Fellow Horse Hoof Trimmers Unite! Or shoers!

[bestponymilo]

Yes, his overall hoof care would need to be addressed.

Casting can be permanent as long as you feel like replacing them My clubby horse will be casted thru the riding months and completely barefoot once winter hits.

As for riding lame horses, guess it depends why the horse is lame. My fusing hock guy needed to be ridden, same with weak stifle guy and arthritic guy (ya, I got all the winners haha)

 

[seminolewind]

I'm glad to be out of there. Now I'm meeting quite a few people that left for the same reasons, basically a trainer/manager who thinks that she knows everything, and is very good at casting blame elsewhere.

I have a question. The new place is giving my horse a full scoop of feed twice a day where at the old place she was getting maybe 1/2 a scoop. Owner claims that this grain she uses is lower in calories and higher in nutrition. My horse gets more pasture here and pasture at the old place but more hay.

Is the grain going to be a problem? Barn owner said she changed it over a week. Just makes me nervous.

 

[casportpony]

I'm glad to be out of there. Now I'm meeting quite a few people that left for the same reasons, basically a trainer/manager who thinks that she knows everything, and is very good at casting blame elsewhere.

I have a question. The new place is giving my horse a full scoop of feed twice a day where at the old place she was getting maybe 1/2 a scoop. Owner claims that this grain she uses is lower in calories and higher in nutrition. My horse gets more pasture here and pasture at the old place but more hay.

Is the grain going to be a problem? Barn owner said she changed it over a week. Just makes me nervous.

What kind of grain/feed is it and how much hay do they feed? I'm a firm believer in more hay, less grain.

-Kathy

 

[onehorse_2000]

You will have to see on the feed. I personally am not a grain person for horses at all, had a gelding that was allergic to it and he started it all. If my horses are getting enough hay and pasture, I don't need grain at all, but they get a lot more hay and pasture then any boarding facility that I know. Cost wise, it makes no sense to feed grain, as hay is about a 1/4 the price lb for lb. but that is my soapbox. As for your guy, it is really going to depend, there are carb-guard and extruded feeds out there that are a lot of fluff, but not much else, but there are also a lot of horses that can get fat on fluff, so you will need to watch and see. I don't understand boarding facilities, I pay the bill and it is my horse, I want it fed this in this amount. Questions to ask on your first visit.

 

[seminolewind]

True, my horse. The old barn she was getting a 10% pellet, small amount, 2 flakes hay during the day and unlimited pasture and hay roll at night.
Now, I think she's getting double the feed, 2 flakes of hay, and staying in a "diet" pasture and work her way up to nice pasture. I still think that 2x the grain is too much. Should I worry about founder? Other than that, with her grain she gets some alfalfa pellets and a mix of electrolytes and minerals.

With the grain it's going from half a scoop twice a day to a full scoop twice a day.

 

[IrishAcreFarm]

True, my horse.  The old barn she was getting a 10% pellet, small amount, 2 flakes hay during the day and unlimited pasture and hay roll at night.
Now, I think she's getting double the feed, 2 flakes of hay, and staying in a "diet" pasture and work her way up to nice pasture.  I still think that 2x the grain is too much.  Should I worry about founder?  Other than that, with her grain she gets some alfalfa pellets and a mix of electrolytes and minerals. 

With the grain it's going from half a scoop twice a day to a full scoop twice a day. 

I agree, I would be worried about the increase in grain, even if it is a different type. Especially if she was in good condition on less. I also try to do as much hay and pasture as possible, and only give as much grain as needed.

 

[casportpony]

I've had TB's since the 80's (ponies since the 70's) and I've never had to feed grain as long as they had hay or pasture 24/7. Hay, dentals and worming, that's where your money is spent best, IMHO. If you want to give them a treat, buy a bag of hay pellets, lol.

-Kathy

 

[onehorse_2000]

True, my horse. The old barn she was getting a 10% pellet, small amount, 2 flakes hay during the day and unlimited pasture and hay roll at night.
Now, I think she's getting double the feed, 2 flakes of hay, and staying in a "diet" pasture and work her way up to nice pasture. I still think that 2x the grain is too much. Should I worry about founder? Other than that, with her grain she gets some alfalfa pellets and a mix of electrolytes and minerals.

With the grain it's going from half a scoop twice a day to a full scoop twice a day.

At 1/2 scoop of a 2 qt scoop to 1scoop of a 2 quart scoop, unless she is a severely overweight pony now, probably not, but I would be on the watch for loose manure and weight gain. Depending on the horse and the situation, I can see weight gain in as little as 3 days, but definitely within 2 weeks. You might not see the weight gain until she is taken off the restriction pasture at night and put out on good pasture, but be on watch for loose manure through the whole transition. Be watchful with the alfalfa pellets also, it doesn't sound like your guys needs a lot of extras, so between the extra grain and not sure if the alfalfa pellets are extra to, I probably would cut one or the other.

 

[casportpony]

Seminolewind, what type of riding do you do with your horse?

-Kathy

 

[seminolewind]

Onehorse, I think it's a 3 quart scoop, and half of what she gets is the feed she was on before. I just worry.

Kathy, I have a Tennessee Walking Horse. We do a running walk/flatwalk/rack. It's not like the show animals you see. These are the more common trail and pleasure horses that are mostly kept barefoot. They have a smooth 4 beat gait, not that exaggerated fake gait you see on show horses.

At the time, I was trying to decide between an off the track Thoroughbred, or a gaited horse. I do well with Thoroughbreds. But a gaited horse won out because I decided to go with a smooth trail horse.

Prior to that I had a TB cross who was a joy . He was a jumper and we also managed competing in Dressage. Then I added a young Hanovarian who would not stop throwing me. After 6 years I didn't ride him anymore, and sold him after 8 years of ownership.

What do you do with your horses?