Forageplus

06/05/2026

Join us for free information at the next Positive & Bit-Free Horse Group meeting on June 17th. Attend in person or through Zoom.

👇Book your FREE place 👇

Take horse training to a new level with no force, no pain, no anxiety, just clear communication and a horse who wants to engage.

That softness, that relaxation, that “moving like butter” feeling… comes from understanding and calm thinking.

When a horse truly understands the click, it becomes a calm conversation. They start offering, exploring, thinking.

If you haven’t explored this way of training yet… consider this your wake-up call. If you have found it, then join us so we can create a movement for better horse welfare - together.

✨ If you want to learn about building ethical horse training step by step, then join us for the next Positive & Bit-Free Horse Group meeting on June 17th. It’s free to attend in person or through Zoom. Be part of the movement for the highest and most ethical horse training based on scientific welfare principles.

Together we will create a community to support each other’s progress to this level of ridden softness and beyond.

👇Book your FREE place👇

05/05/2026

This conference was THE most up to date information on how to manage horses for NO Laminitis. Thank you for your dedication ECIR Group - Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance

Measurement of basal adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration and of ACTH concentration following administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH; the TRH stimulation test) are the most commonly used diagnostic tests for pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). A large number of very diverse factors can affect ACTH concentrations, and these proceedings review those factors that are most important in the context of PPID diagnosis, together with the potential implications for interpreting test results.

The proceedings from Dr. Ireland's presentation at the 2025 NO Laminitis! Conference are available here: https://www.e-junkie.com/i/14nfx. Download is free.

ABOUT DR. IRELAND
Jo Ireland BVMS PhD CertAVP(EM) FHEA FRCVS'srole at the University of Liverpool is split between veterinary education and research. She is coordinator of four veterinary postgraduate modules for the RCVS Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice, as well as Program Director for the Postgraduate Diploma, and Master's in Veterinary Professional Studies programs. Jo's main research interests are equine epidemiology and internal medicine, particularly geriatric medicine, endocrine disorders, endocrinopathic laminitis and lower respiratory tract disease. Jo is a member of the Equine Veterinary Journal Study Design and Data Analysis Board and Associate Editor for Veterinary Evidence.

A special thank you to our Benefactors for the 2025 NO Laminitis! Conference:

DIAMOND
Custom Equine Nutrition, LLC (Vermont Blend)
Equine Balanced Support
California Trace
Forageplus
Soft Ride Equine Comfort Boots
Hay Chix

PLATINUM
Auburn Labs (APF)
Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners
Mad Barn
Black Horse Spirit
Eleanor Kellon Vmd

GOLD
Triple Crown Feed
Anderson Feed Company (Stabul)
Equi-Analytical
Pure Sole Hoof Products
New England Equine Balance
Great Plains Forage
Jeannean Mercuri - The Hoof Fairy
HorseTech, Inc.
Gutzbusta Slow Feed Hay Nets USA
Nanci Ochi and Dot
SURE FOOT Equine
Fat Pony Feeders
EasyCare Inc. Protective Hoofwear
Hygain
Wandilla Farm and Equine Services
Nutra Horse
Equine Digit Support System, Inc.
Yank Gulch Equine

05/05/2026

Strong hooves always need a high nutrient density diet.

Getting the balance right of magnesium, zinc and copper is critical, not just adding them in, but providing them in the correct ratios, matched to grass and hay, so they can actually be absorbed and used.

Magnesium plays a key role in metabolism and is essential for supporting a well-connected, resilient laminae structure. Zinc and copper are fundamental for keratin formation and hoof integrity, but without balance, absorption is compromised.

Protein drives hoof quality, but it’s not just “protein levels.”

Always we must address the availability of all essential amino acids across the total daily diet. Each element of your horses diet matters for balance and absorption. The body will always prioritise vital organs and systems first… so hooves only benefit when there is enough left over to build strong, durable horn, white line connection and frog health.

Our database of over 12,000 samples of forage shows us what hooves need.

What we typically suggest for hoof support:
• Copper: 400 mg
• Zinc: 1200 mg
• Magnesium: 12 g

Essential amino acids:
• Lysine: 10 g
• Methionine: minimum 5 g

You should increase methionine to 10 g/day where hoof issues are present

Then:
• Increase overall protein by 100 g/day using a quality protein source (500 kg horse)
• Consider adding a full-spectrum essential amino acid supplement (all 9 EAAs)

💡 Feed these amino acids in a small meal after work because this is when the body is most primed to absorb and utilise these nutrients effectively.

Balance first, matched to forage. Then build. That’s how you grow stronger hooves.

💫 Know a friend with a horse with poor hooves? Save this or send this to them 💫

03/05/2026

🤔 ‘Shovelling food’… or applied learning theory?

High-rate, well-timed reinforcement with clear markers builds emotional regulation, not food obsession.

This is reinforcing stillness, soft focus, and patience, shifting horses into a calmer parasympathetic state.

The result?
Horses that can wait, think, and stay polite around food.

Yes… even entire 3-year-olds.

What do you think 😘

02/05/2026

“What’s all this bit-free and food training nonsense got to do with me? I ride and compete just fine thank you very much”.

Then you just scroll on by 🤷‍♀️

I used to do the same and then I opened a door into a world of joy and more possibilities than I ever imagined in my wildest dreams.

