Healthy Hooves Come From Within!
The basis of every horse's diet should start with high quality hay! Horses have evolved as forage animals and do better with a low grain, low sugar, high fiber diet because this supports a healthy and biodiverse population of microbes. Evidence shows lower incidences of obesity, metabolic issues, ulcers, thrush, abscesses, and colic when horses have a balanced high fiber diet!
It is easy to think that if we feed lots of hay and offer some supplements we will have all of our bases covered. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. For one thing, we cannot determine the nutrients that are in our hay just by looking at it. Even if it look good enough to eat! More importantly, key nutrients that are in excess or deficit can prevent our horse from absorbing what is being offered.
My goal as a barefoot trimmer is to help your horse achieve a healthy hoof both inside and out. There are several things that can influence a healthy hoof and they are balanced nutrients, trimming, and movement. Next Step Trimming has the experience and education to offer you strategies, backed by science, to help your horse develop healthy sound hooves over time.
Services: To Set Up an Appointment:
Click on the button below to set up an appointment. Call or text with your name, location & information about your horse!
It is easy to think that if we feed lots of hay and offer some supplements we will have all of our bases covered. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. For one thing, we cannot determine the nutrients that are in our hay just by looking at it. Even if it look good enough to eat! More importantly, key nutrients that are in excess or deficit can prevent our horse from absorbing what is being offered.
My goal as a barefoot trimmer is to help your horse achieve a healthy hoof both inside and out. There are several things that can influence a healthy hoof and they are balanced nutrients, trimming, and movement. Next Step Trimming has the experience and education to offer you strategies, backed by science, to help your horse develop healthy sound hooves over time.
Services: To Set Up an Appointment:
- Determine the hay quality 585-880-9240
- Diet balancing
- Report and Counseling Session
- Management Strategies for Diet Implementation
Click on the button below to set up an appointment. Call or text with your name, location & information about your horse!
Hay Analysis and Diet Balancing
Fee: $100.00 per horse
It allows you to determine if your horse is getting:
Fee: $100.00 per horse
It allows you to determine if your horse is getting:
- an adequate number of calories
- too much starch and sugar
- enough crude protein
- correct amounts of Ca, P, Mg
- correct amount of trace minerals
- too much Potassium, Iron, and Manganese
Supplementation
Here are three great supplements to consider. They are promoted by the professionals in the equine hoof care and nutrition field. The nutrients are balanced correctly, they do not contain sugar, or iron, and they supply what is lacking in the hay here in NY. I have linked the websites to each of the products mentioned below. You will be saving money in the long run by purchasing products that are of superior quality.
What to look for in a good supplement?
Vermont Blend is a wonderful supplement that takes into account high iron and manganese which is prevalent in our area. This product contains similar ingredients when compared to California Trace but, also includes Magnesium. This company appreciates the fact that I promote their product. So much so, that they have graciously given me a special 10% off code to pass along to clients when they make their first time purchase. If you are interested in trying Vermont blend just ask me for the special code! Sold as a powder.
Mad Barn is based out of Canada. They have a wide variety of products and provide diet balancing as a service for your horse's individual needs. Click on the link to learn more about this great product. This website also contains tons of really great information. It is worth checking out. Do you have a finicky horse? Clients that use Mad Barn tell me that their horses like the taste of the product. They offer both pellets and powder.
KIS Trace: This is another great product that you can use to supplement your horse's hay. It is balanced correctly and nutritionally available. Handout that explains how to offer the product. Pellets and powder.
Do you have questions about your horse's hoof health? Set up an appointment today to get an equine hoof care assessment for your horse. Contact Shelley at Next Step Trimming.
What to look for in a good supplement?
- Palatability- if your horse likes the taste. Your has to eat it in order to benefit from it! All jokes aside, some products taste better than others. Some companies add sugar or other ingredients to improve palatability. Horses that have health concerns such as metabolic issues can be harmed by these added ingredients.
- Nutrient Availability- Sometimes the ingredients look good on the package but the form of the nutrient is not readily absorbed by the horse. This means it goes in one end and comes out the other!
- Nutrient Balance- a great supplement is balanced correctly. This is so important! If you do not have the correct ratios of minerals then, it throws off absorption and it can deplete important nutrients leading to diseases or disorders.
- Ingredients: Although I think of these products as hoof supplements they really help the whole horse. They are key nutrients that are key for many metabolic processes throughout the body. For instance, most products should contain amino acids such as methionine, lysine and threonine. They are often lacking in a "natural" diet and are used to develop muscle, a healthy coat and hoof tissue. There is an alarming amount of Iron in the soil, hay and drinking water in New York. Over time, it builds up in your horse's liver to toxic levels and can lead to Insulin Resistance. Therefore an effective product must contain the correct ratio of Copper:Zinc to counteract the high iron in our area. Vermont blend contains Cu: 300mg and Zn:900mg; KIS Trace offers Cu 285mg and Zn 850mg for example. Other nutrients that are included in these supplements are biotin, magnesium, probiotics and selenium. Biotin is necessary for hoof integrity and other important metabolic processes in the body such as sugar metabolism. Magnesium is also an important nutrient that is involved in hundreds of chemical reactions in the body.
- Amount fed: Always follow the directions on the package. Many supplements are in a powdered form. Offering the product with a "carrier" can help make sure that your horse consumed the entire serving and thus benefit from the product. Suggested carriers could be something like water and timothy pellets, or a small amount of rinsed, soaked beet pulp. Sometimes it is tempting to feed a little more because more is better right? Not necessarily! Sometimes there is a delicate balance between nutrients and excessive amounts can cause your horse to potential develop a disorder.
Vermont Blend is a wonderful supplement that takes into account high iron and manganese which is prevalent in our area. This product contains similar ingredients when compared to California Trace but, also includes Magnesium. This company appreciates the fact that I promote their product. So much so, that they have graciously given me a special 10% off code to pass along to clients when they make their first time purchase. If you are interested in trying Vermont blend just ask me for the special code! Sold as a powder.
Mad Barn is based out of Canada. They have a wide variety of products and provide diet balancing as a service for your horse's individual needs. Click on the link to learn more about this great product. This website also contains tons of really great information. It is worth checking out. Do you have a finicky horse? Clients that use Mad Barn tell me that their horses like the taste of the product. They offer both pellets and powder.
KIS Trace: This is another great product that you can use to supplement your horse's hay. It is balanced correctly and nutritionally available. Handout that explains how to offer the product. Pellets and powder.
Do you have questions about your horse's hoof health? Set up an appointment today to get an equine hoof care assessment for your horse. Contact Shelley at Next Step Trimming.