Hope 4 Hooves

15/08/2025

23/07/2025

19/07/2025

16/07/2025

02/07/2025

✏️ Post #2- vitamins and minerals critical to the metabolic horse.

💡 Today’s topic is Vitamin E 💡

🧲 Why Vitamin E Matters for Horses with EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) 🐴

If your horse has EMS, insulin resistance, PPID (Cushing’s), PSSM, or even just struggles with sore muscles, allergies, or poor performance, it may be missing a critical—but often overlooked—nutrient: Vitamin E.

🌱 Why it matters:
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects muscle and nerve cells from oxidative damage. Horses with metabolic challenges often have chronic inflammation, tight muscles, and impaired detoxification—all of which increase their need for antioxidant support.

🧠 Signs your horse might be deficient:
• Muscle tightness, cramping, or soreness
• Poor topline despite adequate calories
• Stumbling, toe dragging, or shifting lameness
• Neurologic signs (poor coordination, odd movement)
• Low energy or dull performance
• Poor immune function
• Dull coat or dry, cracking hooves
• Skin sensitivity, excessive itching, or “allergy-like” reactions
• Exaggerated reactions to vaccines or insect bites

👩‍⚕️ What the experts say:
Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD, emphasizes vitamin E as essential for managing metabolic and neuromuscular disorders in horses. Supplementing with natural vitamin E can reduce oxidative stress, support insulin sensitivity, and improve comfort and muscle function.

Dr. Carrie Finno, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, a leading researcher in equine neuromuscular disease, has demonstrated that even mild vitamin E deficiency may impair the nervous system—sometimes before clear clinical signs appear.

🧪 Why testing is key:
Vitamin E levels can’t be estimated based on diet or symptoms alone. Since Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin, over supplementation is possible. A simple serum alpha-tocopherol blood test can determine if your horse is within the healthy range and help guide safe and effective supplementation.

🌾 Why deficiencies are common:
Fresh quality pasture is the richest natural source of vitamin E. But hay loses most of its vitamin E within weeks of harvest—and many EMS horses are kept off pasture to avoid excess sugar, making deficiency more likely.

✅ How to supplement:
Choose natural d-alpha-tocopherol, not synthetic dl-alpha forms. A water-dispersible or micellized formula is ideal for horses with metabolic concerns or digestive challenges but veterinary involvement is recommended. If feeding a powdered version combine with a tablespoon olive oil for best absorption.

✨ Bottom line:
If your horse is metabolic, sore for no obvious reason, neurologically “off,” or showing vague signs like poor coat or itchy skin, vitamin E may be the missing piece. This single nutrient supports the nervous system, immune response, muscle function, and metabolic balance—and it’s often overlooked.

📣 Talk with your vet or equine nutritionist about testing and choosing the right form and dose for your horse.

⸻

📚 References:
• Kellon, E. (2014). Horse Journal Guide to Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals.
• Finno, C. J., Bordbari, M. H., et al. (2016). “Vitamin E Deficiency and Neurologic Disease in Horses.” Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 30(1), 206–213.
• NRC (2007). Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th revised edition. National Academies Press.
• Mad Barn. (2023). “Vitamin E in Equine Nutrition.”
• Kentucky Equine Research. (2021). “How Much Vitamin E Does Your Horse Need?”

26/06/2025

✏️ Doing a little series here on vitamins and minerals critical to the metabolic horse. Post #1.

💡 Today’s topic is Magnesium 💡

🧲 Why Magnesium Matters for EMS Horses 🐴

If your horse has Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), magnesium might be a overlooked tool in your management plan.

Here’s why:

💥 Magnesium is essential for insulin sensitivity. Low levels can worsen insulin resistance, which is at the heart of EMS.

🌾 Many hays are low in bioavailable magnesium, especially when diets are high in calcium or phosphorus.

😟 Magnesium may help calm the stress response, lowering cortisol. High cortisol can worsen insulin insensitivity.

🐎 Hoof rehab professionals often see improvements in hoof quality, behavior, and comfort when magnesium is added as part of a balanced diet.

💡 It’s affordable, widely available, and safe when fed appropriately. While it’s not a cure, magnesium can make a real difference for IR/EMS horses.

