Feeding more Biotin will in itself do little if critical amino acids in the total diet are limiting and getting amino acid levels spot on will be to no avail if Calcium, Phosphorus and Magnesium levels, and their ratios are out of kilter. It is these levels and ratios that often appear not to have been addressed when reviewing the many  disappointments horses owners experience in trying to get their horse’s feet right.

This may well be because many off- the-shelf hoof-help products major on Biotin and Methionine with the addition of some non essential amino acids – fine but this does not help with the input of the Major minerals or just as importantly help in attaining Ca:P:Mg balance. To be fair, this balance is often beyond the scope of many small hoof supplements suppliers. The nutritionist who originally formulated the hoof product knows this, however it is the exaggerated claims of the marketeers that cause the disappointments both in expense and in lost of time. It is really aggravating to feed something for months on end that keeps telling you on the packet how wonderful it is, only to find that at the end the horse’s feet have not improved, or not improved sufficiently enough to make a difference. 

To avoid the possibility of wasting time and money, on what can be a long job, we recommend prioritising those parameters of nutrition that can be critically limiting. Then move down to those nutrients that may well be helpful but only so if those parameters higher on the list are attended to, because by analogy fiddling with the windscreen wipers will not help when the car won’t start! 

If much of your preserved and fresh forage is coming off the same land or you buy your forage from the same source for one year, then it is worth having a mineral profile completed. When the results come back from the Lab we can look at the 6 most important balances namely P:Mg, Ca:P, Fe:Zn, Mn:Zn, Zn:Cu and Fe:Cu having first established available P and Cu levels. Then in turn see how the forage balances are affected by the addition of your usual auxiliary roughage in the form of Chop, Chaff or Pulp. Working on a high, medium or low appetite for the size and weight of the horse(s) in question patterns of balance start to show up. To start with small amounts of Chop will not have much difference (not as much as one would expect) unless they contain specific ingredients, so the mineral status of Chopped Hay, Straw or Lucerne can be estimated from book figures, or if it is a proprietary feed, can be given the mineral content stated by the manufacturers (if they say they are not obliged to give you such information tell them you are not obliged to purchase from them.). Then in turn include in the sum total any other feeds that are likely to be fed at certain periods of the year. (Remember we are not necessarily looking at today’s diet but diets that may prevail throughout the year.). More patterns will emerge and it is now you may be able to spot when things are going awry. Some trends likely to effect hoof integrity and growth are more obvious others more subtle.

Moving down the list we can then look at probable DCP intake, Sulphur levels and amino acid levels and balance and then the more singular minerals such as Selenium which are important but are not so dependant on critical balance with others. The further you go down the list the more we have to surmise as we are getting into the area of underlying stress, liver function and hereditary traits etc., nevertheless, with discussion and experience even the effects of these can be considered in the equation so all in all we can arrive at far more correct numbers for our lottery.

It goes without saying of course that really poor feed cannot be fortified or corrected. That is tantamount to pouring custard on to concrete to make it edible, however much custard you pour on the concrete will still upset you. In such cases put the concrete aside! 

If you would like to involve our help in trying to deal with persistent hoof problems that have prevailed despite taking good advice elsewhere, telephone us. The drill is as follows-

Costs

The lab costs for the particular forage mineral profile are not expensive, we need costs around £35 plus Vat and we add 10 % service to this charge to cover communication costs etc.