Best/Favorite Hoof Supplement

[walktrot]

There has been plenty of research that established biotin, a B vitamin, as the best nutrient for hoof quality. My gelding has pretty good feet, but has shoes in front in part because he needs a 2 degree pad. A couple of years ago he got a teeny-tiny horizontal ding on a rear hoof halfway up the wall.

It looked like it would grow out but a very shallow crack developed after a couple of months. I put him on biotin which took care of the crack, but there was also a significant improvement overall. The farrier says the hoof walls and soles are stronger and thicker. The areas around the nail holes don’t crumble. It takes upwards of a year for the hoof to grow out so you have to allow nature to do its thing.

I use Bioflax 20 from HorseTech.com. The base is food grade ground flax. A serving is a small scoop, about 60 cc for 20 mg per day… Among the things I like about HorseTech is that Rod, the owner, is available by phone or email to help you figure out what is best for your horse. I’m also feeding HylaSport CTS for joints and soft tissue support, and natural vitamin E.

Other things I like about HorseTech are the free shipping, free cookies, and amazing customer service. He always has a booth at Equine Affaire. It is a family business. I like to support “local” businesses over the big box sort of places. Iowa is not local to Maine, but my horse was born in Iowa, which is good enough for me.

[kashmere]

@walktrot

There has been plenty of research that established biotin, a B vitamin, as the best nutrient for hoof quality.

Good point - my custom mix also includes Biotin as it is an excellent addition to diet to improve hoof growth. However, if the diet is deficient in Cu and Zn, or super high in Fe (thus blocking absorption of cu/zn), or super high in sugars which wreaks havoc on laminae, Biotin isn’t going to make up for those issues. Diet has to be balanced before Biotin can work its magic.

[Night_of_Songs]

Dr. Redden’s Biotin 100 with 50 mg DL methionine per serving. Made a difference when multiple other supplements did not.
http://www.nanric.com/product-page/nanric-extra-strength-biotin-100

[JB]

Just know that more than about 20-25mg biotin a day is wasted.

[INoMrEd]

I feed both my horses human grade biotin along with Uckele copper and zinc. My one elderly TB horse is going on 31 years old and despite having Cushing’s, he has great hooves. The other TB is my rescue project horse and he’s been going barefoot for over two years now and also has super strong hard hooves. Here’s the link to the human grade Biotin. I feed 30mg daily . https://www.gootbuy.com/deals/nutricost-biotin-vitamin-b7-10000mcg-240-capsules-gluten-free-non-gmo-coupon

[KnockedOut]

I used HoofRite for years and thought it was the one that provided me with the best, noticeable results. I used it on three OTTBs with great success.

https://www.amicusequine.com/products/hoofrite2x10/

[ladipus]

Some people have mentioned testing the hay and balancing from there…problem is my hay isn’t always from the same fields or same supplier for that matter …so while I could test and see what’s lacking in my current hay by the time I get another load it may be totally different stuff so that’s why I’m looking for a good all around hoof supplement to cover the essentials

[ladipus]

I’m trying to decide between Grand Hoof + MSM , or Horseshoer’s Secret Extra Strength -these both seems to have ample amounts of key ingredients …and higher amounts of copper and zinc compared to most others

[JB]

California Trace has more cu/zn than those 2, double (or more) cu/zn than the Grand Hoof, for example. You can also get a Se-free version (probably a good idea given the current diet), and feed a half or a whole serving. You’d need to do a cost comparison to see what would be more economical.

[Obsidian_Fire]

I use Nu Hoof Accelerator by Select the Best. I also feed Uckele Equi VM as my vitamin/min supp.

I have also used the Horseshoers Secret EX Strength.

ETA: FWIW she grows hoof fast enough to support a 4-week shoeing cycle.

[kashmere]

@ladipus

I’m trying to decide between Grand Hoof + MSM , or Horseshoer’s Secret Extra Strength -these both seems to have ample amounts of key ingredients …and higher amounts of copper and zinc compared to most others

Neither of those supplements has the recommended daily requirement for zinc (335mg). The horseshoer’s secret is ok for copper (recommended daily requirement is 85mg).* The other piece to consider is that if you can’t test your hay, it’s honestly best to assume that your iron (or manganese) content is such that Zn and Cu absorption isn’t optimal and likely needs to be bumped up.

