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:
- Cartilage, which covers the ends of the two bones that meet at the joint.
- The joint capsule, which is the space encompassing the entire joint with an inner synovial membrane housing synovial cells and synovial fluid.
- 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.