Hoof Nutrition Intelligence Hoof Nutrition Intelligence is a twice-a-month web segment that is designed to add to the education of footcare professionals when it comes to effectively feeding the hoof. The goal of this web-exclusive feature is to zero in on specific areas of hoof nutrition and avoid broad-based articles that simply look at the overall equine feeding situation.

Below you will find Part 2 of the latest question and answer installment that you can share with your footcare clients.

Q: How important are trace minerals for improving hoof quality?

By Emily Dickson

A: There are three types of joints in the body, but the type most influenced through nutrition (and the type that we typically think of when we think of a joint) is called the synovial joint.

Synovial joints allow for movement and help transfer the load between bones, including in humans the elbow, knee or wrist — or, in the horse’s case, the knee, hock or fetlock joint.

Synovial joints are composed of three parts:

  1. Cartilage, which covers the ends of the two bones that meet at the joint.
  2. The joint capsule, which is the space encompassing the entire joint with an inner synovial membrane housing synovial cells and synovial fluid.
  3. Ligaments, a type of connective tissue that connects bone to bone.

Emily Dickson is the lifestyle marketing manager for Alltech, with company headquarters based in Nicholasville, Ky.

Click here to read part 1 of the Dec. 2, 2021, installment of Hoof Nutrition Intelligence: Could nutrition be involved with the joint concerns I’m having with my barrel horse? Click here to read more installments of Hoof Nutrition Intelligence.