Vermont Blend or Arizona Copper Complete are in the same ballpark price range as these, and will do a WAY better job helping your horse’s feet:

https://customequinenutrition.com/pr…/vermont-blend

https://horsetech.com/equine-supplem…opper-complete

California Trace has a no-selenium option if you are unsure of Se levels (though your local agriculture office can likely tell you whether your area is deficient in Se)

https://www.californiatrace.com/prod…-no-se-powder/ - for $100 bucks you get a $200 day supply of something that is going to be lightyears better than the two options you’re looking at.

I’d highly recommend going with one of those options (or MadBarn if you’re in Canada :)) over Horseshoers Secret or Grand Hoof.

*https://equi-analytical.com/nutrient-requirement-tables/ - here is my source for nutrient requirements!

[JB]

@kashmere

Neither of those supplements has the recommended daily requirement for zinc (335mg).

1lb of the Grow N Win has more than half the RDA of zinc (181mg), depending, of course, on the weight of the horse, which we don’t know, so I’m just using your 335 number. They don’t need to contain all the RDA - these horses are already eating a ration balancer and/or TC Sr (though we don’t know the amounts) plus whatever is in their hay. Maybe that isn’t enough for a gien horse, but without a forage analysis we don’t know how much the current diet has, or the relationships to iron.

California Trace has a no-selenium option if you are unsure of Se levels (though your local agriculture office can likely tell you whether your area is deficient in Se)

Always test the horse for the circulating Se based on the current diet, before supplementing. But I agree, it is very likely you would not want to add another 2mg Se (full dose of CaT), though 1mg might be ok.

[kashmere]

@JB

1lb of the Grow N Win has more than half the RDA of zinc (181mg), depending, of course, on the weight of the horse, which we don’t know, so I’m just using your 335 number. They don’t need to contain all the RDA - these horses are already eating a ration balancer and/or TC Sr (though we don’t know the amounts) plus whatever is in their hay. Maybe that isn’t enough for a gien horse, but without a forage analysis we don’t know how much the current diet has, or the relationships to iron.

Very good point, I cut out any mixed grains/RBs from my diets partly to get rid of added iron/sugar, and partly because it’s miserable for my brain to calculate ratios from too many sources! I tend to kind of forget about them. Whoops! The 335 I used was for a 500kg horse in light work per the NRC - so definitely making assumptions on my part.

From my understanding, Cu and Zn can very safely be consumed at well over the RDA (the supplement I use supplies more than double to combat high Fe and Mn in my soil and water), so given that, I’d think it’s better value for money and more likely to be effective to go with something very high in Cu/Zn than the two supplements already put forward. But it’s definitely true that without a solid understanding of the forage, you’re kind of tossing darts in the dark.

OP - even if analyzing your forage isn’t possible due to multiple sources, if your hay is at least sourced in your general area, your local agriculture extension probably has analysis data that you could use as a baseline. Also

Also wanted to mention that CEN, the company that makes Vermont Blend, also has a plain copper/zinc mix that is really really cost effective, and would be a safe bet if you’re unsure of Se levels: https://customequinenutrition.com/collections/supplements/products/copper-zinc-blend-free-shipping

It’s what I would feed, even being in Canada, if I didn’t have the need to supplement Se and Vit E - adding those in ad hoc ends up being more expensive than having a blend made, annoyingly!

[JB]

Yep, the toxic level for those is in the 6-digit range, so that’s just not going to be a problem with adding “too much”.

I don’t have a hay analysis, I use plain polysaccharide copper and p-zinc, I mix the 2 on a 1:1 volume basis, and feed the mix at a 1/2tsp serving (the scoop that comes with the Uckele and Horsetech products). I don’t remember offhand the mg that gives me of each, you can look it up on their sites. That seems to work well enough here, it definitely reduces coat bleaching a lot, and keeps scratches away from the 1 horse prone to them.

