Is biotin helpful?

[Clodagh3110]

Anyone know if the biotin supplement fo horses hooves is actually any good, just bought a horse and her feet weren’t in great shape, wondering if it’ll actually do any good for her

 

[Gloi]

There's better things to feed than just biotin for feet. A healthy horse can make its own biotin in its gut.
You need a good supplement with copper and zinc with low iron. I like Pro hoof from progressive earth though there are other good ones

 

[Clodagh3110]

There's better things to feed than just biotin for feet. A healthy horse can make its own biotin in its gut.
You need a good supplement with copper and zinc with low iron. I like Pro hoof from progressive earth though there are other good ones

Thanks, I have her on a seaweed supplement for vitamins etc and linseed oil for her coat was wondering if there was anything good to help improve the strength of her feet

 

[Gloi]

Have a look through the many threads on here on barefoot horses and you will get lots of info.

 

[PoppyAnderson]

Seaweed not really recommended. Look at equimins hoof mender, pro earth or forage plus.

 

[ycbm]

Thanks, I have her on a seaweed supplement for vitamins etc and linseed oil for her coat was wondering if there was anything good to help improve the strength of her feet

Seaweed is not recommend any more for feet. The explanation I read is that it is high in iron, as is most UK grazing, which then suppresses the uptake of copper, which is needed for insulin regulation, which then affects horn quality.

You would be better off feeding one of the supplements that counteracts the high iron in grazing and forage. My preference is the ForagePlus one.

Equimins unfortunately has history of selling stuff which is not what it says on the label, and their supplements can also vary quite significantly in appearance and smell from one batch to the next.
.

 

[Clodagh3110]

Seaweed is not recommend any more for feet. The explanation I read is that it is high in iron, as is most UK grazing, which then suppresses the uptake of copper, which is needed for insulin regulation, which then affects horn quality.

You would be better off feeding one of the supplements that counteracts the high iron in grazing and forage. My preference is the ForagePlus one.

Equimins unfortunately has history of selling stuff which is not what it says on the label, and their supplements can also vary quite significantly in appearance and smell from one batch to the next.
.

Ya the seaweed is for vitamins not her hooves

 

[ycbm]

Ya the seaweed is for vitamins not her hooves

It doesn't matter what you feed it for, it's got too much iron in it and that can affect the feet whether you mean it to or not.
.

 

[lynz88]

Zinc, copper, and mag ox for feet. I feed a full balancer (forage plus) rather than any of these individually. Have also added MSM as have read it can be good for feet but I feed it primarily for aches and pains (which is my magic go-to....has never let me down). My understanding is that horses can make their own biotin.

 

[TPO]

Ya the seaweed is for vitamins not her hooves

High iron i.e. seaweed is bad for hooves.

If you remove the seaweed you will probably start to see an improvement in the hooves.

The seaweed should be replaced by a low iron high spec vit/min balancer like Pro Balance from Progressive Earth (website and eBay shop) or a Forage Plus balancer (website)

If you feed a recommended vit/min balancer then you do not need a separate supplement for hooves.

In answer to your question feeding biotin alone is not enough to improve hooves. It needs to be fed in a balanced ratio to other substances.

Micronised linseed is a better source of omega 3 than the oil. I think k it works out cheaper too as 20kg of micronised linseed is approx £20-25.