Essential minerals
I have been using a custom mineral mix devised by Carol Layton, an independent equine nutritionist, for several years now and can attest to the improvement in my horses’s overall health. Gone are the days of poor coats, seasonal skin conditions and mud fever.
However not everyone is able to buy a large batch of hay or cut their own to have it tested so the minerals can be balanced, which is what I had Carol do for me.
As more people were requesting a basic mineral mix Carol put together her ‘Best Guess’ based on the results she was seeing from pasture and hay tests from around Australia. This product soon showed great results with improved coats and hooves most notably. The main ingredients are Copper, Zinc and Iodine along with plain salt (Carol recommends Olssons from your stockfeed supplier) that you add yourself to save on extra postage costs.
Then for those horses with real problem hooves and insulin resistance Carol made up a ‘Hoof Rescue’ mineral mix which has Magnesium, Calcium and Phosphorous in addition to Copper, Zinc and Iodine.
Most mineral mix products contain a smorgasbord of nutrients that are known by many nutritionists as the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ type. On a high pasture/hay diet, many of these nutrients are unnecessary and simply make expensive manure.
Rather than pass on expensive packaging costs, the price is kept low by using a strong and durable, high quality plastic bag but once you have the mix, it’s better to put the minerals in a bucket with a tight fitting lid so that you can periodically shake it up to ensure the contents are mixed well.
Both products will last 1 horse approx. 6 months at the recommended dose so the cost works out to a very economical 22 cents per day for the Hoof Rescue and 19.5 cents per day for the Best Guess.
You can now purchase these value for money minerals from the Natural Horse World Store and to contact Carol or find out more visit her website at www.balancedequine.com.au
What would you recommend I mix our best guess with?? Chaff?
Chaff is a good place to start, but you may also need something extra that tastes good and is wet to combine the minerals. I use Coolstance Copra meal which you soak, and is low in sugars/starch so won’t be a problem for most horses. It also smells great 🙂
You could also use some soaked oats, chopped carrot, or either beet pulp or soy hulls but these may take a bit of getting used to.
It’s best not to use a pre-made feed mix or pelleted feed as they usually have added minerals which may cause a mineral imbalance.
Hi would this be beneficial for seedy toe? Our Arab cross developed this last year following a bout of stress lami after a jaw injury. Nightmare! It’s returned this year and we are desperate to find something that works. Also do you ship to the UK?
Hi Marie,
Yes balanced minerals, high in copper and zinc vertainly do help with seedy toe. Sadly, thes hipping ocsts are too high to make it economical for us to ship to the UK. If you can find an equine nutritionist who has studie with Dr Eleanor Kellon, they may be able to help you with a custom mineral mix that you can purchase the ingredients for locally. Remember also that seedy toe alos needs regular hoof trims and external treatment – you can read more about it here: /cure-seedy-toe/
Cheers, Cynthia.
I can attest to Carol’s hoof mix & have been recomending it to friends. My horses have never looked better. Their shiny coats, stronger hooves & weight gain is excellent.
Great to hear – thanks for the feedback Carla.
It is the end of August and I need to buy the winter’s worth of stock feed. How much would it cost to feed three full grown horses for a typical winter? They are just family horses that don’t require anything special in the way of dietary feed.
https://www.aussierockmen.com.au/Stockfeed
HI Bryan,
I’d need a bit more info to be able to help you, but basically, mature horses not in hard work generally need lots of roughage in the form of grass or hay (not lucerne) and access to a salt lick all the time. The only reason to feed them any grain type feed is if you want to feed some minerals (which most horses need because the soils in Australia are deficient in general) so I’d recommend our https://www.naturalhorseworldstore.com/best-guess-mineral-mix/ fed with a small amount of Coolstance Copra and oaten chaff. They would go through a 25kg bag of Copra and chaff every month, and if you have very little grass, a large round bale of hay every week to 10 days.
I hope this helps as a starting point.
Cheers, Cynthia.
Is there anywhere to buy this in the US so we don’t have $80shipping cost?
Hi Heather,
At this point there isn’t anywhere in the USA to buy these products and the closest we can recommend is the California Trace mix https://californiatrace.com/catrace.html
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Cynthia.
Can you please tell me what salt to add to the best guess. Does it have to be table salt?
Hi Sandra,
It can be any type of plain salt including table salt (but less refined is better) and the most economical method is to buy stockfeed salt or pool salt. If you buy a 20kg bag, you will also be able to also offer it as a loose lick if you have somewhere under cover as this is the ideal way to ensure your horse is getting what they need.
Have just purchased the hoof rescue mineral mix supplement, my horse is always getting thrush in his hoof/frog , what feed back have you had regarding this product with thrush
Hi Robyn,
We have just had this feedback come in specifically about thrush so lets hope you see the same results after feeding Hoof Rescue for a few weeks.
“Happy horse owner (sadly no photos)
I’m so happy with your hoof rescue mineral mix supplement!! I just checked the 3 horses feet after an epic wet spell we’ve had, where they’ve not had dry feet for 2 weeks straight – normally I’d be staring at a stinky black thrushy mess, but their frogs and hooves are looking better than they ever have looked – not worse, and there is no stinky smell! Their paddocks are muddy and their track has puddles along it. Normally this would mean thrush in all 12 hooves/frogs. I can’t tell you how happy I am, or how many hours/$ I’ll save not having to soak and treat their hooves! I have literally battled thrush for years – it seems you may have solved this persistent problem for me. In addition to having better hooves, their coat colours have darkened up too, especially my dark brown stockhorse – he’s approaching black.
So, so happy! Thank you so much for developing this “one size fits most” supplement. I’ll let you know of any further developments. Fiona Bullivant”
Appreciate the response Cynthia , I shall let you know the benefits he has obtained after using the product. I am treating his feet now with a great thrush killer but it keeps on coming back when I stop the treatment. It makes me wonder how many issues could maybe be caused in the gut and from not the proper nutrition. THANKS