In order for a horse to have healthy hooves, like they have in the wild, we need to change our ideas on feed. I personally think it is best to educate yourself and make an educated decision on what feeding regimen is best for you and your horses.
Most horse owners know that horses are meant to graze continuously throughout the day, constantly moving their feet! Forage is meant to be the bulk of their diet. Seems like a no brainer. But:
With a few big, sugary meals and stalled horses with limited turnout, our horses overall health is suffering and so are their hooves!
The equine digestive system is NOT built to handle high amounts of NSC's or non-structured carbohydrates(sugar). This is one of the reasons we are seeing so much Laminitis and other hoof pathologies in our horses.
When you feed a sweet feed, or molasses based complete feed, you are spiking that horses insulin, and 9 times out of 10, that horse doesn't get the exercise needed to burn off that kind of sugar. They simply dont need it!
I am not an equine nutritionist, so I have compiled some links with GREAT articles on equine nutrition. They certainly helped me when I became more aware and curious about the feeding game!!!
http://safergrass.org/ This site is VERY good!
http://harmanyequine.com/holistic_equine_
http://.naturalhoof.co.nz/nutrition.html Good article
http://.equinewellnessmagazine.com/art/aV11_26.php Good article
Happy reading!!