No hoof, no horse – inside out is best
I have had increasing queries about hoof quality issues in our equine friends and the one common denominator is that the base nutrition is suboptimal.
Nutrition is never the whole story when it comes to improving poor feet in a horse but it certainly is responsible for part of the puzzle. The overall condition of a horse’s feet is governed by many factors including farriery, nutrition and genetics.
There is no one silver bullet for feet problems and a well-balanced diet must be the start point when tackling this issue.
Hoof structure
Studies into the composition of hoof wall have shown that hoof wall is around 93% protein on a dry matter basis.
The composition of this protein is mostly keratin, which is the same structural protein as in our own nails. The sulphur bearing amino acids, of which one is methionine, are important for the structure of the hoof wall. Hoof wall also has a high proportion of zinc at 136 parts per million (ppm).
Looking at the above, it is easy to understand why the majority of hoof supplements contain methionine and zinc. Unfortunately, there is more than one amino acid that makes up the structure of the hoof and a deficiency of any of them can cause problems.
General health
The hoof is an extension of the horse’s skin and as such any improvement made to one will be made to another. If your horse has a naturally shiny and healthy looking coat the chances are that he also has good feet and vice versa.
If your horse has problem feet the first thing to assess is that his diet is not deficient in any way. This includes energy.
Studies in the US have shown that horses that are in an energy deficit have poor hoof quality and retarded hoof growth. A huge difference can be made to the quality of the hoof horn by making sure that the diet is sufficient in energy.
The majority of the horses in the UK have no issues with energy supply!
As mentioned above, the horse’s foot compromises of 93% protein and it should come as no surprise to hear that the biggest culprit when it comes to poor hoof quality is a lack of quality protein.
Protein has, generally speaking, been given bad press but protein is crucial for healthy coat and hooves. It is the quality of the protein that is important and by that I mean the provision of amino acids or ideal protein (e.g. lysine, methionine, threonine etc).
Quality protein can be provided by synthetic amino acids, hipro soya or linseed meal and, preferably, a bit of both. If you were ever in any doubt as to the effect that ensuring the correct provision of protein has on your horse’s feet, just look at the effect of spring grass; hoof growth increases and quality of horn improves and horses take on a general bloom.
The effects of ‘Dr Green’ are mostly down to the protein content of spring grass.
Supplementation
For healthy hooves and skin it is crucial that the horse is not deficient in any trace elements, major minerals (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium) or vitamins.
A deficit of any of the trace elements can affect hoof quality and therefore mustn’t be overlooked. The first step if you horse has poor hoof quality should be to ensure that all his mineral requirements are being met by feeding him a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement (eg Harbro One Scoop) or appropriate balancer pellet.
This may very well resolve your issues in itself but at any rate adding a hoof supplement won’t help if these basics are not in place.
Biotin
The majority of research has focused on biotin as a cure all for hoof issues.
The NRC recommendation for biotin is 2-3mg/day for a 500kg horse. Studies have shown, however, that some horses with genetically poor hoof quality can benefit from supplementation with biotin at 20mg /day – where an improvement is seen in hoof strength and growth after 4-5 months.
Zinc methionine has also been shown in studies to benefit some horses when supplemented. The reason that the results of using a supplement containing just biotin, methionine and zinc are so variable in reality is because the boxes haven’t been ticked for all the other trace elements and vitamins (and of course protein).
Connective and supportive tissue
One part of the equation that is often forgotten is that a complex structure like the hoof and all the pressures that it is under, also has to have healthy tendons ligaments etc that help to maintain hoof capsule integrity.
With this in mind collagen becomes important for bone, tendon, muscle and cartilage health as does MSM for the same reasons. It is important to the manufacture of collagen.
The whole story
It seems, then, that in order to improve your horse’s hoof health, the best route is to improve his general health by making sure that he is not deficient in anything.
What is the best way to do this? The best way to ensure you provide all that your horse requires is to select a fully supplemented feed that is appropriate for the level of work and feed it at the recommended level.
If you cannot feed the full recommended level then ensure that you top up with a vitamin and mineral supplement or your horse will be deficient.
If your horse gets fat on a good view then your best plan of action would be to feed a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement (Harbro One Scoop) at the full recommended rate along with a chop.
Many horse’s feet improve just by doing this. If all this still doesn’t improve your horse’s feet then it is time to look to a good quality hoof supplement that covers all the bases above. Check out Harbro Hoofcare which ticks the above boxes and more besides.
The most effective way to improve your horse’s feet is to take an holistic approach and ensure that he is not deficient for protein, vitamins, minerals or trace elements.
Remember it may be at least nine months before you see large improvements in the condition of your horse’s feet.