Sole Searching: How to Help Your Horse Grow the Feet They Deserve

Most owners notice it first on gravel: that slight hesitation, the shorter stride, choosing the shoulder than the centre of the trail. It’s easy to blame the trim, the weather, or the surface, and sometimes those are factors, but low‑grade foot sensitivity often has a nutritional fingerprint long before it becomes a farrier problem.

Hoof horn is a living, growing structure built from:

Keratin proteins

Sulphur‑containing amino acids (especially methionine)

Trace minerals (zinc and copper are the big ones)

Healthy laminae supported by stable blood flow and low inflammation.

When any of these pieces are even slightly off, the hoof becomes softer, more prone to bruising, slower to grow and less resilient on hard or uneven surfaces.

Quiet Nutritional Gaps

1. Low zinc and copper

Australia is notoriously low in both. Without them, keratin bonds are weaker and the hoof wall chips, cracks, or simply doesn’t harden the way it should.

2. Poor protein quality

Not lack of quantity - lack of the right amino acids. Methionine, lysine, and threonine drive hoof growth. A horse can be on plenty of feed and still be short on these.

3. High‑NSC feeds or pasture

Even mild insulin sensitivity can make a horse subtly footy long before you see a full laminitic picture. Spring/autumn grass, lush patches, or high‑sugar hay can all contribute.

4. Low omega‑3 and vitamin E

These nutrients help regulate inflammation. When they’re low, the laminae can feel every bump in the road.

Building Sole

Start with the thing everyone skips: nutrition

Sole is made of keratin, and keratin is made from amino acids + zinc + copper. If any of those are even slightly low, the sole stays thin, chalky, or crumbly no matter how good the trim is.

Sound Advice Biotin Trace Mix has copper and zinc in the right ratios, along with biotin which is proven to dramatically improve hoof growth.

There are clear, peer‑reviewed studies showing that biotin supplementation improves hoof growth and hardness in horses.

Quality protein, especially lysine + methionine. Amino acids are high in full-fat soy bean meal. For owners who don't like feeding soy, lupins have relatively high amino acids.

Omega‑3s (chia/linseed) to reduce low‑grade inflammation

If these aren’t in place, the hoof simply cannot build dense, waxy, protective sole.

Biotin Trace Mix 3kg

A$90.00

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Address Hidden Metabolic Issues

If a horse is even mildly insulin‑resistant, the laminae are inflamed, and the sole stays thin and sensitive.

Red flags: cresty neck, fat pads, footiness on hard ground, seasonal sensitivity.

Managing NSC (sugars + starch), soaking hay, and balancing minerals often transforms the feet.

Protect the sole so it can thicken instead of being worn away

You can’t build something that’s being rubbed off faster than it grows.

Ways to protect it:

Boots + pads for work

Soft footing for rehab periods

Avoiding sharp gravel during the early stages

Regular picking to prevent thrush (thrush undermines sole from the inside). Thrush can cause serious lameness. You can combat it easily with our Good to Go Powder

Sole grows from the corium, not from the bottom surface, so you’re protecting the new growth as it arrives.

Good to Go Hoof Powder

A$29.00

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Get the trim right. A good trim encourages the hoof to load correctly so the sole can thicken. A bad trim, or an over‑enthusiastic one, removes the very material you’re trying to build.

Leave live sole alone. Back up the toe so the horse isn’t levering on the front of the foot. Balance the heels so the horse can land heel‑first

Encourage frog engagement (this stimulates the digital cushion and sole growth)

A horse landing toe‑first will never build good sole. Fix the landing, and the sole follows.

Managing the Environment

Sole hates constant wet (softens it), and constant concussion (bruises it). Aim for: dry standing areas, clean bedding, and varied footing.

Avoiding deep mud where possible. Even 2–3 hours a day on dry footing makes a difference.

How Long Does It Take?

One of the frustrations that we have had is recommending our Biotin Trace to owners with crappy hooves. We give them one bag. They report back in 6 weeks that it "didn't work". This is because realistically you're looking at 3–6 months for noticeable improvement in the new hoof wall growing down, and 9–12 months for a full new hoof capsule.

And then when we can finally convince them to persist, they ask me why we didn't do this years ago!

Sole grows slowly - but it does grow when the conditions are right.

Why this matters

A horse who is “just a bit footy” today is often the same horse who becomes “a bit sore” next season and “suddenly laminitic” the year after.

Nutrition is the earliest, most powerful lever you can pull, and it’s one owners can control without waiting for a crisis.