TopSpec Healthy Hoof – 3kg Biotin Hoof Supplement

TopSpec Healthy Hoof – 3kg

Healthy Hoof supplies 15mg of biotin a day to a 500kg horse — the level used in the trials that showed measurable improvement in hoof horn quality — and surrounds it with the co-factors biotin needs to work. TopSpec include methionine, declared at 0.75%, along with zinc, copper, iodine, calcium and vitamin A.

The honest part of TopSpec's own advice is the timescale. They quote nine to twelve months before the effect is fully visible, because a hoof capsule takes that long to grow down, and they recommend that horses with brittle or crumbly horn stay on it permanently rather than stopping once the hoof looks right. Anyone buying a single tub and judging it in six weeks will conclude it does nothing.

Performance & Benefits

• 15mg of biotin a day for a 500kg horse — the level shown in trials to improve hoof horn quality.
• Methionine declared at 0.75%, supplying the sulphur-bearing amino acid the hoof wall is built from.
• Zinc, copper, iodine, calcium and vitamin A included at levels TopSpec state improve biotin's efficiency.
• Calcium at 16% and magnesium at 3% in the analytical constituents.
• A 3kg tub covers a 500kg horse for a month, so the daily cost is low for a targeted supplement.
• Fed at around 100g a day, so it adds no meaningful calories, protein or starch to the ration.

Suitable For

• Horses and ponies with brittle, crumbly, cracked or slow-growing hooves.
• Horses that struggle to hold shoes, or lose them repeatedly.
• Horses already on a balanced diet that need targeted hoof support on top of it.
• Long-term use — TopSpec advise against reducing the level once hoof quality has improved.
• Not needed by a horse already on TopSpec Comprehensive, AntiLam, Lite, Performance Lite or Senior Feed Balancer at the full rate: those declare biotin at 30mg/kg and already deliver 15mg a day at 500g.

Feeding

• A 3kg tub lasts a 500kg horse one month, which is roughly 100g a day.
• Feed daily, mixed into a damp feed.
• Allow nine to twelve months before judging the result — improvement only shows as new horn grows down from the coronet.
• TopSpec recommend horses with brittle or crumbly hooves stay on Healthy Hoof permanently rather than stopping once the hoof improves.
• Ensure clean, fresh water is always available.

Composition & Analysis

• Composition: calcium carbonate, micronised maize, magnesium sulphate, sodium chloride, vegetable oil.
• Analytical constituents: calcium 16%, phosphorus 0.1%, magnesium 3%, sodium 4%, methionine 0.75%, crude protein 2.7%, crude fat 2.1%, crude fibre 0.6%, crude ash 63%.
• TopSpec note the protein, fat and fibre figures are nutritionally insignificant because the feeding rate is so low.
• Biotin is declared as a daily dose of 15mg per 500kg horse rather than as an mg/kg inclusion, so only the daily figure is stated here.
• 3kg tub. Also sold by TopSpec in 9kg and 20kg.