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: Can a horse’s genetics affect the efficiency of biotin?
By Bill Laste
A: In some cases, biotin never really has a chance to correct what nature has created, according to several nutritionists. Nutritional supplementation will not completely compensate for genetic predisposition or negligence of the horse’s environment.
While there certainly is a limitation as to what you can do with hoof nutrition, heredity is more important than many people think when it comes to hoof quality. However, other outside factors can certainly play a role in the efficacy of biotin.
Just as there are differences in humans as to how well a medication works, there are differences in horses. Gender and/or breed also come into the equation.
This item is condensed from an article written by then Associate Editor Bill Laste titled, “When Biotin Doesn’t Work” that appeared in the May/June 1995 issue of American Farriers Journal.
Click here to read part 1 of the July 29, 2021, installment of Hoof Nutrition Intelligence: What’s the nutritional link between amino acids and various types of protein? Click here to read more installments of Hoof Nutrition Intelligence.
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