Q: How do I know when I need to be adding biotin to my horse's diet for improved hoof quality and growth?

By Don Kapper

A: Biotin is a B-complex vitamin that affects the outer horn of the hoof wall. Symptoms of biotin deficiency are sand cracks in the outside of the wall that do not go through to the lamina.

B-complex vitamins are produced in the horse’s “fermentation vat” (hind gut) and if it is functioning optimally, it will produce all of the B-complex vitamins a horse needs.

However, different stresses will impact how each horse’s hind gut functions, which will affect the amount of B-complex vitamins produced each day by the horse. Stresses can include antibiotic therapy, feeding more pounds of cereal grain per day than hay, an intense workload or training level, nervousness from being trailered, moved into a strange facility, isolated from other horses, etc.

Hoof Nutrition Intelligence is brought to you by W.F. Young Co. (Absorbine).

Like many significant achievements, Absorbine^® grew out of humble beginnings—and through the tenacity of someone willing to question the status quo. In this case, it was a young woman in late 19th-century Massachusetts: Mary Ida Young. Her husband, Wilbur Fenelon Young, was an enterprising piano deliveryman who relied on the couple’s team of horses to make deliveries throughout the Northeast. Inspired by Mary Ida and Wilbur’s vision, Absorbine^® has continued to add innovative products throughout the years — products used every day by horse owners around the world. Which is why, since 1892, we’ve been The Horse World’s Most Trusted Name^®.