The equine hoof is very metabolically active tissue. A healthy adult horse will grow 6-10mm of new hoof each month. To support such active growth the horse needs good quality nutrition: any deficiencies in the horse's diet soon become apparent in the hoof. Thin walls, thin soles, flaking, cracking, chipping, breaking and slow hoof growth can all be a result of dietary deficiencies.

Hoof  Support has been developed by eQuus Care Nutrition.  Created by a Professional Barefoot Trimmer who found she was constantly asked by her clients for a hoof supplement that contained all the ingredients necessary for supporting hoof growth.

To meet this need she studied Nutrition and enlisted an expert in organic chemistry with a PhD from Oxford University to oversee the final product, ensuring it was correctly balanced and contained ingredients based on the latest scientific research into the equine diet. 

eQuus Care Nutrition introduce - Hoof Support

 

 Dosage is a 20 gram scoop per day and the pack contains enough to treat a 500 kilo horse for 20 days. 

 

Cost:  $39.99 per satchel (plus express postage) buy two satchels at once, and the postage on the 2nd satchel is waived.  Available through our online shop.

 

 

 Scroll down if you would like to read a detailed analysis of the contents.

 

 

  

Detailed Information from eQuus Care Nutrition:

 

The equine hoof is very metabolically active tissue. A healthy adult horse will grow 6-10mm of new hoof each month, more for a foal or young horse. To support such active growth the horse needs good quality nutrition: any deficiencies in the horse's diet soon become apparent in the hoof.

 

If the horse is lacking one or more of the nutrients it needs to do the job, hoof quality will suffer. Thin walls, thin soles, flaking, cracking, chipping, breaking and slow hoof growth can all be a result of dietary deficiencies. A compromised hoof can cause discomfort for the horse, and a breakdown in the integrity of the hoof wall provides an ideal site for bacterial and fungal pathogens to take hold. The bugs that cause seedy toe just love a crack or chip!

 

Below is detailed scientific information about the role of each active ingredient in the formation of a healthy hoof. Each active ingredient is highly beneficial to the all round health and performance of the horse, so by supplementing with eQuus Care Nutrition HOOF SUPPORT, the horse owner will not only be addressing a dietary deficiency that led to poor hoof growth, but greatly enhancing nutritional support for whole horse health.

 

eQuus Care Nutrition HOOF SUPPORT is a scientifically formulated blend of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in a quality protein base designed to address a wide range of dietary deficiencies that affect the equine hoof.

 

VITAMINS

 

eQuus Care Nutrition HOOF SUPPORT contains a number of B Group vitamins. B vitamins are water soluble, meaning they float freely through the fluids of the body and are not stored in body tissue. They circulate around the body and are taken up by cells that need them or are eliminated as waste in urine. Due to this rapid elimination a horse must take in the B vitamins he needs on a constant daily basis. B group vitamins play essential roles in just about every cell and organ in the horse's body. Many B vitamins work in conjunction which is why eQuus Care Nutrition provides 4 B vitamins in each dose. All B vitamins are involved in some way in the metabolism and interaction of protein, fat and carbohydrate which play very important roles in a tissue as metabolically active as the hoof.

 

BIOTIN- a B group vitamin which also contains sulphur is involved in glucose metabolism, growth, the utilisation of NIACIN, another B vitamin, and the maintenance of all rapidly dividing tissues. BIOTIN has been shown to result in improved hoof quality in a certain percentage of horses with shelly, brittle feet. However only an estimated 2% of horses with hoof problems have an uncomplicated BIOTIN deficiency. Supplementing the remaining 98% of horses with hoof problems with a BIOTIN-only supplement will not address the underlying dietary deficiency. That is why Equus Care Nutrition HOOF SUPPORT has a wide range of active ingredients that are required for healthy hoof growth, as well as BIOTIN.

 

NIACIN - a B group vitamin, is needed in the body for protein metabolism, important for hoof growth as the hoof wall is over 90% protein. NIACIN is also used in the metabolism of fatty acids and cholesterol. The outer most layer of the hoof wall contains a variety of fats and waxes, which in a healthy hoof form an unbroken layer, sealing moisture into the deeper hoof structures and keeping water out. These fats and waxes give the outer layer of a healthy hoof a naturally slick feel and shine. NIACIN is also required for copying of DNA and the reproduction of cells, important in a tissue as metabolically active as hoof keratin.

 

PYRIDOXINE - (B6) is a B vitamin which is especially important in the metabolism of dietary protein. PYRIDOXINE is used in the body to synthesise the amino acids alanine and glycine, which are two of the key building blocks of keratin, the major structural protein of the hoof.

 

THIAMINE - (B1) is a B vitamin which contains sulphur. In relation to healthy hoof growth THIAMINE is essential to the proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It is also needed for cells to copy their DNA and reproduce themselves.

 

AMINO ACIDS

 

AMINO ACIDS are the building blocks that go to make up protein. After water, protein is the most abundant substance in the horse's body. Essential AMINO ACIDS are those which the horse's body cannot synthesise, they must be provided through diet. An essential AMINO ACID that is not being provided in adequate amounts becomes a limiting AMINO ACID: the lack of this AMINO ACID disrupts normal protein synthesis. Once the limiting AMINO ACID is used up, the horse cannot synthesise the amino acid chains its body may still need, and whilst the horse may be receiving a high protein diet per se, once the limiting AMINO ACID is used up the horse cannot use this protein so it is excreted as waste.

 

The hoof (and coat and skin) are made from the major structural protein keratin. Keratin is a strand of AMINO ACID units: alanine, glycine and cysteine (produced from METHIONINE) are the primary AMINO ACIDS in keratin. Alanine and glycine can be synthesised by the horse's body, but adequate levels of PYRIDOXINE (B6) are required for this reaction. METHIONINE is an essential AMINO ACID and must be provided in the diet.

 

METHIONINE - is a sulphur containing essential amino acid required for the structural protein keratin, the major structural protein of the hoof.

 

LYSINE - is an essential amino acid, and can often be a limiting AMINO ACID in equine diets

 

THREONINE - is an essential amino acid.

 

MINERALS

 

SULPHUR - is necessary to form the reinforcing bonds between strands of collagen. Collagen is the base of all connective tissues including hooves, bones, joint cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Sources of bio available, organic sulphur in eQuus Care Nutrition HOOF SUPPORT include MSM, the sulphur containing amino acid METHIONINE, and the sulphur containing B vitamins BIOTIN and THIAMINE.

 

ZINC - "Zinc deficiency is probably one of the most widespread and most overlooked health problems of horses", Eleanor Kellon, DVM. ZINC is present in high concentration in normal hoof tissue. It is incorporated into ZINC finger proteins required for cell multiplication and for the assembly of keratin, the major structural protein of the hoof. Symptoms if ZINC deficiency in the hoof can include slow hoof growth, thin walls, weak connections, weak horn.

ZINC is an important element in the antioxident superoxide dismutase enzyme. This is present in hoof tissue and functions to prevent the fats and oils in hoof tissue from oxidising. Oxidative damage to the fats can break the protective seal on the hoof, causing over drying, and weakening the 'glue' between the keratin cells.

 

COPPER - a trace mineral essential to good health. In the hoof, COPPER is involved in enzymes required for aerobic metabolism in rapidly dividing cells, it is required for the activation of the enzyme which forms the sulphur crossbridges that hold keratin strands together. With ZINC, it is part of the anti oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is present in hoof tissue to prevent the fats and oils in hoof tissue from oxidising.