Supplementation of Biotin in Horses
History of Biotin
Horses throughout history have been negatively affected by poor hoof quality. It has been a goal of equestrians worldwide to solve the mystery of trying to alter this hoof quality within the diet of the horse. The horse’s hoof plays an essential role in their overall performance and usability. A horse who cannot perform or be used because their hooves are either too tender to walk on gravel, can’t hold shoes needed for a show, or can’t support the overall weight and function as needed are not of any worth to a horse owner. When equine nutritionists began their research into how to solve this problem they soon discovered the overall importance of this vitamin called biotin (Comben et al., 1984). In previous years, nutritionists had found positive results with biotin supplementation in swine (Comben et al., 1984).
Symptoms of Biotin Deficiency
There are many symptoms of biotin deficiency that have been documented throughout history. Of the defects/issues noticed with this deficiency there is usually a combination of symptoms that can be altered by the additional consumption of biotin. Some of these symptoms include (but are not limited to) tenderness, poor growth, large flat feet, collapsed heels, frequent shoe loss, nail hole cracks, lameness, crumbling, and Navicular Disease (Kempson, 1990). Different aspects thought to have played an additional role in these symptoms can be placed on management, environment, and genetics rather than a deficiency (Reilly, 1995).
Early Research, Treatments, and Results
Early research involving biotin first began in the production area of swine (Comben et al., 1984). Positive results have been document in numerous research studies involving u...
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Comben, N., Clark, R. J., and D. J. B. Sutherland. 1984. Clinical observations on the response of equine hoof defects to dietary supplementation with biotin. Vet. Record. 115:642-645.
Hintz, H. F. 1987. Biotin. Equine Practice. 9 (9):4-5.
Reilly, J. D., Cottrell, D. F., Martin, R. J., and D. J. Cuddeford. 1998. Effect of supplementary dietary biotin on hoof growth and hoof growth rate in ponies: a controlled trial. Equine Vet. J. 26:51-57.
Cuddeford, D. 1991. Response of equine hoof defects to Farrier’s Formula. Vet. Record. 128 (5):115-116.
Kempson, S. A. 1987. Scanning electron microscope observations of hoof horse from horses with brittle feet. Vet. Record. 120:568-570.
Putnam, M. E. 1986. The role of vitamins in nutrition of performance horses. Modern Vet. Practice. 67 (2):121-124.
Reilly, J. D. 1995. No hoof no horse. Equine Vet. J. 27 (3):166-168.
Her findings from this research was praised as she concluded that small supplementary feeding with fruits, milk and wheat germ improved the growth of school children. She also found out that the over dosage of Vitamin D produced brittle bones and calcification of soft tissues. If that wasn’t enough, she continued her extensive research and showed that pantothenic acid is essential for normal pigmentation of hair and skin. Lastly she was intelligent enough to prove that the bone density of woman decreased between 50 and 65 years of
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(13) Pazirandeh S. Overview of vitamin K. In: UpToDate, Post TW (Ed), UpToDate, Waltham, MA. (Accessed 27th April 2014)
While in Milan, Da Vinci spent a considerable amount of time on a number of dissections of the horse in preparation for a statue. While the bulk of the drawings on the anatomy of the horse are of the surface anatomy, and drawn by Leonardo in the guise of the artist, there are nevertheless some detailed ones illustrating the muscles of the horse's thigh compared to the corresponding muscles of man, suggesting that ...
Levinson's, F. (2011, September 20). Horse Therapy - Changing Lives . Retrieved November 5, 2013, from Way of the Horse
Since ancient times vitamin D has been the predominant cause of bone deficiencies.1 However, it was not in till the seventeenth century when both Dr. Daniel Whistler and Professor Francis Glisson made the first scientific description of a vitamin D deficiency.2 During the mid-seventeenth century there was an increase amount of children that were diagnosed with the bone disease called rickets.2 The cause of the rickets was determined to be associated to the lack of sunlight. A German researcher Kurt Huldschinsky came to the conclusion that when infants were exposed to ultraviolet light rays they became cured of rickets2. He stated that a substance in the skin was the potential source of the cure.2 In 1922, American scientist Elmer McCollum proved that when cod liver oil was heated; the beneficial effects of vitamin A in the oil were reduced.2 However, the oil remained effective in curing rickets leading McCollum to reason that a nutrient different from vitamin A was present in the oil. As a result, he named this nutrient vitamin D, which became the fourth vitamin to be discovered and named.2 Additionally, shortly after 1918, vitamin D was also discovered by an accidental experiment that included a group of scientists curing dogs affected with rickets by feeding cod liver oil to them.1
The factor of the horse’s rhythmical gait can most times help the rider achieve their goals to be able to do every-day activities. Bettie B. Borton, AUD states that it is “worth considering as an alternative setting for the provision of speech-language remediation.” Therefore, hippotherapy
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Holistic treatments for dogs encompass a broad range of modalities from biochemical therapies, lifestyle therapies, biomechanical therapies, and bio-energetic therapies. Veterinary medicine is becoming as specialized as human medicine. The integration of all these modalities into mainstream medicine is inevitable,it is just a matter of
Carruth, Allison. Culturing Food: Bioart and In Vitro Meat." Parallax 19.1 (2013): 88-100. Print. The. Chiles, Robert.
Blowey, R. W. (1990). A Veterinary Book for Dairy Farmer (Third ed.). Old Pont Publishing Ltd.
Swan, S.H., F. Liu, J.W. Overstreet, C. Brazil, and N.E. Skakkebaek. "Growth Hormones Fed to
Completion of at least 100 hours of continuing educations in the horse profession and equine science. To
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