MAx time length between shoeing/ trimming

[4eva bankrupt]

hiya,
i was reading a thread on the barefoot section (i think) amd someone stated that the max a horse should go without being trimmed is 8weeks, is the the same for shod, unshod and barefoot horse/ponies. what effects can happen if you go over this.

My pony who has very hardy feet used to only be trimmed twice a year, and when she was trimmed, the farrier breifly used the file, and that was it.

I know trimming etc has a lot to do with hoof balance but, surely not all horses hooves grow at different rates, and how they get worn down will also affect when they need trimming.

[Sammii]

Red goes 8 weeks inbetween each farrier visit. He has gone the last two visits without needing new shoes put on, just needed to be trimmed back.

[Forever Fern]

Mine goes 4 weeks beween shoeing
xXx

[coss]

does this refer to my thread? yes, i believe horse's hooves grow at different rates and therefore the time between trims/shoing should be altered. i know of horses with lovely feet who happily go 12 weeks between shoings during winter. during the summer there is a significant difference as his feet grow much faster with rich grass. my mare ran out of room on her hooves when she was shod every 8 weeks last year. she couldn't be re-shod without her hooves becoming teabags. she doesn't like being shod so i've gone back to barefoot.
i know another horse who must be shod every 6 weeks due to his 3/4 shoe as he has a false quarter that grows faster than the rest of the hoof.

[fenpedia]

every horse is different from my experience, peter is shod and goes around 10 weeks before needing trimming back.
India is barefoot and can go no more than 7 weeks though 6 is really ideally what she needs, her feet grow amazingly fast all year round.

[Lucyad]

We are at 10 weeks, shoes went loose today and farrier is coming tomorrow!!! (no he isnt that efficient, he was booked a fortnight ago). Wouldnt leave it longer than that asa his toes get a bit long?

[Joyscarer]

I go on my farriers recommendation given the amount of wear the shoe has had. She doesn't get a lot taken off her feet as her hoof growth is minimal. Currently on 4-5 weeks for shoes.

[Scarlett 001]

My horse goes about 7 weeks. Difficult call as on one hand he grows slowly, but what he does grow on the left fore will tend to underrun and grow a long toe if we wait too long.

[Greentchr]

We went 8 weeks last summer, but this summer will be back to 7 weeks because they seemed to loosen on the one horse in the last week.

Of the 3 horses, 2 need trimmed every 7-8 weeks, the third horse (a mustang) could go longer.

We don't trim in the winter (between the end of November and the end of March), but we are on rocky ground, and they are out 24/7. I suspect that if we did not shoe, we would not need as frequent trimming, either, though the donkey still seems to need trimming every 7-8 weeks also during the summer.

[BeachRiding]

Mine get done every 8-9weeks

[Stella2]

Flora doesn't need trimming from the End of Ocotber until March. Then she goes about 9/10 weeks to the next trim, then its every 6 weeks through the summer until October. She is unshod.

[Bay Mare]

It's not just about how much foot the horse grows but the imbalance in the foot. Some barefoot horses will self trim but if they've tweaked themselves, for example, their foot will become imbalanced even if it looks short enough.

For shod horse the balance needs to be considered too, it's not about how long the shoe stays on.

When Saff did her shoulder last year the changes in her foot (going from in balance at one trim to total imbalance the next) in just 4 weeks were scary.

I would always want a trim between 4-6 weeks. At the very most 8 weeks but definitely no longer than that.

[Bebe]

It depends on what you consider to be a balanced hoof. When my mare was unshod with a farrier trimming he'd regularly send me away saying nothing needed to be done and I think that winter she was trimmed only twice despite me presenting her for inspection every 6 weeks. Even then with the tiny bit of knowledge I had I knew that her hooves weren't as good as they should or could be, but the farrier always said there was nothing to trim.

I trim a few horses now and yes their schedules do vary, from horse to horse and dependent upon the time of year. However, none of them go more than 8 weeks between trims and I've found that as their owners eyes become more education to correct balance and form they come and ask me for trims more frequently than they did initially.

It's much easier on me if I trim them more frequently and on problematic hooves it's also much better for the horse as it means problems are kept on top of and as a result are resolved much more quickly.

My most frequently trimmed horse is my own, she's done every 2-3 weeks but it's never what would be considered to be a full trim, just touch-ups as and where necessary. I've got 2 others currently on a 5 week schedule and the remaining 2 go anything between 5-8 weeks depending upon growth rate and their workload. These two have very, very good hooves so hold their balance well hence their ability to go longer between trims.

