DO hoof supplements really work?

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EEquine

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My pony has very bad feet and I was wondering if there were any scientifically proven hoof supplements to help his feet grow faster and and stronger?
 
I use NAF Profeet for Jazz, he had a quarter crack on a hind hoof when I bought him. He's been on the Profeet for about 18 months and the crack's now only halfway down his hoof (his feet grow quite slowly) so I've seen a definite improvement.
 
I use NAF Biotin plus for my warmblood, it's not one of the very expensive ones but has done wonders for his feet which were pretty terrible when I bought him.
 
I use NAF Biotin Plus. My gelding's feet are white and tend to be pretty crumbly, especially through summer. It has taken about a year to improve his feet, I don't know if a more expensive supplement would have worked faster, but we stuck with this one and it really has made a difference. Last year he had great chunks crumbling away, and this year his feet were described as 'pretty good' by his new farrier (old one didn't cover our area when he moved).
 
I'm pretty sure straight biotin is the only scientifically proven hoof supplement.

Personally I use a forage plus feed plan based on an analysis of my grazing and hay, which has made a huge difference to both my pony's feet (and coat).
 
There may not be evidence for any particular hoof supplement but minerals like Copper and Zinc (amongst others) and elements like Biotin and Methionine are needed for keratin used in building strong hooves and coat and RDAs have been established scientifically.

If a horse is deficient then it will show in all sorts of areas including feet.


However it's not as simple as just giving the daily RDA of each item as certain minerals have to be in proportion to each other and other block the uptake of some.

So some supplements will work really well for someone but not so well for someone else who has different grass and hay.

Like Laura_nash I have had forage analysed in a few different yards we've been at and once you see how unbalanced a lot of our grass and hay is, it makes perfect sense that you need to add some extras to ensure your horse is getting everything.
 
I think that the importance of good quality protein is underestimated when it comes to hoof quality. You can feed all the supplements in the world, but if you don't have the basic building blocks there to start with, then feeding supplements will not help. Same applies to a good trim and hoof function.

Given the drive to feed just hay, or low carb feed, I think this gets missed in the equation quite a lot.
 
Micronised linseed is a popular 'BF diet' feed and it is a good source of protein. I agree completely that there is more to hoof health than just a good supplement.
 
Faracat said:
Micronised linseed is a popular 'BF diet' feed and it is a good source of protein. I agree completely that there is more to hoof health than just a good supplement.
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I started feeding ML to our poor doer Connie who goes loopy on cereals. Farrier asked whatever was I feeding as so much hoof growth, now they are all on it.
 
Maesfen said:
I had very good results from using Formulae4Feet some years ago; farrier didn't recognize the condition of the feet after just six weeks of feeding it, he was very impressed.
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You get an "improvement" from a dietary supplement in new hoof growth. Sorry, but I don't understand how this is possible.
 
Faracat said:
Micronised linseed is a popular 'BF diet' feed and it is a good source of protein. I agree completely that there is more to hoof health than just a good supplement.
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We have hemp seed cake available here - it is a complete protein and better even than linseed. If you ever get the chance to feed it (not just hemp oil), then I can't recommend it enough.
 
NZJenny said:
You get an "improvement" from a dietary supplement in new hoof growth. Sorry, but I don't understand how this is possible.
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It was because her nutrient requirements were now being met which had been totally lacking in her former home; she was a young Connemara X and as fat as butter but she wasn't in good nick if that makes sense, her diet had been totally very poor grazing all her life, not a nutrient in sight. If you improve the diet with the right things it is going to have a knock on effect and in her case, you could see and feel the improvement to her coronet band in a very short time. It didn't make them any quicker growing but what did grow was much better resilient quality; it took over nine months for her feet to recover from this condition; the cracks were very deep from the coronet down. My farrier did a cracking job with her, sadly I didn't get any of later to show how correct they turned out.
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NZJenny said:
I think that the importance of good quality protein is underestimated when it comes to hoof quality. You can feed all the supplements in the world, but if you don't have the basic building blocks there to start with, then feeding supplements will not help. Same applies to a good trim and hoof function.
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This is a very good point. Related to that, I was advised many years ago that if I was going to buy a biotin supplement I should chose a brand that included the amino acids lysine and methionine. Many do indeed contain at least methionine in addition to biotin, if not lysine (which a horse should get from protein in the diet). The trace element zinc is also thought to be beneficial.

My personal experience with biotin is that it can help improve the quality of growing hoof, but obviously any improvement won't happen overnight.
 
Maesfen said:
It was because her nutrient requirements were now being met which had been totally lacking in her former home; she was a young Connemara X and as fat as butter but she wasn't in good nick if that makes sense, her diet had been totally very poor grazing all her life, not a nutrient in sight. If you improve the diet with the right things it is going to have a knock on effect and in her case, you could see and feel the improvement to her coronet band in a very short time. It didn't make them any quicker growing but what did grow was much better resilient quality; it took over nine months for her feet to recover from this condition; the cracks were very deep from the coronet down. My farrier did a cracking job with her, sadly I didn't get any of later to show how correct they turned out.
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feet001.jpg
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:eek: :eek: :eek: :( . . . those feet are horrific Maesfen! Blimey, you were brave taking those on . . .

P
 
Yes hoof supplements do work. They are just vit n min supps with other bits added like yea sacc or linseed or some other herb.

A healthy horse will produce a healthy foot. An unhealthy horse will produce crap feet.
 
GrayMo was fed Farriers Formula and had Keratex Hoof Hardener put on every day that he was in training. He got awful and cracks - to the extent that they were stapled and he also spent 4months in a box trying to get his feet right. He was being fed 4-5 scoops of racehorse cubes a day (13.5%protein) and 3 rounds of hayledge a day along with a few hours turnout every day.

Since he has been home with me his diet and work load has massively changed obviously and his feet are now fantastic. To the extent that he could happily go barefoot all year round. Except I don't. He has front shoes on for the summer show season for added grip as I don't want him slipping and damaging his tendon again. He is shoeless in winter. He is now fed Alfa A, Topspec Flakes (to start with be was on Bailey's No. 4) speedibeat. His munchy bucket has Hi Fi Alfa A and Barley on it along with as lib good quality hay and 10-12 hours turnout. Along with schooling and general flumfy work. Not hard concushion on the feet which was what was causing the cracks in the first place.
 
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I gave up on hoof supplements. But when I fed my horse top spec complete balancer. Her feet grew properly for the first time in years.
 
BigRed said:
I gave up on hoof supplements. But when I fed my horse top spec complete balancer. Her feet grew properly for the first time in years.
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I have always fed all of mine top spec comprehensive balancer/top spec low calorie chop, hay and grass. They are without shoes, and my farrier always comments on what great condition their feet are in..
 
If you decide to go for the biotin route, OP, rose hips are full of it and are about ready for picking right now if you're down south. I picked bags full today, horse has them as treats/on top of a handful of readigrass. Take the ones from the dog rose that are huge and round. Much easier to get off the bush than the little bullet shaped ones.
 
Cinnamon toast that reminded me of the year I decided to pick and dry rosehips. I too feed them as treats and in a treat ball and the hedgerows are full of them.

I don't have an airing cupboard or similar and research suggested putting them in the oven at a very low heat. The recommendation was 6 to 12 hours They took days to approach anything near dry. I couldn't leave the oven on all the time so had to do it in stages. And it's not like I could do that many at a time as I supposed to spread them in a single layer. I probably used more in electricity than buying them (only cost about £7 or £8 a kilo) never mind trays full of rosehips in my tiny kitchen. Now I let the horses self supplement from the hedge and I buy them.
 
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