Always talk to your vet or nutritionist before starting supplements to ensure you are giving enough and not too much 😊

📚 References include the NRC (2007), research by Barbagallo (2010), Gehlen (2010), and the work of Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD.

24/06/2025

19/06/2025

Puncture wounds in the foot qualify as medical emergencies, due to the amount of vital structures just beneath the sole that can be physically damaged and/or contaminated with bacteria when they are penetrated by a sharp object.

If your horse steps on a nail or other sharp object and it remains embedded in the hoof, resist the temptation to pull the nail out and consult with your veterinarian first. Leaving the nail in place will allow the vet to take x-rays of the foot before removal, which helps to identify exactly what structures have been penetrated, and to plan the most appropriate strategy for dealing with the situation.

If your veterinarian advises, carefully remove the nail to prevent the horse from stepping on it and driving it deeper into the hoof cavity. As you remove it, be sure to mark the exact point and depth of entry with tape and/or a marker so the veterinarian can assess the extent of damage. Apply antiseptic to the wound, and wrap to prevent additional contamination while you wait for your appointment.

Penetrating hoof wounds can be extremely serious and shouldn’t be underestimated. The prognosis for successful recovery depends on quick action to identify the path of the nail, treatment of potential infection and mechanical damage to the foot, and proper aftercare. As always, consult your horse doctor for more information and advice!

05/05/2025

Coming this Thursday! Dr. Rendle will discuss the following:

- The relationship between insulin and laminitis
- How we can identify horses at greatest risk of laminitis
- How the management of hyperinsulinaemia has evolved
- The latest research on medical treatments to manage hyperinsulinaemia

https://progressivehoofcare.org/2025/03/hyperinsulinemia-laminitis-and-ppid-diagnosis-and-management-part-1/

01/04/2025

As much as I’d love everything to be in my control… it’s not.

There are so many factors that go into a healthy hoof—things we can influence and things as a hoof care practitioner I simply can’t. I often find myself in conversations with colleagues about the horses that challenge us the most. More often than not, the struggles aren’t just about trimming or shoeing technique; they stem from compensation patterns, or long-standing imbalances that are beyond what we can change with a rasp or a shoe.

And hooves don’t exist in isolation. The entire body is connected.

Proprioception—the horse’s ability to know where it is in space. When one part is compromised, the rest must adapt.

🔹 Hoofcare: The feet are the foundation that everything else is stacked on. A compromised foundation affects the entire structure above it.

🔹 Bodywork: We need to give the body as many opportunities as possible to compensate. Restrictions in one area lead to compensations elsewhere, impacting movement and balance.

🔹 Dentistry: The brain sits on the shelf that is produced by the teeth. A horse’s dental alignment affects jaw mobility, posture, and neural input.

As Dr. Audrey DeClue puts it, “The foot only grows dependent on how the body controls the limb to land. The hoof only grows evenly if there is even pressure.” Hoof growth is a reflection of how the entire limb moves and bears weight, and the health of the body and limb attached to the hoof.

And as Tami Elkayam says, “Feet are an expression of the motion possibilities of the limb above. At some point, the foot shape will lock the motion possibilities of the limb above.” Over time, compensatory movement patterns can restrict what we are able to achieve in the feet if we aren’t being proactive.

At the end of the day, we only have an influence over the horse in front of us for a short period of time each cycle—often just 30 to 60 minutes. In a perfect world, we’d spend longer assessing a horse (statically and dynamically) and documenting progress than actually working on them. But that requires access to facilities where we could slow-motion video, analyze movement in real time, and (dare I say it) actually be paid for that time.

But we work with what we have, doing the best we can with the small window of opportunity we get. Because while we can’t control everything, we can make the most of what we have.

And then we add stress and inflammation into the mix. Whenever we have inflammation present it limits the ability of the body to function and heal. Instead of working with the body’s natural mechanics, we create further restrictions, pain, and imbalance.

A truly holistic approach means looking at the bigger picture, recognising these connections, and working to support the horse as a whole.

01/04/2025

Some great thrush info 👀

Often overlooked, central and collateral groove infections cause severe lameness in the back of the foot, which can then cause chronic toe-first impact, which in turn can cause distal descent of P3, thin soles at the toe, subsolar abscesses, hoof capsule rotation, wall flare, wall cracks, navicular....