horses hooves

Essential Nutrition for Hoof Health

We’ve all heard the saying “no foot, no horse” and, if you’ve ever owned a horse with poor feet, you will know how frustrating it is not to be able to ride because they have thrown a shoe again.

Poor hoof horn quality can present as cracked hooves, brittle feet, soles prone to bruising and abscesses, and general lameness. Just as there are many ways that poor hoof horn quality presents itself, there are also many reasons why a horse may have poor hoof horn quality.

Structure of the horse’s hoof

The horse’s hoof is a specialised structure which support’s the horse’s bodyweight, absorbs concussion and resists wear. The external hoof, or hoof capsule doesn’t have a blood supply and is made up primarily of a keratin-based tissue like horns and claws in other animals. This is why the horse doesn’t feel any pain when the farrier trims the hoof.

The external hoof capsule is made up of the hoof wall, the sole and the frog. The hoof wall grows throughout the life of the horse to account for wear and tear of the hoof that is in contact with the ground. The hoof wall grows down from the coronet band at the rate of 8-10mm per month which means that it takes 9-12 months for the new hoof to grow down to the bottom (Pollitt, 1990).

Factors affecting hoof horn growth rate and quality in horses

There are several factors that can influence the quality of hoof horn in horses including inherited factors like conformation, environmental factors that affect moisture levels in the hoof, management factors including farriery, and diet. When addressing issues with hoof horn quality it is therefore important to consider all these areas as targeting one in isolation might not be effective in making improvements to hoof growth and quality of hoof horn.

Diet and hoof health

It is important to provide all horses with a balanced diet for their general health and wellbeing including hoof quality. Whilst supplying plenty of energy for the leisure horse, UK pasture and forage commonly lack the trace minerals copper, selenium and zinc and so these nutrients should be supplemented via the bucket feed. A balanced diet can be provided by feeding the recommended quantity of a feed fortified with vitamins and minerals appropriate for your horse’s bodyweight and workload. For those that hold weight well, a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer alongside a low-calorie fibre feed is an appropriate option.

If you have a horse with poor hoof quality, working with a nutritionist is key to understanding if your horse’s diet is truly balanced. As part of this evaluation testing the forage you use to see what mineral levels are present is also very valuable. Identifying any shortfalls would help to understand more about why your horse’s hoof quality is compromised. This is particularly valuable if the mineral levels in your soil are not typical of average UK levels.

Nutrients specific to hoof health in horses

Whilst a balanced diet is important to overall hoof health, there are certain nutrients that are known to be particularly important for promoting hoof horn growth and quality.

Biotin

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that is commonly recognised as being beneficial for horses with poor hooves. Like other B vitamins, biotin is produced by the micro-organisms that live in the horse’s hind gut as they break down fibre.

When plenty of fibre is fed, a healthy population of micro-organisms can usually provide sufficient biotin to meet the basic requirements of horses and ponies. Poor-quality hooves can therefore be indicative of an unhealthy digestive system, which might occur as a result of restricted fibre intake. This is most common in performance horses and sometimes good doers so it is really important to maximise fibre intake in these individuals by choosing the most appropriate type of forage for them.

Several research studies have been conducted to identify the level of biotin that can help to address poor hoof horn quality. One study found that supplementation with 15mg of biotin per day over a 10 month period achieved increased hoof hardness and greater growth rates than horses supplemented with 7.5mg per day (Buffa et al, 1992), whereas another study found that continuous supplementation with biotin at 20mg per day over a 3 year period reduced the severity of hoof horn defects, increased tensile strength and improved the condition of the white line (Josseck et al, 1995). This information suggests that between 15 and 20mg per day should help to generate healthy hooves.

Zinc

Zinc is involved in the health and integrity of hair, skin and hoof. Hooves require zinc for the prevention of defective keratin, the tough material found in the outer layers of hoof and skin. If keratin is not properly formed, the hoof will be soft and brittle.

Research carried out by Coenen (1997) found that horses with insufficient hoof horn strength had less zinc in the hoof horn and plasma than horses with no hoof horn damage.