I personally wouldn't let any horse of mine go more than 6 weeks between shoeing, in fact I'd be happier with 4/5 weekly trims and resets.

[Bay Mare]

It depends on what you consider to be a balanced hoof. When my mare was unshod with a farrier trimming he'd regularly send me away saying nothing needed to be done and I think that winter she was trimmed only twice despite me presenting her for inspection every 6 weeks. Even then with the tiny bit of knowledge I had I knew that her hooves weren't as good as they should or could be, but the farrier always said there was nothing to trim.


I agree with you, Bebe. I would, however, expect a farrier to know what a properly balanced foot was too though I know from exeperience that's not always the case!

I'd much rather keep Saff as balanced as possible rather than constantly letting her get out of balance, rebalancing and then balancing again. It's inevitably going to affect their way of going and working out of balance is going to affect the other structures in the foot and leg too.

[Wally]

In summer Piggy Porker can wear a pair o front shoes in half and snap them at the toe! in about 4 weeks!

If he is ridden on the roads barefoot, he can wear his feet into the most extra-ordinary ways.

[Tootsie4U]

When I bought my QH, they had him on a 12 week schedule.

I keep him on an 8 week schedule because I dont just ask for a pasture trim. I keep them balanced. Even though he grows very slowly (and there's not much for the farrier to do) he at least gets a rasping to balance out flares.

[Jessey]

Bo used to be shod every 8 weeks as a youngster, then reduced to 6 weeks as his toes were getting too long, then took his shoes off as his heels colapsed and trim every 6 weeks, still getting long toes (when not doing road work) so I do an in-between touch up so he is looked at every 3 weeks or so.

Jess on the other hand has really good feet and rarely needs anything doing in-between the farrier visits (other than training ;)) so goes about 6 weeks.

[Trewsers]

Storm usually goes about 6 - 7 weeks between trims.

[Stella2]

My farrier says that if a barefoot horse it going over hard ground regularly, it will self trim in keeping with its own movement and balance. I have no reason to disbelieve this since Flora has had no problems.

[Bebe]

My farrier says that if a barefoot horse it going over hard ground regularly, it will self trim in keeping with its own movement and balance.

It will, provided the foot is already balanced and healthy and the horse does enough work to wear off the new growth. None of the horses I trim do enough work on hard ground so whilst they do keep their hooves well balanced on their own, and don't chip or crack between trims, I do need to do them every 5-7 weeks to take the extra height off.

I seem to be blessed with the ability to make every horse who's hooves I touch grow at a rate of knots though, not quite sure why!

[Stella2]

It will, provided the foot is already balanced and healthy and the horse does enough work to wear off the new growth. None of the horses I trim do enough work on hard ground so whilst they do keep their hooves well balanced on their own, and don't chip or crack between trims, I do need to do them every 5-7 weeks to take the extra height off.

I seem to be blessed with the ability to make every horse who's hooves I touch grow at a rate of knots though, not quite sure why! My mare only walks over hard ground twice or so a day on the way to and from the field and is ocassionally ridden at walk on the road - so she does very little on hard ground. Nevertheless, her feet remain nicely balanced it seems, and my farrier states that is obviously enough to do the job for her!

I'm not decrying the EP approach. It would take a large sample of horses managed by an EP and a corresponding group mananged by a traditional farrier (with the longer periods between trims) to know enough and I don't have access to that information. However, I keep noticing in discussions that people who favour EP place lots of emphasis on the EP balancing the foot at intervals of no more than 8 weeks even in winter. Yet in those same discussions there are many people with sound, happy horses, who are trimmed by farriers with longer intervals. Consequently, I am just not persuaded!

[Dina]

It depends on the horse,Chunky and Joe need to have theirs done about every 8 weeks but my sisters horses has hers trimmed every second time and her feet are fine with that.That was the same with Dargi's feet they grew really slowly and were fine being trimmed at longer intervals.

[Peanut]

It depends on the time of year for us. She only wears a front set and they last 7 weeks in the winter but it goes down to every 4 weeks in the summer.

[Bay Mare]

However, I keep noticing in discussions that people who favour EP place lots of emphasis on the EP balancing the foot at intervals of no more than 8 weeks even in winter. Yet in those same discussions there are many people with sound, happy horses, who are trimmed by farriers with longer intervals. Consequently, I am just not persuaded!

