No Hoof … No Horse

How do we ACHIEVE healthy hooves?

1. Natural Performance Trim
2. Movement/Natural Lifestyle
3. Clean Diet of Grass … NO PROCESSED Feed

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The Natural Horse

Mother Nature designed the horse to live in a herd and to have freedom of movement twenty-four hours each day. Movement, and herd life stimulates overall health.

Horses have a unique digestive system, which includes a stomach that’s smaller than a large dog!  Their stomach does not stop producing acid, and stimulates the need to put something in it. The traditional standard is to feed 2 flakes in am 2 flakes in pm. This leaves large periods of time between, where the stomach is empty. When stalled/paddock turn out, horses will develop behavior issues to deal with this unnatural environment. Cribbing, weaving, pawing, wind sucking, ulcers, and colic are only some of the problems that unnatural living/feeding situation brings.

We advocate simulating a grazing environment, by spreading out low nutrient, high fiber forage all over the paddock or pasture area. This encourages movement, while meeting the horses need to forage 24/7.

The N.A.G. bag (natural alternative grazer), is a hay net with small holes. This offers an alternative to horses that must live in paddocks, or have restricted diet needs. It takes them longer to eat the hay, therefor satisfying their natural instinct to always be foraging. You can order any size of these from this website: www.slowfeeder.com

Lots of horses have to live in smaller paddocks/pasture situations…therefore, we must think of creative ways to keep them foraging/moving.
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Allowing them to live with at least two other horses, spreading the hay all over the paddock, placing several slow feeding bags around the perimeter, place the salt block as far away from the water source as possible, etc. all stimulate more movement each day.

Consider this fact: Horses naturally move twice as much at night … napping for only a couple of hours mid day…

When Horses are confined to a stall for 12 hours/day, they are robbed of  movement, herd dynamics, clean air & vitamin D for half of their lifetime.

Movement stimulates mental/physical/hoof health.

Diet plays a very important role in building healthy hooves, capable of travelling on all terrain.

• Horses are meant to eat GRASS supplemented only with mineral/salt.
• ALL EXTRAS, such as treats/fruit/grain/processed feeds, upset their sensitive digestive system resulting in flaring, thrush/white line disease/laminitis, colic and founder.
• Extra nutrition is only considered for senior horses/compromised horses, or hard keepers.