Hi Dr. Getty (and all),

I was hoping you might have a suggestion about what to use as healthy clicker treats for a horse with a history of foot problems. He's been off for 7 months so far battling caudal heel pain and LF distal coffin bone decent, but he's thankfully mostly recovered now.

When I first started out, I was using thin slices of carrot, but they have a bit much sugar in them for me to be comfortable feeding 2-3 large carrots a day now. I had moved onto a small handful of beet pulp pellets (ours are very small, 1.5cm x 0.5 cm cylinders), and that seemed to be fine, but after getting them assayed they turned out to be disturbingly high in iron.

Any thoughts would be gratefully appreciated.

Cheers,
Adam

Where are you from? Calgary, Canada

How did you locate this forum? Friend who has consulted with you

Hi Adam,
Have you thought about Alfalfa pellets?

Just a thought
Jenni

Where are you from? Canada

How did you locate this forum? internet search

Hi Jenny,

That's close to what I think would be ideal, though I'd like to stay away from alfalfa. I've read too many negative side effects of alfalfa for horses with compromised feet.

Good thought though, thanks for mentioning that.

Cheers,
Adam

Where are you from? Calgary, Canada

How did you locate this forum? Friend who has consulted with you

Here something interesting I recently discovered. If you take wheat bran, add some water, and then allow it to dry it will harden into a "cookie" all by itself. You can add some rice bran as well and it will still harden. Be warned about two things with this recipie. Wheat bran and rice bran are high in phosphorus, but if the rest of your horse's diet has an ample supply of calcium it shouldn't be a problem. Also know that adding water does destroy some of the nutrients. Just another recipie for you.

Where are you from? California

How did you locate this forum? google

Just a suggestion ~ try a few cheerios. I get the plain cheerios for my horses and give them each less than 1/4 cup after our trail ride as a treat. They love them!

Where are you from? Illinois

How did you locate this forum? friend

Hello Adam,

Well, you certainly have gotten lots of suggestions!

Here's a couple more... apple peels or sunflower seeds. Apple peels are mostly fiber and do not have the sugar content like apples. Sunflower seeds are a great source of nutritious fatty acids and fiber as well, without the starch.

Happy clicking!

Dr. Getty

Thanks very much for all the ideas folks, very appreciated!

Where are you from? Calgary, Canada

How did you locate this forum? Friend who has consulted with you