I guess that it depends on your farrier. Saff was farrier shod/trimmed by a farrier and they were desperately out of balance with flare and thrush to boot and he never said a word about it.

Whilst a horse, once in balance, can maintain the balance given the correct conditions it only takes a tweak in the field to cause an imbalance. As I said earlier on we noticed a huge difference in just 4 weeks when Saff did her shoulder. I'm pretty sure that the farrier wouldn't even have noticed as he never noticed the imbalance before that caused her hoof to crack!.

The EP/barefoot trim isn't just about the balance though that is obviously one of the factors. If people are happy with their farriers then that's great. There are plenty of horses to go around.

No matter whether Saff was farrier or EP trimmed I still wouldn't want to go as long as 12 weeks.

[Yann]

I've seen some lovely farrier trimmed bare feet in recent times, and some questionable barefoot trimmed ones too, so it's definitely down to the skill of the particular practitioner.

Neither of my own horses need a lot doing balance wise from trim to trim and I keep on top of flare and rolling the hoof wall myself. We're due a visit from the (non EP) trimmer in a couple of weeks - I suspect the interval between visits might well be extended. Both horses are in regular work and both seem to balance growth against wear pretty well themselves although Tess still does a lot of work in boots.

[MelanieD]

Both of mine need trimming at least every 4 weeks, I usually end up doing something every 2-3 weeks. They're seen by an EP every 6 weeks as well as what I do inbetween.

One has a wonky foot from neglect before I got her and has been unblancing her back feet due to stifle problems so needs regular trimming, there's hardly ever any length to take off. She was farrier trimmed before I got her and since there wasn't much length he didn't think she needed doing more often but shaping the feet more often even if there isn't much length to take off has really improved her feet.

The other one had laminitis last spring and is growing in new and improved feet since then so likes to shed loads of sole occasionally and make lots of trimming work for me. They'd both probably go the 6 weeks between EP visits without anything too bad happening but I'm a fussy person who can't resist getting my rasp out. When Rox was shod she had to be done every 5 weeks with visits for lost shoes inbetween that.

I do know a few farrier trimmed horses who are trimmed a lot less frequently than that and are 'fine' but they aren't doing hard work and I wouldn't be happy with feet that looked like that on my horses. Not really a lot of good farriers in my area though so not seeing the best examples of farrier trimmed horses. EPs tend to get a lot of problem feet to deal with as well rather than the straightforward 'don't need shoes' types and hooves with problems cope far less well with not being trimmed often enough.

[parsharainbow]

5-6 weeks for my shod two, my mare gets done about twice a year, I still get her out for the farrier every 5 weeks with the other two but he always tells me to put her away as there's nothing to do, occasionally and I mean very occasionally she'll need a trim but most of the time she keeps her feet perfect herself :)

[xxxkristinaxxx]

At my old place (i dont go there anymore).
The ponies were all barefoot and has nice strong hooves!
They only needed their feet trimming a few times a year. I think 2-4 times on average. This is because when riding their hooves just naturally got worn down.

Xena gets her front two shod ever 2 maybe 3 months.
Its not up to me to have her shod though its up to her owner.
She could do with being done every 2 months though.

[Bebe]

My mare only walks over hard ground twice or so a day on the way to and from the field and is ocassionally ridden at walk on the road - so she does very little on hard ground. Nevertheless, her feet remain nicely balanced it seems, and my farrier states that is obviously enough to do the job for her!


I should have added "or doesn't grow foot at a rate of knots". In theory the hoof should only grow at a rate fast enough to replace that which is worn off, however much that may be. It sounds like you've got a self-trimming horse, which is what most of us should be aiming for (but don't always get, depends on how good the feet are, there are some hooves that will never improve beyond a certain point no matter how hard you try).

I wouldn't automatically favour an EP over a farrier for the trim itself, this is very much dependent upon the person doing the trimming and can vary between methods as much as any other skill does. What an EP and most other barefoot trimmers can offer that farriers don't tend to is advice on nutrition, environment and use of boots. These things are often the key to keeping a horse that may otherwise need to be shod sound and happy without shoes, hence why this approach tends to be recommended as a first port of call.

I do know a few farrier trimmed horses who are trimmed a lot less frequently than that and are 'fine' but they aren't doing hard work and I wouldn't be happy with feet that looked like that on my horses.

Me too. For me now "sound right now" isn't good enough if I can see potential problems for the future being stored up.