Cavalor: All about sensitive hooves

Healthy hooves are very important for your horse. After all, a horse stands day and night, with all its weight on those hooves. Sensitive hooves are not only very annoying for your horse, but can also be very painful. Once a horse has suffered from sensitive hooves, it is something that can quickly return.  

Any horse can suffer from sensitive hooves. And there are many causes for this, laminitis being one of them. Lameness is a condition in which inflammation occurs in the horse's hoof. And this inflammation causes severe pain in the horse's feet. 
 
What can cause a horse to get laminitis?  
Lameness often occurs when a horse is overweight or metabolic problems occur in the horse or pony. This can be caused by excess sugar and starch, among other things, sometimes combined with too much protein. The body accumulates these and cannot get the waste products processed, causing inflammation. This can happen in a very short period of time. Especially in spring and during periods when grasses are richer in fructan, the problem occurs more often. 
 
How do you recognise a horse with sensitive hooves?  
A horse with sensitive hooves can be recognised by stiff and rigid movements, and at a further stage, your horse will want to relieve the sensitive hooves and adopt a remarkable posture. Sensitive hooves are a problem that recurs regularly in many horses once they have had it. 
 
Preventing sensitive hooves!  
A horse at a healthy weight is at less risk of metabolic problems. As with humans, horses also differ in their needs. One horse needs a lot of nutrients to stay in shape, while the other seems to get fat on the air. So, what really benefits your horse is an equal energy intake to its energy needs. Horses get energy from their rations. This is needed to perform where carbohydrates are the biggest source of energy. A horse that is not being ridden can often get enough energy from roughage. But a horse in training needs supplementation. Horses get that energy mainly from carbohydrates. Sugar is one of those carbohydrates and can be found in both roughage and concentrate. Every horse needs sugars for overall health and performance. Only a surplus can cause health problems. A horse that is metabolic sensitive should therefore be provided with feed that is low in sugar and starch. 
 
Relieving sensitive hooves from the in- and outside  
So, does your horse still suffers from sensitive hooves? Always warn the vet! And adjust nutrition and exercise. Feed your horse only poor and long-stemmed roughage. So, for the time being, no more concentrates and no more grazing! Make sure your horse can stand on soft ground. Sensitive hooves can be a consequence of a disturbed metabolism. Take care of the outside of the hoof with Cavalor Podosens. This hoof oil has a relieving effect and reduces pressure. 
 
Help your horse lose weight responsibly  
If your horse suffers from sensitive hooves easily, it is important to keep your horse at a healthy weight. If you are going to let your horse lose weight, you want him to retain sufficient energy and muscles. So, you can't suddenly cut back enormously on your horse's diet, because then he will lose muscle as well as fat. It is therefore important to reduce the intake of carbohydrates and maintain the amount of proteins, minerals and vitamins. An ideal mix to help your horse lose weight in a healthy way is Cavalor Silhouette. It meets the need for all essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins and minerals. It is low in starch (6%) and sugar (5%) and your horse gets its energy from fibre. In addition, it contains easily digestible proteins with an amino acid profile close to that of horse muscle. This ensures muscle retention during weight loss.