Biotin Supplements

A few summers ago Trooper had very cracked hooves. They were so cracked that he couldn't hold a shoe on one of them as there was nowhere to put the nail in. We started giving him supplements for his hooves.

The main component of supplements for hooves is usually biotin. Biotin is also called vitamin B7. This is formed from sulphar and is a component of structural protein keratin. Biotin may not be digestible in some feed sources. Yeast, soya and clover have good levels of biotin in them. 28% of horses in the UK are thought to be deficient. And 15 mg per day is said to be the minimum daily ration (Buffa et al, 1992). But horses are likely to get this from their normal daily rations.

The first supplement we gave him was Formula 4 Feet. Searching on the internet I found this to be a cheaper alternative to Farriers Formula. Although looking at the prices now they seem to be quite similar at around £35 for 5kg so this might have changed.  This helped his hooves a lot and after he had been taking it for a reasonable amount of time you could see the difference in the new hoof growing. He had a ridge in his hoof from when we started giving him the supplement and once the ridge had grown out his hooves were much stronger and didn't crack. 

Formula 4 Feet is said to provide unique benefits for both horses with poor hoof horn quality, cracked hooves, weak heels and those at risk of laminitis. The ingredients are luncerne meal, minerals and vitamins, dried yeast, beans, soya concentrate, toasted soya beans, vegetable fat, apple flavour and antioxidant E321 (the soya in this product will be the main source of biotin). It is a vegetarian and GM-free supplement. There is a more in depth break down of what is in the feed on their website if anyone is interested. It contains;

• Many micronutrients such as multivitamins, amino acids, and essential fatty acids including omega 3's. 
• It provides 20 mg daily of biotin for a 450 kg horse and claims that most studies have found this is the necessary daily amount to achieve consistent improvement. 
• Calcium which is important for attachment of hoof horn. It also contains zinc which is important for skin and hoof growth. It contains 
• Phospholipids which are vital in keeping the horn free from infections and maintaining a normal water balance.
• No cereals and no added selenium (so no extra carbs for horses at risk of laminitis, and no extra risk of selenium toxicity).

After his hooves had improved using this supplement I decided it might be a cheaper alternative to move him onto a different biotin supplement. For over a year now he has been on Robinson's Requisite Biotin supplement. I can't find this on the website any more so I am not sure how much it was but it was much cheaper. If they have stopped selling it I will have to source out another biotin supplement so let me know if you know any I could try!

All it says on the container can be seen on the photograph below.

Our tub of Biotin.

Trooper has one scoop of this in his feed per day even though it says two. His hooves have been fine on it, but not as good as on Formula 4 Feet. They have had the odd crack but nothing major and he has had no problems keeping his shoes on. One small point I don't like is that it is a powder and as Trooper has poor breathing I don't like making his feed to dry so I add a bit of water into his feed as well with it.

The biotin powder with the scoop.

Apart from biotin the other ingredients in this supplement are a bit of a mystery. It could just be biotin, but who knows!

There are loads of different biotin supplements on the market and if your horse has poor hooves I would definitely recommend trying one. If I can't get the Robinson's one any more I will let you know which one I get and how it is.

Love Laura
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YouTube- Ed Being Very Naughty

Here is a quick post on a YouTube video I watch a few weeks ago of a very naughty little pony. It is sooo cute but I'm glad I don't have to ride it! It looks just like one of my favourite ponies when I was younger called Ziggy who was very grumpy and would bite everyone. I'm sure the little boy will made a very good rider one day with that determination!

Love Laura
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Fly Repellent Regulations and IV Horse

After doing my review yesterday into the Lemune Plus Fly Spray I started looking into new the regulations for fly spray that were made in 2006. I was searching on Google but I could not find any information to make it more clear. I emailed IV Horse (said four horse) as they were the company that made the fly spray and as it met the regulations I guessed that they would know more about it.

I was very impressed as I got a lovely email back from John Burdon explaining all about the regulations and answering all the questions I had asked.

Below is a link to a page their website in which they talk about the fly repellent regulations.  Hope this makes things more clear for you as it has done for me!

http://www.4horse.co.uk/productfo5uba0.php

Their website is very informative and has a Library section which is a collection of magazine tried and tested, gear reviews and product feature articles featuring their products. They also have their own brochures and product guides.

I definitely think that my experience with this company shows they care about their products and customers and I will definitely look further into what products they have.

I will leave you with this photo of my ride on Trooper this morning. We got to ride in the field which is very exciting for us as we have two arenas and are not usually allowed to ride in the field. Every year after the hay has been cut the farmer opens this field up for us to ride in.

Love Laura
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Product Review- Lemune Plus Fly Repellent

Today I am going to do a product review of Lemune Plus Fly Repellent. As it's summer, there are so many flies around at the moment and Trooper is itching his mane and tail. This is my own opinion of the product.

Troops with the lemune fly spray (excuse the messy stable!!).

We have been using this fly spray since last summer as we have found it to be very effective. I apply it before he goes out into the field and if there are a lot of flies around I apply it while he is in the stable as well.

