03/26/2025
What I Feed My Horses that Donāt/Canāt Eat Grain
Most of you who follow this page know that I have a hoof rehab facility, and all the horses that come in here are on a very carefully balanced diet for hoof quality and health. And that often means NO grain.
Of course, not all the horses on my property are your typical āair fernsā or easy keepers. I think most assume that just because I donāt feed grain, I must only have super easy keepers who ādonāt need the calories.ā That truly isnāt the case!
I would be lying if I said it was always a cake walk to figure out every horseās needs! Sometimes it can take some troubleshooting.
Nearly every horse that moves in here comes from a more traditional set up with a grain-based meal twice a day, varying from as little as 1lb a day of grain to 8+lbs of grain a day. Many of these horses were also stalled regularly and moved miles less a day than they do here, making their caloric needs an even bigger consideration.
But I wonāt let go of the fact that I see the absolute best hooves on horses on a forage-based diet, so I start there, and adjust as needed.
MY BASE DIET for all the horses here:
HAY
āļøEVERY horse here has 24/7 access to tested hay in slow feed hay nets. I know that most argue that not every horse can have 24/7 access to even netted hay without becoming a blimp. Fortunately, all the horses here so far over the last few years have regulated their intake once they realized the hay was never leaving. They will regularly walk the tracks, go take naps, watch whoever is in the ring, play up by the sheds (Iām looking at you, geldings), or spend hours staring at the neighborās ādreamyā stud muffin geldings (Iām looking at you, mares).
We DO test all our hay and look at calories, protein, sugar and starch levels, digestibility and palatability, major and minor mineral balance, and more. We feed primarily first cut hay, which is typically lower in calories and protein, but have supplemented with (TESTED) second cut hay during cold winter months in the past for some of our harder keepers with great results.
METABOLIC SAFE CARRIER FEEDS
āļøYes, I did say metabolic safe. No, I donāt have any ārefractoryā high insulin or difficult metabolic cases here. YES, I do have a handful of VERY easy keepers. But most of my horses here are not metabolic- and yet I feed them feeds that fall under the āsafeā guidelines.. and their feet improve because of it. These include base feeds such as Timothy pellets, SpeediBeet, Timothy Balance Cubes, and small amounts of sanfoin pellets or StableFeed Seasons Biome blend for forage diversity. I am careful with these as they are legumes, but I havenāt noticed any hoof sensitivity (knock on wood).
-For my easy keepers, I feed as little carrier feed as possible to get them to eat their minerals. For my harder keepers, they get several pounds of carrier feed a day, and typically higher amounts of SpeediBeet beet pulp, which is good for their hind gut and more caloric while still being low sugar/starch.
MINERAL BALANCING
āļøAs I mentioned above, I test all my hay and look at the balance of ratios between the major minerals and minor minerals. I supplement based on deficiencies in the hay as well as for proper mineral ratios.
-Fortunately, right now Custom Equine Nutrition, LLCās Vermont Blend matches my hay test VERY well, with occasionally adding extra copper and zinc from Custom Equine as well as a little added manganese from Mad Barn.
OTHER NECESSITIES
āļøEvery horse on the property also gets vitamin E in the form of Emcelle, also from Custom Equine Nutrition, as vitamin E is not available in hay and typically the horses here do not graze fresh grass. Emcelle was our choice as itās a highly bioavailable option and very cost effective.
āļøAs horses not on pasture also need omega 3 to replace what they would normally get from grazing fresh grass, the horses here are also on either flaxseed, chia seeds, flax oil, camelina oil, or a mixture of these. We adjust this for weight as well - for example, we feed anywhere from 2oz of flax to 8 ounces of flax a day, depending on the horseās caloric needs, and our harder keepers not sensitive to fats get 1/3c flax oil per meal, etc.
EXTRAS
āļøOf course, every horse is an individual and some need extra help. We currently have 2 horses here that need some extra protein for muscling etc, and they get pea protein isolate (100g a day), as well as extra amino acids and BCAAs (from My Best Horse). We also have horses on a variety of herbs based on individual needs, such as raspberry leaves (hormonal), jiaogulan (soft tissue health and hoof capsule perfusion), spirulina (metabolic health and allergies), plant bioflavonoids (arthritis help) and more.
TASTE TEMPTING
āļøJust like every barn, we have some horses who are picky eaters. For some, we may give a handful of a low sugar/starch forage-based grain to tempt them to finish every bite of their meals. And I truly mean a handful! Right now, only one rehab case here even needs any to finish her meals, and sometimes doesnāt need any added. We typically choose either Triple Crown Senior or Senior Gold, as the average starch typically falls below 4% (which is a threshold for metabolic horses), and sugar and starch tends to average below 10%, another threshold for hoof comfort. It DOES contain alfalfa, which can bother some, so we watch for that.
It is always a bit of an adjustment through the seasons and for individual horses, but overall the change in hoof health and comfort is very much worth it!
And as I always tell my rehab ownersā¦ I would absolutely prefer to see a hint of rib in movement on a rehab case, over fat pads and risk of laminitis. That being said, we do strive for a body score of 5 and properly built topline (not fat!).
If you find your horse āneeds grainā or is struggling to maintain weight, I would rule out other reasons first, such as:
-not enough access to forage
-eating low protein/low calorie forage
-ulcers/gut issues
-dental issues
-undiagnosed PPID and other health concerns
-chronic pain or stress that may cause weight loss
Any and all of these can lead to a horse being a āharder keeper.ā
(Side note - a huge thank you to Custom Equine Nutrition for always helping us troubleshoot diet for some of our tough cases, and for sponsoring our SOLD OUT podiatry clinic this fall!! Livestream/Video recording option still available here: https://thehumblehoof.com/product/october-25-26-2025-livestream/ )
Holistic equine hoof care practitioner and natural wellness services along with educational courses.
