Clinical observations on the response of equine hoof defects to dietary supplementation with biotin.

Horses with weak hoof horn, which becomes misshapen and crumbles around the lower parts of the hoof walls, pose problems for treatment in practice. The effects of dietary supplementation with a high level of the B-group vitamin biotin (which has proved successful in the treatment of the similar condition in pigs) were investigated in more than 40 cases. Varying degrees of improvement in the hardness, integrity and conformation of the hoof horn were observed in all cases. The signs and progress seen in three typical cases are described. It is concluded that dietary supplementation with 10 to 30 mg biotin/day (depending on bodyweight) for not less than six to nine months is a useful treatment to support other remedial measures in such cases.