[ladipus]

Thanks for all this helpful info …my easy keeper wb mares get 2lbs/day Gro N Win when in moderate work…these mares are easily 1,300lbs maybe a touch more in the winter …my other wb gelding (who has navicular) is around 1,200lbs he gets 2lbs/day TC Senior and 1lb Gro N Win , a big Tb around 1300lbs (has Cushings ) gets 2lbs TC Senior/1lb Gro N Win, another Tb 1,200lbs gets 4lbs/day Babbington Mills Hunter Omega, and lastly my retired 30yr wb 1400lbs(Cushings) gets 6lbs/day TC Senior /1 lb Gro N Win
I will look into getting my hay analyzed or in the least find out from the local Ag extension what the soil is like in my area because my hay is local.

It looks like the Vermont Blend, California Trace, and the Az Cu Complete by Horsetech seem to be the top choices …my first question is …are they picky eater approved -both Tb’s can be a real pain about supplements so it needs to be quite palatable …and second are these above mentioned hoof supplements ok to give beings so long as there’s not a lot of selenium in my hay/soil if I’m understanding all of this correctly??

[kashmere]

If you’re not sure about Se levels I would go with CA Trace without Se. The high levels of copper can make the supps a little bit bitter - I would recommend introducing gradually. If you can get an idea of the Se levels, I’ve heard that Vermont Blend is super super palatable because of the yeast they use. Both CNE and CA Trace offer samples so you can test your picky eater without investing tons of $$ - I think both offer the samples for free, actually.

The website i linked to - equi-analytical - has great resources for analyzing your diet and how to calculate amts from PPM and mg/kg and various other things that are a real challenge for my English Degree brain. So if you’re overwhelmed at all figuring out how to get the level set on your diets, that’s a great place to go.

I struggled through it at first and found it challenging, but the difference I’ve seen in my horses’ feet has been WILD. I have a navicular mare who has always had typical “TB feet” which I kind of just accepted as being our fate. Between sorting out diet and learning to keep her trimmed myself (so I can stay super on top of keeping the wall beveled and keeping her toes back) she is sound barefoot over gravel and consistently grows a super well connected and strong foot. So it’s been well worth it for me to muddle through learning this stuff!

[brody]

My farrier has one horse here on BMZ.

[ladipus]

@brody

My farrier has one horse here on BMZ.

What is BMZ?

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

@ladipus

What is BMZ?

A Purina product here in Canada:

BMZ is a biotin, methionine and zinc (organic) supplement. A quality hoof care topdress formulated specifically to increase hoof growth and integrity. Methionine is interchangeable with cysteine, a major amino acid of keritin, which is the main protein in connective tissue, such as hoofwall. Research has demonstrated that hoof integrity is directly related to zinc content in the hoof wall.

Contains 20 mg of biotin per serving.

https://equipurina.ca/en/products/supplements/bmz/

[WNT]

I had excellent results with Focus Hoof from Source. I struggled with my late TB’s hooves from the day I got him in 2005. We tried Farrier’s Formula with meh results early on. We made do for several years, just writing them off as “TB feet, whattya gonna do?”.

Then it hit the fan, that his hooves literally could not hold a nail. The farrier didn’t believe they’d hold up to glue ons, either. He described it as trying to set a nail in wet cardboard. I’d happened to start him on the Focus Hoof as a test to see if the Cu/Zn would help keep his coat from bleaching a couple weeks prior. Well, the fading test went out the window as he spent that summer in during the day and out overnight in boots. He only went out in boots for almost a year while his hooves grew out. I kick myself for not getting before, during, and after pictures as his feet grew out; the difference in the wall quality was night and day. You could see the difference in the horn density as it grew out.

Through all of this, he was getting 4-6 lbs of Triple Crown Senior and usually 1/2-1 lb of a 25% fortified fat supplement, as well as oil and beet pulp over the winter. On paper, he SHOULD have been getting what he needed, but that horse NEVER read the paper. Anyway, I kept him on it for about three years, until money became quite tight and I dropped it. According to the farrier that had worked on him before, during, and after the “wet cardboard” episode, until the day he died that farrier said he had some of the toughest hooves he trimmed (and he stayed comfortably barefoot the last three years of his life, which I never imagined happening).

tl;dr, Source’s Focus Hoof worked wonders for my crappy-hooved thoroughbred.