As a horse owner, you are eager to see your horse run and jump hurdles but also fear your horse's hoof health. But you're concerned about the developing cracks in the hoof, thinning of the hoof wall, and more. We have got you covered. This blog will list the best hoof supplements for your horse to make it safe and healthy and outshine all the races and hurdles.
Why Does Your Horse Need Hoof Supplements?
Good hoof health is independent of one or two factors. It combines multiple elements, including genetics, breed, nutrition, body weight, environment, exercise, training, and other existing body conditions.
You can't control all the factors, nor can you prevent the development of all the hooves ailment in horses. But you can maintain a horse's diet and supplementation to work effectively in minimizing all sorts of diseased body conditions and hoof.
It is rightly said that a healthy hoof implies a healthy horse, and a poor hoof condition means a horse of no use. Hooves are indisputably the critical part of a horse's body that predicts the performance and quality of the horse.
Before dwelling more on the hoof supplements available and their benefits to the horse, let's discuss the basic structure of the hoof first.
The hoof wall comprises specialized cells connecting called keratin protein. The sole and hoof wall comprises a rigid form of keratin, while the frog region is formed with soft keratin. Complex keratin structure is adjoined with disulfide bonds and is meant to denote the hoof wall strength. In contrast, the part of the frog (soft keratin) is filled with sulfhydryl bonds and is responsible for some flexibility.
Several factors, including genetics, environment, workload, and nutrition, can influence your horse's hooves. A holistic supplement should be chosen to fulfill the demand of different regions and the arrangement of protein in horse hoofs.
Many hoof supplements for horses are available in the market, but we have curated the best out of the many in this blog. We understand the nutritional requirements for keeping your horse's hoof healthy and making them strong, healthy, and resilient.
There is no magical formulation that can guarantee hoof health, but horse hoof supplements can do wonders in making hooves solid and resilient. Horses with hoof problems are aided with adequate nutrition of supplements containing the required amount of biotin, essential amino acids (Methionine, lysine), copper, Zinc, and other trace minerals.
Best Hoof Supplement For Horses
We have filtered the best and most recommended supplements to add to a horse's hoof life and quality.
1. Farnam HB 15 Hoof Supplement- Go-to product for growing the hoof of the horse
Farnam HB 15 is the top recommended brand by veterinarians. Why prefer it over others? Because it is an all-rounder hoof supplement that works well for adult horses, foals, ponies, and pregnant mares.
You can't resist following Farnam's best qualities as a proven hoof supplement:
- Amino acids like lysine and Methionine are essential for hoof development, a prominent part of the Farnam HB 15 hoof supplement.
- The product contains vitamin B6, which helps in efficient amino acid metabolism.
- Its natural qualities of copper and Zinc make the hooves more resilient to bear multiple shocks.
- The product's palatability is rated ten on a scale of 10 by the horse owners who tried it to include it in their horse diet.
- They also provide the already calculated dosage for young to adult animals. You may consult your veterinarian in case of any doubts.
2. Formula 707 Hoof Health Equine Supplement- Comprehensive product for hoof health
Poor quality hooves or deteriorating conditions may seem like irreparable damage to the horse's performance, but a catch is called Formula 707 Hoof Health Equine Supplement.
Every Formula 707 Hoof Health serving is compiled with D-biotin (essential vitamin for hoof health) and amino acids to heal hooves faster.
Why prefer Formula 707 Hoof Health Equine Supplement? Know here-
- This supplement is a comprehensive way to nourish and treat conditions like crumbling or delaminating horse hooves.
- D-Biotin is essential for growing the hoof wall thicker and the sole stronger.
- Formula 707 Hoof Health Pellets are veterinarian-formulated and highly recommended by farriers.
- The supplement's ingredients are scientifically proven to help horses grow and maintain healthy hooves.
3. Farnam Horseshoer's Secret Pelleted Hoof Supplement
As the name says, this product is the secret behind promoting strong, healthy hooves in performance horses.
Know how this pelleted hoof supplement can do wonders for your horse.
- The product claims to help grow and maintain hooves in foals and adult horses.
- Horseshoer's secret supplement contains secret vitamins behind a healthy foot, i.e., biotin, which helps in faster healing.
- An accurate ratio of calcium and phosphorus helps mature the hoof to attain the right size and strength.
- You also get copper, Zinc, yeast culture, and omega-3 & omega-6 fatty acids with superior benefits to horses' hoof and digestive health.
4. Horse Health Vita Biotin Crumbles Horse Hoof Supplement- Promoting healthy hoof growth
A horse's nutritional diet must comprise balanced parts of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and minerals. Biotin is essential in metabolizing all these nutrients to get absorbed properly in the body. Horse Health Vita Biotin Crumbles is fulfilling the nutritional demands of foals to pregnant mares for maintaining a strong hoof wall.
