Can barefoot horse totally self trim?

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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My cob was seen by my farrier who told me his feet were as short as they could be and he'd make him footsore if he took anything off his feet.., he therefore didn't charge me but he said the same last time too.., cobby is very straight moving and has never been lame but is this possible ( if it is hooray cos he's v cheap to keep (his feet btw are as hard as nails) and he hacks 10 miles on roads 3 times a week with schooling in a manège between times)
 
Yes its entirely possible. As long as you don't suddenly increase or decrease his workload, he sounds like he'll be grand. If the farrier is coming to the yard to see other horses, get him to check your cobby over when he's there, and he may occasionally need a tidy up, but it does indeed sound as if he is successfully self-trimming :D
 
Agreed-sounds like he's doing a good job himself but best get the farrier to check occasionally to make sure foot balance etc is still ok. :)
 
My boy is exactly the same, he came to me in February with good feet, he had a slight trim in June and the farrier looked at his feet last month and said nothing needs to be done. He reckons he'll need trimming twice a year, if that!

We hack out 2/3 times a week (mainly road work) and once a week in the school. Thats all!
 
My Fell is just the same. It's not often my farrier has to touch her feet, if I've got a show she might run the rasp around to tidy them up but it's not often Rosie needs a proper trim. Makes up for the wimpy New Forest who can only go so long before needing front shoes!!
 
+Lucky you, many years ago when I had my young pony me and my friend would lead them out in hand at the weekend. I bought a rasp to trim their feet but they never needed doing.

Should get mine out now and self trim save me $105 dollars every fouor weeks!
 
Absolutely. I only trim my hunter when he is not in hunting season and is doing too little work to do the job himself.


Make sure you know the difference between self-trimming and "got such strong feet that they grow down and don't chip" . I know of several "navicular spectrum" barefoot horses who have become that way because they grew themselves a "shoe" of horn and took the weight off their frogs and soles. The guidance I follow is that you should not normally be able to slide a steel ruler under your horse's frog when it is stood on concrete. (The exception to this is horses whose feet are contracted, where it can be impossible to get the heels low enough for the frog to bear weight on hard flat surfaces without causing damage.)
 
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