Hoof Supplement

There are an abundance of supplements for every part of a horse. The keys to choosing a supplement is to ask two questions: “What is the horse’s deficiency?” and “Why or what is causing the deficiency?” Once you have these answers you can begin to determine if supplements are required.

Compare yourself to the horse. When you have a deficiency do you run out and buy the first supplement recommended or do you seek advice first? You probably seek advice first. Again, your Ferrier, vet, other owners and of course this site will be your best sources of information for supplements and guidance.

Often, supplements are not required. Take a close look at hay and feed quality, feeding habits, amount of feed and hay and of course exercise. All these should be looked at first and determine if adjustments can be made there before supplements are researched and your hard earned money is spent and possibly wasted.

Once you have reviewed feed, hay, feeding, exercise and spoken with the professionals, consider having the vet do some blood work. Just as we use urine and blood to assist the doctor with the diagnosis, this will also help the vet. Of course depending on the ailment, it may not be required.

Once you have determine it is not necessary to adjust the feed, hay, feeding schedule and get the results from the blood work, now is the time the real homework starts.

A properly identified deficiency is the basis for identifying the required supplement. You can begin to identify what supplements will provide the necessary vitamins, minerals or nutrients, to correct the deficiency. YOU MUST look beyond the front label and read all the information on the product. YOU MUST understand how the supplement works on the horse and how it is processed by the horse. Avoid myths and wives tales, work on facts. Many vet schools and agricultural collegeshave access to a wealth of first hand experience on supplements and the results. One excellent location is the VA Tech facility in Blacksburg, VA.

Once you understand the composition of the supplement and how it will interact with the horses system, look for a reputable distributor of the supplement.

Do not look at brand names, as we all know from personal experiences, many prescription drugs work as well in a generic form as in the proprietary form. Look at ingredients then the manufacture. REMEMBER – labels and packaging are designed for three reasons:

* To entice you to buy the product!
* To provide the most cost effective product delivery method.
* To entice you to buy the product!

Product selection begins well before you enter the store. The distributor must not only be qualified to sell the supplement but they should have employees who are knowledgeable on supplements. We shop prices on-line, but enjoy the face-to-face discussion and rapport building that occurs at our local feed store, Southern States.

Go to the distributor informed, as this meets my dad’s old but wise guidance, “Ask the question, when you all ready know the answer!” This approach validates the information you have and tells you if the person at the store is knowledge and is being honest with you. Once you have determine the composition of the supplement, focus on the manufacturer. Once purchased, ENSURE you follow the directions. The directions are on there for a reason, not to just fill up label space.

Now a story and why we recommend this approach.

Both Andrew and Sassy, in late 2009, constantly had cracks in the outer hoof wall. We mentioned it to the vet and she suggested a hoof supplement, Ferrier’s Formula®, a produced by Life Data Labs ®. We followed the steps discussed above for product selection and selected the product. We diligently followed the directions, feeding the recommended amounts. The supplement started in February of 2010 and in about three months we still saw cracks in the outer hoof wall. We continued with the supplement because the ferrier, Dave Giza was telling us the hoof wall was building up nicely. The supplement is not designed to prevent all the minor cracks that occur on the outer hoof wall. Ferrier’s Formula® worked exceptionally well and the Ferrier, Dave Giza, has been very pleased with increased thickness of the hoof wall. We reduced the supplement to a smaller portion once the hoof was were built up.

Some other info we discovered along the path of hoof supplement selection includes:

For the same amount of supplement by weight, 11 pounds, the vacuumed packed package is a few dollars less than in the plastic bucket. (Remember the three rules of packaging!)
Read ALL the info on the supplement, if we had, we would have been taking pictures of the underside of the hoof not the outside!!
Some recommended putting the supplement on the top of the feed so the horse would eat it. Believe me when I write that when you put feed in the feed bucket a healthy horse will eat what is in there regardless of whether it is on the top or mixed in.
The vet’s guidance was excellent and the Dr. was a good source of information. Great results.
Know, in advance, what to look for to determine or measure the success of the supplement.