is really important and I'm currently getting really good results in terms of positive changes and improvements with the following:

Unmolassed sugar beet - this forms the base of her feed. Currently I'm only feeding half a mug (this is dry, it makes much more when soaked) but increase it as needed in winter. I really like the Simple Systems Purabeet, it makes up to 5 times the volume after soaking so a really small amount makes a good sized feed which is ideal for good doers like my mare.

Baileys Lo-Cal - pelleted balancer. This provides all her daily vitamins and minerals as well as extra protein, Yea-sacc and Biotin.

I do feed a small amount of low energy grass nuts in a snackball when she's stabled or as treats for clicker training/good behaviour. I also use alfalfa pellets in the same way during the winter months (they're higher energy so I swop to the lower energy grass version in spring). These also provide protein and essential amino acids and in winter the alfalfa pellets help to balance the calcium:phosphorous ratio of the sugar beet. It's not such an issue when I'm only feeding a token amount of beet.

On top of this I feed 2 large scoops (I use the ones out of a Pink Powder tub, heaped really high) of CalMag or MagOx, whichever I feel is needed.

Cortaflex; this is really for her joints but there's some evidence that glucosamine is good for the inner wall of hooves.

Salt; 2 tablespoons per day.

It's also essential to limit her grass intake so she is currently coming in for 7-8 hours per day and during this time has soaked hay. She much prefers this to being muzzled as our stables are very cool and bug free and she always has a nap lying down. I will possibly muzzle her later in the year when she goes onto the summer field but we'll see how she goes.

The diet I'm feeding is the basic diet recommended by metabolic experts for Insulin Resistant, Cushingoid and laminitic horses and ponies. My mare technically is none of these but she is a good doer and does seem to be a bit sensitive to grass, this shows in her comfort levels on bare hooves. Since implementing this diet and restricting grazing somewhat I'm seeing really positive changes in her hooves; new tighter growth is coming in fast, the false sole she's retained for years is cracking and coming away on it's own producing concavity and she's more and more comfortable on her feet as times goes by.
 
a balanced diet is the very best thing you can give your horse for good quality feet. supplements may help, but it takes 9-12 months for a new hoof to grow through so improvement takes time and you have to be patient.
speak to your farrier about it.
extra minerals/minerals include keratin (which will also improve your horse's quality of hair) and biotin.
 
thanks :)

so things that are 'good' for lami-prone are good for general hoof health? this is what confuses me.

and whats lucerne :eek: or at least what is it in!?

supplements wise he has cortaflex and cider vinegar for movement and equimins biotin plus and seaweed and rosehips for feet as well as garlic.

why cant he survive on mcdonalds and toast like me?? :p
 
lucerne (or alfalfa) is fabulous for hooves due to its high nutrient content, largely protein and calcium (the last being especially good for bone and hoof quality), so i would definetaly reccomend it.
The Dengie products (www.dengie.com) are some of the best available.
:)
 
so things that are 'good' for lami-prone are good for general hoof health? this is what confuses me.
Click to expand...

Basically yes, they are.

Personally I steer clear of garlic, if fed long term it can have a negative effect on the gut flora (it's an anthelmintic so has a similar effect on the digestive system as antibiotics do; it can strip the good bugs). I'm not a fan of seaweed as a vitamin supplement either as it is often very high in iodine, which isn't a good thing and the levels of nutrients can vary wildly so you can't ever be 100% sure of what you're feeding.

Rosehips are good as a general tonic, they're very high in vitamin C and bioflavinoids. I didn't find them to help with hoof health when I fed them for that purpose though.

Lucerne and alfalfa are the same thing, lucerne is the name used most commonly in European countries and Australia, alfalfa is used more in America which is probably why we now use it more commonly in the UK.
 
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