Points to consider before adding the Horse Health Hoof Supplement to your horse's diet:
- Horse Health brand products are finely curated after years of research by experts and hence have a trademark of excellence.
- Horse Health Vita Biotin crumbles are well-suited for pregnant mares and horses of all ages.
- The product comes with instructions for feeding.
- This supplement promotes healthy hoof growth and enhancement of hoof walls in other workhorses.
How to Choose the Right Hoof Supplement for Your Horse?
Horse hooves will go through wear and tear several times in their life. Extreme weather conditions can aggravate the conditions like softened hooves or cracked hooves. As a horse owner, you can't compromise your horse's health to all these inevitable hoof injuries or illnesses. Still, you can prevent these or give your horse needed supplements to recover soon after getting into an adverse hoof condition.
There are several contents to consider while choosing an effective supplement as a remedy for the healthy hoof of the horse:
Essential Amino Acids- Lysine and Methionine-
Essential amino acids are not directly synthesized in the mammal body and are derived through the diet. Lysine and Methionine are essential amino acids, considered the building block of protein.
Lysine is mostly a limiting amino acid in the horse diet. The hoof horn is made up of multiple keratinized (proteinaceous) structures. The lack of lysine in horse diet is directly related to the lack of keratin in hoof building, making it a weak entity.
Similarly, Methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is essential to the hoof's associated protein content. Therefore, the deficiency of Methionine in the diet can cause the horses' feet to be weak and have poor growth.
Supplements containing lysine and Methionine are must-haves in the diet of the horse.
Zinc:-
It helps in keratin production, ultimately combining to form the hoof tissue. Zinc is a trace mineral, but its availability in the feed decides the growth rate of the horse hooves. Zinc also has a preventive role in a supplement. It prevents the brittle hoof wall.
Zinc is responsible for the hoof's epithelial cells' health and helps repair their fastening if damaged.
Check for the zinc deficiency in your horse's diet if your horse has delayed repair of the hoof wall damage.
Copper :-
Along with Zinc, copper helps form disulfide bonds in keratin proteins. These bonds are displayed as the rigidity of the outer hoof wall.
Biotin :-
Biotin, also called vitamin B7, can't directly synthesize in horses. Biotin is essential for hoof growth and strength. It must be included in the horse's diet in the required amount to promote the sticking of newly forming hoof cells together.
Fats :-
Hoof supplement contains fat in one or the other form. The horse's hoof is a rigid structure that needs a shock absorber. Hooves may show premature signs of cracking when the horse is put to work or exercise. The fat layer adds flexibility to the rigid structure of the hoof and prevents the hoof from cracking.
FAQs
Q 1- Do Horses Need a Hoof Supplement?
Ans- Horse hoof supplements can make hooves solid and resilient. Horses with hoof problems are aided with adequate nutrition of supplements containing the required amount of biotin, essential amino acids (Methionine, lysine), copper, Zinc, and other trace minerals.
Q 2- What does a hoof supplement do for horses?
Ans- Best hoof supplements for horses contain essential amino acids like Methionine, lysine, and trace minerals like copper and Zinc, all playing crucial roles in hoof integrity. Also, many hoof supplements have biotin as important content that helps in gluing the hoof wall cells together.
Q 3- How do Hoof Supplements Help in Preventing Cracks?
Ans- Hoof supplements contain trace elements like Zinc and copper, vital for a horse's immune system. Zinc deficiencies in foals can be associated with slow growth and thin hoof walls. Low copper levels are the reason behind the cracked hooves.
Q 4- Do hoof supplements work?
Ans- Research says that supplementing 10-30 mg of biotin daily may help improve your horse's hoof quality and wall strength. This is why hoof supplements containing biotin and other essential nutrients are an intelligent choice for horse owners to get resilient, stronger hooves.
Conclusion
We have discussed the basic structure of hoofs and how hoof supplements can help grow and maintain healthy feet in horses.
You can go with a highly recommended biotin-rich hoof supplement that promotes gluing of hoof wall cells, i.e., the strength of the hoof. Or you can select the most recommended hoof supplements, which contain a combination of essential amino acids and biotin, which helps grow and heal damaged hoof tissue.
You can't rely entirely on a single supplement; instead, you should bring the optimal changes in the horse's diet to observe the changes. Also, it would help if you alleviated other harming factors like environment, exercise load, and negligence of developing illness in the horse's hoof.
Your horse's hooves need immediate help from your veterinarian if they continuously deteriorate. It would be best if you reconstructed the diet chart along with the added supplements and recommended treatment for faster recovery.