
SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF – not just a one trick pony!
SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF and HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free are both extremely versatile fibres and can be fed in lots of different ways and to all sorts of horses and ponies. Both feeds contain short soft chopped fibres, added vitamins and minerals and are especially well suited to good doers, natives and those in light work. Here we have highlighted a few of the different ways that you can feed SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF and HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free to help you decide which is most suitable for your horse or pony.
The whole bucket feed
Both SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF and HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free contain added vitamins and minerals so they can be fed on their own as the whole bucket feed for a high fibre, low sugar and starch option. However, in order to meet your horse or pony’s daily vitamin and mineral requirements (when fed alongside forage) you would need to feed them at a rate of 600g per 100kg of body weight per day. A 250kg pony would need 1.5kg of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF or HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free per day and a 500kg horse would need 3kg per day to achieve a balanced diet from these feeds alone.
Bulking out the bucket
As most of us know, horses or ponies who maintain weight easily on forage alone are often the greediest and finish their teeny portions first, then look longingly at us or bang on the stable door asking for more. Adding a double handful of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF or HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free alongside a feed balancer or broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement is a great way of bulking out the bucket and extending eating time with only minimal calories added to the diet.
As part of the bucket mixed with other feeds
SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF and HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free can be fed alongside a cube, mix or mash containing added vitamins and minerals to contribute to a fully balanced diet. For example, a 500kg horse could have 2kg of SPILLERS High Fibre Cubes and 1kg of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF per day or other similar combination of feeds to make up their 3kg of compound feed.
One Stubbs scoop of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF weighs around 500g
A full or partial forage replacer
SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF and HAPPY HOOF Molasses Free are suitable to be used as full or partial hay/forage replacers. For those who struggle to manage longer fibres such as hay, haylage or grass a full or partial forage replacer can help to keep fibre intake up to maintain condition and digestive health. For some who are at high risk of laminitis using these feeds could be a safer option than variations from NSC in forage sources as they are consistently less than 6% sugar and starch.
We hope this helps you decide whether HAPPY HOOF should be part of your horse or pony’s diet, but if you would like any further information or advice on the most suitable feed for them, please contact our Care-Line on 01908 22 66 26 where our nutrition specialists will be happy to help guide you.