Barefoot peeps - do you feed biotin?

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dalidaydream

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I've recently had my pony's shoes removed and I'm trying to make sure he has a good diet. At the moment he's getting:-

Fast Fibre
Hi Fi Molasses Free
Forage Plus Summer Balancer
Turmeric
MSM
Protexin
Hay soaked overnight and 5 hours turnout in a grazing muzzle

He's getting the turmeric and MSM because he has had tendon problems and stiffness in his back legs. I was also feeding a joint supplement but cut this out when I found out Glucosamine could make horses footy. I've also cut out the Equimins Biotin Plus he was on because it contains large amounts of zinc as does the Forage Plus balancer. My plan was to try him on rosehips should he need something extra for the stiffness because it is supposed to be a natural source of biotin but when I looked it up it contains so many other vits and minerals I thought it might mess up the balance I'm already feeding him.

So my question is does he need biotin at all and if so does anyone sell just straight biotin with nothing else added?

Thanks in advance.
 
No but I feed Brewer's Yeast which is a natural source of Biotin and also fulfills a similar role as the protextin and it's really cheap.

I also give a handful of rosehips in a treatball because they are better than putting sugary nuts or similar in there.
 
Of course I should've thought of FP, thank you.

Hoof wall quality is good at the moment. What worries me is he's had the biotin up 'til now and really I've no way of knowing if the biotin has done any good without not feeding it and then by the time I find out if it was doing some good he could have problems which will take months to sort out. If that makes any kind of sense at all :confused:
 
No, I was told (by someone who knows his stuff - bsc, researched equine hooves) that not a single horse ever tested in the UK was found to be deficient in biotin.

Just think how much expensive biotin supplement gets pissed out by horses all over the UK!
 
Faracat said:
No, I was told (by someone who knows his stuff - bsc, researched equine hooves) that not a single horse ever tested in the UK was found to be deficient in biotin.

Just think how much expensive biotin supplement gets pissed out by horses all over the UK!
Click to expand...

You see, I thought I'd read that somewhere on here but couldn't find it again. I know that when I was feeding a general hoof supplement his hoofs didn't improve at all, it was only when I switched to Biotin Plus that I saw a marked improvement but it could also have been the MSM as I started feeding that at the same time.

I think I might try him without it for a while and see how we go.

Thanks for all replies :)
 
Whatever supplement you try, remember that it will only effect the new growth. If your horse takes approx 9 months to grow a whole new hoof, then you can see how it's a long term thing.

I changed from a molassed chaff to a non molassed one, and all of my horses have better hoof quality starting to grow down.
 
Faracat said:
Whatever supplement you try, remember that it will only effect the new growth. If your horse takes approx 9 months to grow a whole new hoof, then you can see how it's a long term thing.

I changed from a molassed chaff to a non molassed one, and all of my horses have better hoof quality starting to grow down.
Click to expand...

I started the biotin and MSM about 2 years ago so they've had plenty of time to work but this is why I'm nervous about stopping feeding something that is supposed to be essential for hoofs. A joint supplement for example you can see almost immediately whether or not it's working.

Obviously, if our horses are not deficient in biotin the manufacturers have done a pretty good marketing job on us :)

Maybe I should stop worrying about pony's diet and start worrying about my own :D
 
I think there was one study in Europe that concluded the hooves grew better when provided with biotin.

And thus a whole industry of biotin supplements was born :rolleyes:

I feed it on the basis that it was recommended for my particular forage and horse's needs.

But generally horses synthesize B vitamins from their own internal bacteria.

Humans can't do this and need to get it from food.

Horses win. Humans fail :D
 
Thanks Oberon, on that basis I think I'll definitely cut it out and see how we go.

Damn clever those horses but not as clever as those humans who developed the supplements :D
 
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