Six Hearts Hoof Care - Katie Arbour

01/31/2024

I am often asked why I rarely feed bagged, commercially-prepared feeds, grains or name-brand oils or additives, to my horses.

I never feed bagged feed or supplements to my ponies, or to unsound horses here for rehabilitation to a healthier life.

This has long been my method… other than the occasional addition of soaked beet pulp, should a horse be losing ground over our challenging winters. Our horses and ponies are energetic, shiny, healthy, with lovely coats and feet. By far, the majority of ulcers we treat are in horses who have been brought in from elsewhere.

So, we feed homegrown hay, free-choice straw, along with grazing time on pastures containing browse. Our grass and our hay is analyzed and we do offer free-choice mineral, accordingly.

Horses and ponies love spending time chewing on branches and native shrubbery, like willow twigs! If offered these, especially if they must stand around in the corrals for some reason, they’re uninterested in chewing our fences. This constant diet of a variety of bland, or lean, roughage also means that obesity isn’t much of a problem, even in the smaller, aged ponies who live here.

They’re not heedlessly kicked out on acres of lush grass but they ARE acclimated to grazing and foraging for their food.

This is a sticker placed prominently inside our trailer, by the manufacturer. If what we are feeding our animals can erode metal in a short time, why are we so surprised that ulcers are so prominent? It’s something to think about... and yeah, despite our low-stress feeding regime, I DO still clean out the trailer!

12/27/2023

Forage first.
Forage always.
Forage only, wherever possible.

Forage as in grass and hay
Forage as in scavenger hunt to find it.

“Hiding” hay in untraveled corners of the pasture, under logs or spruce boughs, in the crooks of trees, or tossed between poplar saplings is fun for us and fun for them. Spread thinly over large distances to encourage grazing behaviour.

Feeding horses with the quad is my favourite part of the day.

As many horse owners know, colic is an unpredictable, painful, and sometimes fatal condition. Colic refers to abdominal pain in your horse. It is an amorphous condition that can lead to potentially serious health complications. Colic may present as a mild case that is resolved in less than 24 hours