So perhaps curiousity will make you open the door, even if it’s only a little crack 😘 👇

Find out what our group explored that will help you, even if you think you don’t need help 😉

Watch our You Tube video: Link in the comments ⭐️👇 open that door 🤩

01/05/2026

Don’t get left behind … the horse world is changing… and it’s happening fast.

Reward-based, welfare-led training isn’t a trend, it’s the future.

Join us and explore how to train with consent, trust, and real communication, both on the ground and in the saddle according to the Five Domains Framework.

✨ Free to attend
📍 Online (Zoom) or in person (Mold, Flintshire)
📅 June 17th | 7–9pm

Are you going to step into the future of horse training?

Join Sarah Braithwaite at the second meeting (online or in person); a free evening exploring non-aversive, choice-based horse training.

01/05/2026

Every mouthful matters if your horse is laminitis prone ……

Laminitis isn’t about total sugar over the day, the science is clear, it’s about insulin spikes from each mouthful.

Every time your horse eats high sugar grass, you risk pushing baseline insulin higher.

And that’s where the danger lies.

For horses and ponies prone to laminitis, controlling insulin levels is everything.

✅ Keep simple sugars + starch below 10% combined
✅ Avoid repeated spikes throughout the day and night
✅ Focus on stable, low-sugar intake

This is why: (and you probably don’t want to hear this 🙉)

❌ Turning out on spring grass is a massive gamble

✅ Feeding hay with a low sugar, high fibre, high nutrient density bucket feed, is predictable and safer especially if the hay has been tested

A proper bucket feed isn’t the problem. Grass is.

Many good doer, laminitis prone horses gain weight from uncontrolled grazing, NOT from a well-designed, low-sugar feed and hay.

At Forageplus, we use bucket feeds strategically:

✔️ High fibre
✔️ Low sugar & starch
✔️ Rich in protein, minerals, vitamins & omega-3
✔️ Matched to what’s missing in forage

We are about supporting metabolic health, not harming it - we are about NO laminitis ever.

We follow ECIR Group - Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistance guidelines because we know what helps prevent laminitis and what doesn’t.

SO …… Don’t chance it.

Choose consistency
Choose matched to hay
Choose high nutrient density
Choose low sugar and high fibre
Protect your horse

30/04/2026

Your horse doesn’t see what you see.
And that matters more than most people realise.

Horses have dichromatic vision so they see fewer colours than we do.

Reds & oranges are unclear
Blues & yellows stand out

That means your horse is constantly interpreting the world differently and colour directly affects how they feel and respond.

What looks “clear” to you… might be confusing, dull, or even worrying to your horse.

Want to make things easier?

Use blues & yellows
Increase contrast
Keep visuals simple and consistent

This is especially important for:
Poles
Jumps
Training setups with mats and cones.

Small changes in colour mean big changes in understanding.

⭐️ Save this for later and share with a friend who will find it useful.

29/04/2026

When I stopped trying to ‘make’ this movement… this happened instead.

A year ago Gatsby was resisting the movement… he was trying to avoid what comes with it.

Because when training relies on pressure, the horse’s focus isn’t on understanding the task…

It’s on one thing: How do I stop this?

That creates a brain in avoidance mode.

A horse scanning for:
the next tap
the next kick
the pressure on the reins

The horse is not learning the movement itself… rather it is learning how to escape the discomfort we create, and that’s where tension lives.

So Gatsby had a tight body and braced movement. He was guessing instead of understanding and boy oh boy did he rush 🙈

So I changed the system.

By using positive reinforcement only I activated a completely different pathway:

The seeking system.

Now the question has become …
How do I get the reward?

That shift matters.

Because seeking is linked to: curiosity, exploration, dopamine and pleasure in learning

Instead of avoidance, you get engagement.

So Gatsby wasn’t pushed through this. He was given the space to figure it out.

At liberty, with the choice to walk away, without pressure, no whip, no make, no human time frame. He learnt where to place his body, how to organise his feet, how to stay relaxed and confident while doing it

He didn’t need to avoid something… but to solve something.

And now?

Under saddle, there’s almost nothing to do.

Because he understands the movement… and he feels safe doing it.

This took time. But time spent changing how a horse feels will always outperform time spent controlling behaviour.

Pressure creates horses that cope.
Positive reinforcement creates horses that think and are calm.

Calm is the presence of understanding because the horse had the control to choose.

How much choice do give your horse?

28/04/2026

Choke in horses is often misunderstood.

It’s not the same as choking in humans when the airway is blocked. In horses the airway isn’t blocked, so even if they choke they can still breathe.
But that doesn’t make choke in horses harmless.

Most cases happen during feeding and are often linked to:
• eating too quickly
• dry feeds that swell
• poor dental function

It’s one of the reasons to train calm in horses being trained using positive reinforcement because an overly emotional horse is likely to eat food, given as rewards, too quickly. Always train calm first to help emotions around food when using R+ with food rewards.

Warning ⚠️ the big risk if a horse chokes is aspiration pneumonia if feed enters the lungs.

If you suspect choke:
Call your vet if the choke has not resolved within 20 minutes and remove all feed.

Prevention is largely management led, calm training around food, adding enough water to dry bucket feeds, feed type, chewing ability, dental health, making sure a bucket feed is given to a horse that has already had access to hay or grass so they don’t eat too fast.

Drop a comment if you have more tips on avoiding horse choke or what you did when it happened to you 👇