Shoeing questions - frequency and cost

[Scarlett 001]

The farrier at my current barn does his rounds every 5 weeks. Skeeter is just wearing front shoes (no back shoes). The cost is about $95 Cdn each time (78 USD or 44 pounds).

Just curious - is a shoeing frequency of every 5 weeks about normal - some web sites say 6-8 weeks so just wanted to check 5 weeks is not overkill. What about the cost? Does it seem reasonable? My instructor really likes the work this farrier does, and uses him for all her fancy dressage horses. Anyway, I just wanted to confirm if frequency and cost are in the realm of at least reasonable? Obviously costs vary from location to location, but I'd still be curious to hear responses to my questions.

[Bay Mare]

When Saff had front shoes on she was done every 6/7 weeks. 8 weeks was just about doable but absolutely no longer.

Now she's barefoot we're on 4 weekly appointments but that's just until we get her feet sorted when we should be able to decrease the frequency.

I was paying £30 for front shoes and a trim at the back though it is fairly cheap in this part of the country.

[galadriel]

Last time my horses were being shod regularly, it was $110 for one set of shoes, another...$30-50 for shoes all around (it's been a while, I can't remember exactly). USD, of course.

Depending on the quality of the hoof, 5 weeks may be about right. Some people have their horses shod every 4 weeks. If Skeety-boy is a typical TB, then he's probably got awful hooves and could do with the extra attention to farriery ;)

In the light work you've got him in now (yes, it's light :)), it's possible he might have healthier hoof barefoot, if the farrier does a good barefoot trim. It's not always a major transition to barefoot, and the hoof tends to grow better and stronger with the better contact with the ground. Duch & Kat both made the transition to barefoot quite without complication--and until I decided to try barefoot, Kat had always been one of those horses who had to be shod all around because her feet wore down faster than they grew. (Fantasy, of course, te little scamp...she's got rock-hard Morgan hooves and probably wouldn't need shoes for *anything*.)

[Yann]

5 weeks is far better than 7 or 8 in most cases. It does depend on your horses feet and how quickly they grow, as there may not be enough growth in some cases to make the job worthwhile. The other possible problem is that subsequent nail holes will end up too close together and promote cracks. Ideally though keeping the time between shoeings to a minimum will help keep the feet tidy and balanced. I don't like to let Rio go longer than 6 weeks and usually have her done at 5, especially in the summer when her feet are growing more quickly.

[Kanuma]

my lot (baring any problems) get done every 8-10 weeks stan has just had a problem so will be done every 8 weeks at the most till it has gone away!

[chickflick1066]

My Stumps is shod every 6 weeks without fail. Her shoes are pretty expensive at a set for £60.

[saldec]

My TB mare Perrie is shod every 7 - 8 weeks. My farrier is so busy i have to book him well in advance. He charges £70 for a full set. He is the only farrier i can get as they are far & few between in my area. Most of them say "sorry not in my area" even though they shod horses 3 miles away from me!!!
Mine comes 60 miles just to do Perrie.
The other person in the same village as me who also has a TB has somebody different but she can go 2 - 3 months without seeing the farrier, at least mine is reliable, kind & caring to Perrie which helps a great deal :) :D

[eeyore]

ours were £40 for a pair because our farrier's a git :p (nah he's just a specialist farrier..) most regulars are £40 per set though.
oh, and we had him done every 4-6 weeks. so same as you.

but we're about to go barefoot though - it's £30, 15 if not much needs doing!
and that's every 6-8 weeks i think, depending on the horse.

[Scarlett 001]

Based on responses the cost and frequency are not unusually high or anything. I had budgeted a bit less for footcare, would likely be able to get lower shoeing cost here in Calgary - but I learned via the stables to a large extent you get what you pay for - and farrier care is not something I will compromise on (just like Skeeter's feeding needs are non-negotiable).

Depending on the quality of the hoof, 5 weeks may be about right. Some people have their horses shod every 4 weeks. If Skeety-boy is a typical TB, then he's probably got awful hooves and could do with the extra attention to farriery ;)


Well, his feet were an absolute mess. He had front shoes when I bought him, cracks everywhere on all four hooves, he had probably gone many months since that shoeing, and likely before that for the 8 months he was out of work no one did his feet either. Bad quality hoof at the moment. Not sure what they will be like if cared for properly.

The farrier showed me his feet after the shoes in front were removed, and there were parts around the edge that were non weight-bearing and kind of hollowed out or something. So for now he needs shoes in the front as the mess grows out. The back was not as bad, so we did not shoe the back and will see how they grow out - Skeeter sometimes gets a bit kicky around his food and I'd prefer he not wear back shoes in case he kicks his buddy Frosty in his enthusiasm for food.

[KarinUS]

We used to space our appointments according to growth. Every 5 weeks in the summer when they were on grass and the hooves grew faster, a little longer apart in the winter when the hoof growth slowed down.
I used to pay $70 for 4 shoes.

[momofsix]

My new horses just had their first farrier appointment Saturday--it was so exciting! I thought the farrier did great. We decided to try and leave the one barefoot but put shoes on the other. The farrier took lots of time to talk to us about all the options. We paid 80 US dollars for the full set of shoes and 30 dollars for the trim and had to make an appointment for the next time right then, 8 weeks in the future. He said if there was too much growth then, we might have to see him every 6 weeks.

[andreaB]

my horses go at least 8 weeks , cost £50 a full set, my balcksmith says they are better off going a full 8 or otherwise hes hitting the old nail holes , unless of course your horses feet grow like mad

[eventerbabe]

toby is done every 6-8 weeks. more often than not its the full 8 weeks coz his feet are very tough and don't seem to grow particularly fast. Bonnie was being done every 2-3 weeks but we are now able to increase this to every 4-5 weeks, but she's a special case as she's a laminitic and we can't have her losing shoes and making her feet sore.

[Greentchr]

My two (Arabian and Quarter HOrse/Appy) go 6-8 weeks at US$50.00 per set. There are many farriers in the area and they charge between $45 and $75 per set, more for specialty shoes. Trims are $15-$25 depending on the farriers experience, though I have found that my favorite farrier (I have had 3 different ones finding him) charges $20 for trims and $50 for shoes.