There were new regulations made for fly spray in 2006. Substances that were marketed as "active" ingredients were no long approved for sale. Some of these products included citronella oil, cedar oil, eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil etc. When these substances are used in other products they were not effected, only where they for an "active" component to the formulation. Therefore this fly spray was made in compliance with the new regulations. I am not sure why they changed these regulations, I've been trying to Google it with no luck. If anyone knows then let me know! If they can still use these ingredients in other products then I would guess these products can't be harmful, although I am not sure.

The label on the bottle.

I paid £10.67 exactly for the fly spray and that was for 500 ml. I am not sure where we got it from, probably a horse show. This is lemune plus fly spray and I'm guessing there used to be just a lemune one but I don't think they make this any more.

It definitely does repel the flies when he is wearing it. He is still itching his mane and tail a bit so at some point the midges are biting him. The fly spray doesn't last all night so this is probably after it has warn off and I often do not apply it during the day as his stable doesn't have many flies. He is still itching less than he has been with other fly sprays and as he has sweet itch it would take a bit of a miracle to stop him itching all together! The fly spray itself does not have an irritating effect on Troopers skin and I use it all over his body. On the bottle it says spray 8-13 sprays of the product on each side of the horse requiring protection. This seems quite a lot and I definitely don't do this much! Maybe I should try it...

I am not going to talk too much about the ingredients because I don't understand the regulations. All I do know is that it complies with the regulations and smells very nice!

I have confused myself writing this when I started looked at the regulations of fly repellent ingredients, so I would guess you're confused reading it! Sorry! I'll do another post when I understand it all! But with regards to the actual product I really like it and will keep using it on Troops during the summer. I would recommend you to try it if you are not happy with your current fly repellent!

Love Laura
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The Digestive System

I thought I would carry on with some of my equine anatomy posts after my last evolution one. I have skipped quite a few because they weren't interesting enough. So this post is on the horses digestive system. I know this part of the anatomy especially well after my dissertation.

The horses digestive system (picture from www.horse-diseases.com).

1. Mouth
2. Pharynx
3. Oesophagus
4. Diaphragm
5. Spleen
6. Stomach
7. Duodenum
8. Liver, upper extremity
9. Large colon
10. Caecum
11. Small intestine
12. Small colon
13. Rectum
14. Anus
15. Left kidney and its ureter
16. Bladder
17. Urethra

I will start at the mouth and work my way along the tract! When horses are eating they chew 73-92 times a minute. They make 800 to 1200 chewing movements per kg of concentrate. The mandibular muscles in the cheek are very thick. The circular motion of the jaw shears food. Particles of hay are reduced to 1.6mm in length. The upper lip is strong to place the forage between the teeth. The tongue is not like a cow's, it moves ingested material to the check teeth for grinding. The pharynx is a muscular membranous sac, it prevents choking during swallowing. The guttural pouch has an unknown meaning but is 300-500 mm in volume.

The horses' teeth (photo from www.thehorsecity.com).

The oesophagus is the first region of the alimentary canal. It is a musculomembranous tube.

The horse’s stomach is quite small and leads into the first section of small intestine- the duodenum. The stomach is a different structure at the top than bottom. There is strong valve called the cardiac sphincter which is what stops them from being sick. 8.15 litres can fit in the stomach (I think this is an average).

The small intestine is 22-25 metres long, there are different regions: - the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The duodenum is closely positioned to the liver and pancreas. It receives bile from the liver via the bile duct. The rate of transit for digesta going through the small intestine is very rapid. Typically 50% of food going into the stomach of a pony will have reached the distal part of the ileum after 1 hour. It has been estimated that digesta  can travel through the small intestine at a rate of about 30 cm/min. Despite the rapid passage rate through the small intestine, there is still considerable absorption. Most of the fat in the diet is absorbed  here– largely due to bile. However, there is still absorption of protein and carbohydrate material.

The large intestine is around 7.5-8 metres in length. The width is larger than the small intestine. It can be divided into different sections.

The caecum can be viewed as a large cul-de-sac between the ileum and the colon. Humans have a very small caecum near the appendix, we do not need ours to the extent horses do as we are not herbivores. It can hold about 25-30 litres and is around 125 cm long. It has the form of a comma and is curved. The caecum-colon border is a region of overlap which is difficult to define. There are lots of folds which increase the surface area. The entrance and exits both have muscular valves to stop back flow. The main function of the caecum is to break down complex carbohydrates. This is done in association with microbes present in the organ as horses don’t have the enzymes required. Cellulose is very difficult to digest and the microbes help with the process.

The caecum.

The colon is split into the large and small colon. The passage rate of digestion is quick as within 3 hours of eating, it will be in the colon. Much of the unabsorbed material spends a great deal of time in the intestine of the horse. There are 100 million microbes per mm there. The passage rate also depends on the diet, pellet diets pass faster and fresh grass is faster than hay.

The liver is the largest gland in the body. It has lobes and produces bile. The hepatic duct is 5cm long and goes through the duodenum. The horse doesn't have a gall bladder so the liver is very important in the horse.

The horses digestive system is a long and complex tract. It is understandable how horses can get colic when they have such a long intestine. 

Love Laura
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