The form in which zinc is added to feeds and supplements could impact on the quality of your horse’s hooves. Zinc is a trace mineral, which is vulnerable to interactions with other minerals in the digestive system when in an inorganic form. Chelated zinc is an organic form of the mineral, which is achieved by attaching it to a peptide or amino acid. This process improves the absorption of the zinc, so tends to result in better health and condition of tissues such as hooves.

It can be tempting to think ‘the more the merrier’, when feeding nutrients to promote hoof health. However, there are many circumstances where minerals compete for the same transport mechanisms and these mineral interactions mean that if one mineral is fed at a significantly higher level it may result in a deficiency of another. Zinc and copper are two minerals that compete for the same binding site and feeding significantly higher amounts of zinc can result in a deficiency of copper. Based on the requirements set out in the Nutrient Requirements of Horses (2007) meeting the requirements for zinc and copper results in a ratio of 4 parts zinc to 1 part copper.

Calcium

Calcium is a mineral essential for proper bone development, but it is also required for cell-to-cell attachment in the hoof horn. Calcium is linked very closely to phosphorus and the ratio of these two minerals in the diet is also crucial – ideally, a 2:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio should exist.

In a study conducted at the Royal Dick Vet School by Dr Sue Kempson (1987), two different problems with hoof horn were identified. The first was described as a lack of horn in the outer layers and showed improvement when biotin was added to the horse’s diet. The second, described as lack of good keratin attachment, improved only when calcium intake was increased alongside the biotin. In this study, the calcium was increased by adding in alfalfa, which is a naturally abundant source of highly available calcium.

The most common reason for diets being low in calcium is when high levels of straight cereals like oats are fed which are high in phosphorus. Linseed which is commonly added to horses rations as a straight also has an inverse calcium to phosphorus ration. Adding alfalfa when feeding straights is an easy way to help create a better calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. A 1:1 ratio of alfalfa to linseed or oats by weight helps to produce a 2:1 ratio in the bucket feed.

Methionine

Whilst evidence from research is lacking, methionine is another nutrient regularly recommended for improving hoof quality based on its dietary role. Methionine is a sulphur containing essential amino acid and a major structural component of proteins and enzymes in the body. Keratin is made up of many proteins and contains the essential amino acid methionine. It therefore stands to reason that a low intake of methionine would impact hoof quality.

The methionine requirement has yet to be determined in the horse. Generally, it is assumed that if horse’s overall protein and energy requirements are met, including for lysine which is the one essential amino acid that requirements for the horse are known, that the horse’s intake of other essential amino acids will be adequate.

The horse’s natural source of essential amino acids is forage which can offer variable levels; for example alfalfa is a relatively abundant source of lysine and methionine compared to grass as it is a legume and therefore able to fix nitrogen from the environment which it converts into protein which it incorporates into its own tissue.

Horses and ponies that are most likely to miss out on essential amino acids including methionine are those that are on restricted diets for weight management reasons.  Restricted grass access, lower forage intakes, the inclusion of straw in the diet, and soaked forages can all contribute to a sub-optimal intake of essential amino acids which can be addressed by the addition of a high specification feed balancer alongside the forage ration.

Methyl Sulphonyl Methane (MSM)

MSM is another commonly used source of bio-available sulphur in hoof supplements for horses. MSM is naturally occurring in animals and plants but, like many ingredients, is manufactured for use in feeds and supplements so it is consistent and affordable. The sulphur that MSM supplies is incorporated into tissues such as collagen and keratin and it is the latter that helps to improve the horse hoof condition.

Beware the footy horse

Whilst poor hoof quality can affect your horse’s soundness, changes in the level of comfort on uneven or stoney terrain or being ‘footy’ can also be a sign of laminitis which requires urgent veterinary attention.

There are some myths online that certain feed ingredients such as alfalfa are linked to footyiness for which there is no scientific basis particularly as alfalfa is naturally low in sugar and starch. A footy horse is a sign of a chronic problem, not that one particular feed doesn’t suit them. Sub-clinical laminitis may be apparent as “footyness” which is most likely due to hormonal changes from chronic obesity or PPID and a low sugar and starch ration is advised as well as achieving a healthy weight.

Key Takeaways

References