Follow these 4 simple steps to keeping your horse’s hooves healthy, don’t wait until there′s a problem, take time now to protect and maintain these valuable structures inside and out - remember the saying: ‘no hoof - no horse!’

• Step 1: Understanding the Subject
  Obvious but important! Get to know what’s ‘normal’ for your horse and brush up on hoof terminology and anatomy. This way you should be able to spot changes and easily communicate these with your farrier, vet, trainer or others involved in your horse’s care.
• Step 2: Check with the Experts It is important to make sure you have access to experts when you need them. Ask friends for recommendations and look for trusted farriers in your area.
• Step 3: Provide consistent nutrition Start with high-quality hay and/or pasture, if available. For active horses, additional required nutrients, as well as calories, might be supplied by fortified grain. For less active horses or "easy keepers," a forage balancer or multi-vitamin/mineral supplement might be more appropriate. However, as all horses differ by genetics, location, type of use and other factors, most horses will benefit from a specific hoof supplement to help grow healthy horn. Independent research has proven that to support healthy hooves supplements containing biotin, methionine, vitamin C and zinc are essential.
• Step 4: General Hoof Care Make sure the immediate environment is "hoof-friendly," or consistent and sound for use. Try to avoid changes from wet to dry, and back to wet, as this could be more harmful than an environment that is consistently too dry or too wet. Ask your farrier or veterinarian if a topical hoof product, such as a hoof sealant or a lanolin-based conditioner can help you maintain a consistent moisture level in the foot, alongside internal care through supplementation.
  Remember any care programme for hooves is a long term commitment, even as the issue appears to be improving. Unfortunately, hoof horn grows at a slow ¼ inch per month so even with the best supplementation it can take 9-12 months before the damaged hoof horn ‘grown out’ and the hoof is completely healthy.

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