04/08/2023
“My horse’s feet didn’t look ANY better with a diet change [or XYZ mineral supplements] so this is all a waste of time.”
I was at a barn a few weeks ago, and someone who works there implied that hoof supplements were a giant waste of money.
While I agree that many companies might have some misleading marketing or may not fully understand what we as hoof rehabbers look for in a supplement, I still hold to the truth that diet can MAKE OR BREAK hoof rehab and for some sensitive horses, diet can mean the difference between life and death- really.
So what are some reasons why diet change might not have worked for your horse?
1. That “hoof supplement” really isn’t giving your horse what it needs.
I constantly see posts about people saying their horse’s hoof issues must just be genetic because “they’re already on a hoof supplement!”
I generally don’t recommend hoof supplements. I recommend feeding the horse AT MINIMUM the daily NRC requirement of minor minerals such as copper and zinc, and increasing if you are struggling with high iron or manganese, especially if you have a metabolic horse. Some popular supplements boast trace minerals - but might only provide, for example, 14mg of copper (yes, I’ve seen an expensive POPULAR supplement with only 14mg of copper per day,) when the NRC recommends at least 100mg per day for an 1100lb horse- and more to balance ratios as needed. While this is only one example of one minor mineral, pitifully low levels of minerals are sadly common in a lot of supplements, and without familiarizing yourself with the NRC daily recommendations, you won’t even realize these supplements are sorely lacking.
Moral of the story: you’re right - the diet change didn’t work for your horse - because it wasn’t meeting basic nutritional needs. Read labels and compare to NRC recs, and for the gold standard: PULL A HAY TEST and balance minerals to what’s actually in your hay!
2. Your horse’s diet is too high in sugar and starch.
Adding a quality supplement won’t do much if your horse is basically eating an all candy/junk food diet at meal time! Excess sugars and starches that aren’t being utilized by exercise or work can wreak havoc on the horse’s system. And this may be controversial, but most horses eating enough quality forage don’t need grain - and some sensitive or metabolic horses downright can’t have grain without having a direct effect on their hoof health and soundness/comfort. For sensitive or metabolic horses, the feed should be less than 4% starch and less than 10% ESC+ starch combined.
Moral of the story: just because a feed is marketed as “low starch” or safe for hoof issues doesn’t mean it is! Always check labels.
3. Your horse is sensitive to grass
Tagging along with #2 above comes those horses that can have a fully forage based, mineral balanced diet, but still have stretched white lines and sensitive/sore hooves … because they can’t handle the rich grass pasture they live on. Often these horses have underlying metabolic issues that simply can’t handle the sugars and starches in grass.
Moral of the story: when in doubt, if your horse is experiencing hoof pain or chronic issues, trial off pasture or with a muzzle to see if things improve.
4. Your horse isn’t getting regular hoofcare
Throwing a mineral supplement at your horse but neglecting to get their feet worked on for months on end isn’t going to help their hoof health. Mechanical wall separation from excess length is a real thing! Not to mention that excess toe length plays a huge role in the forces acting on the palmar aspect of the hoof and up the limb.
Moral of the story: a regular hoofcare schedule is important to hoof health.
5. Your horse isn’t moving enough
While diet can help grow healthier hoof wall and laminae connection, it can’t make up for lack of stimulation/movement. A horse that lives in a stall or who stands at a hay feeder 24 hours a day while barely taking a step will likely have weak feet, even with a perfect diet. You can compare it to a person who eats the cleanest, healthiest diet, but sits at a desk all day. They may be thin and “look healthy,” but they won’t have the strength and muscle that someone who exercises regularly will have! Hooves and their internal structures need movement to be strong.
Moral of the story: proper movement covers a multitude of diet or management “sins” when it comes to hooves! Get those horses moving!
6. Your horse’s environment isn’t clean
A good diet won’t make up for a horse that’s standing in its own urine or manure all day long. While mineral balancing helps immensely with stronger frogs, the caustic nature of their own waste can eat away at even the healthiest of tissue.
Moral of the story: provide your horse with a clean area to live to minimize exposure to nasty microbes.
7. Your horse has undiagnosed metabolic issues
If your horse has chronic hoof issues despite good movement, a clean environment, consistent hoofcare, and a perfect diet, bloodwork can rule out an undiagnosed/uncontrolled metabolic problem. Testing to check for PPID (which isn’t controlled by diet) and IR (where some refractory cases can have high insulin despite a good diet) can help identify another cause of poor hoof health in order to properly treat it.
Moral of the story: a metabolic panel can rule out endocrinopathic causes of hoof issues, or at least tell you where your horse is at baseline.
8. Your horse isn’t actually eating what you think it is
Sometimes even with our best intentions a horse can leave supplements behind or refuse to eat the “bland” forage based feed we try to give it, and if you’re boarding, the barn staff may clean the leftover feed out of the tubs and unknowingly throw all the good stuff in the trash. Double checking to make sure your horse is actually eating what you’re trying to feed it can be important!
Moral of the story: make sure your horse isn’t wasting your hard-earned money by avoiding those expensive feeds/supplements!
Overall, there are many reasons for hoof issues- but before writing off a diet change as “not working,” make sure that there isn’t something above that is sabotaging your efforts.
