Histological and physical assessment of poor hoof horn quality in Lipizzaner horses and a therapeutic trial with biotin and a placebo.

The research focuses on identifying reasons for the poor hoof quality of Lipizzaner horses from the Viennese Spanish Riding School and exploring a potential treatment involving biotin. It includes a double-blind study involving 42 of these horses and evaluates histological changes and the tensile strength of the horse’s hooves throughout a 38 month period of biotin treatment.

Study Introduction

• This study was a continuation of an existing research effort exploring the reasons for the inferior hoof quality of Lipizzaner horses based in the Viennese Spanish Riding School in the late 1980s.
• The study specifically assesses whether treatment with biotin could potentially improve the quality of the horses’ hooves.

Methodology

• In total, 42 Lipizzaner horses were included in the study, which was conducted as a double-blind trial for objectivity.
• Multiple parameters were measured and evaluated. This included the histology (microscopic structure) of the hoof horn, the tensile strength of the coronary horn of the hoof, and the impact of biotin on both these aspects.
• The measurement of biotin’s impact was specifically assessed following a treatment dosage of 20 mg/day for 38 months.
• The histological alterations were assessed through a grading system, where Grade 0 represented no changes and Grade 3 represented severe changes.

Initial Findings

• In the early stages of the study, more than two-thirds of the horses were found to present moderate to severe changes in the structure of their hooves, such as visible microcracks and sole-separation from the coronary horn.
• The average tensile strength of hooves was also significantly lower than that of the hooves of Warmblood horses studied by a different researcher, Küng, in 1991.

Outcome and Conclusion

• After 19 months of consistent biotin treatment, a small but significant improvement in hoof quality was observed.
• This improvement was identified by comparing the hoof tissue structure pre- and post-treatment, as well as comparing the treated group with a control group given a placebo.
• However, the abstract ends prematurely, truncating the additional findings and conclusions of the study.