Hoof Supplements: Feeding The Feet

Fed in the recommended amounts, the vast majority of hoof supplements will do no harm to your horse, but beware of feeding higher levels than suggested on the label, or doubling up with multiple supplements.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Hoof supplements are big business. It only takes a cursory glance around any tack shop or feed store to realize that they’re everywhere. They’ve got catchy names and labels, and lists of ingredients as long as your arm, all purported to help your horse grow tougher, shinier, more durable hooves.

Poor hoof quality is a complaint common to the owners of many types of sport horses, with Thoroughbreds likely being the worst offenders. And we all know the adage, "no hoof, no horse." So, it’s natural that we look to nutrition to address our horse’s pedal infirmities. But what do we really know about how nutrients translate into hoof horn?

Some of the feed ingredients promoted as hoof strengtheners do, in fact, have some dependable research behind them; others are based only on folklore or a manufacturer’s assertions. Let’s have a look at where your money is best spent

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Karen Briggs is the author of six books, including the recently updated Understanding Equine Nutrition as well as Understanding The Pony, both published by Eclipse Press. She’s written a few thousand articles on subjects ranging from guttural pouch infections to how to compost your manure. She is also a Canadian certified riding coach, an equine nutritionist, and works in media relations for the harness racing industry. She lives with her band of off-the-track Thoroughbreds on a farm near Guelph, Ontario, and dabbles in eventing.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
278 votes · 278 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!