Best supplement for hoof growth?

[saddlesore]

My boy doesn't grow great feet - and grows them slowly! After moving yards and the usual hooling about and pulling shoes off his feet are now quite broken up and because his feet grow so slowly the damage is going to take a while to grow out

Are there any supplements that encourage quality hoof growth?

 

[Black_Horse_White]

Ihave the opposite problem with my lad at the moment. I feed him Baileys low cal balancer. It contains Biotin which you can buy seperate.

 

[saddlesore]

Does biotin help to encourage growth as well as improving the quality of it?

 

[Black_Horse_White]

Think so although not 100% but it certainly works for mine they grow very quickly since he's been on it. Maybe put a hoof moisturiser on too to help with the dryness.

 

[saddlesore]

Cool thanks - wish we had a problem with a dryness up here - sadly its the rain and mud i need to contend with lol

 

[Black_Horse_White]

Just Goggled it, yes it does encourage horn growth. Hope it helps.

 

[MegaBeast]

TopSpec balancer has encouraged my mares hooves to grow much more quickly.

Also use Kevin Bacon dressing.

 

[saddlesore]

Ace. Thankies

 

[S_N]

You could also feed black sunflower seeds.

When choosing a supplement for the feet, look for one that includes biotin and methionine. Cornucrescine do a good hoof supplement, as well as a topical application.

Don't expect to see results quickly though, growing hoof horn takes time! However, if you massage a product like Cornucrescine to the coronet band daily (the Kevin Bacon dressing mentioned is also a great topical product!), you will also help to keep the hoof supple, therefore not just promoting hoof growth, but that of quality horn. If also does wonders for your finger nails!

 

[seabiscuit]

SN- Thats a great tip on the Cornucrescine- I will do that with E!!

Saddlesore- other hoof supplements to consider would be Formula4feet and Naf Pro feet

 

[saddlesore]

Lol, i actually already use the topical cornuscrescine (about twice a week) and use keratex hoof hardener about twice a week too. I've heard great things about the kevin bacon dressing but I was under the impression that it was more suited to hooves that were dry and cracking rather than those suffering from just being poor quality (and exposed to a lot of wet weather!)?
What about combining biotin and seaweed? Do you think that would work?

 

[MegaBeast]

D&H recommended seaweed to me when I asked their feed rep at the stand at Gatcombe when I asked about feeding for hoof quality

 

[saddlesore]

Great - think i'll go for a combination of the two

 

[Jericho]

My boy had collapsed heels so we needed to get his feet growing quickly. He was on Top Spec Como plus extra biotin / zinc / methione supplement and oil even after the first 5 weeks the farrier remarked how much his feet had grown. 4 months on they are still growing very quickly and has hardly any cracks (Bare foot and very dry ground conditions).

I also use Kevin Bacon hoof dressing for moisture

 

[AnnaJ]

I swear by Naff Pro Feet - it's a daily supplement that you just add to feed! Its fantastic and don't think I'll ever use anything else.

Since using it my TB mare has managed to keep her shoes on and her feet are in quite good condition

 

[Paula18]

I have been using formula 4 feet for my boy over the last couple of months and my farrier has seen a noticeable improvement in the growth and strength of his feet. I debated between formula4feet and farriers formula. My vet went for formula4feet and my farrier prefers farriers formula! either way both have been recommended and mine is definitely working well with improvement in a short space of time. My boy loves it so it must be pretty palatable as there has been no problems since i've been adding it to his feed.