Do ALL Your Horses Have Feed Done Regularly?

MosMum

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As title really, I realize some have dozens of horses and am just wondering if each and every one has its feet done every 6-8 wks or as needed, including youngstock and retired field ornaments?
Is it always 'bad horsemanship' to let a horse go natural like the wild ponies would?

If you turn a horse away, do you remove his shoes and just trim his feet?

Mo has his feet done every 10 wks as they seem to grow really slowly right now, I'm just asking out of curiosity.
 
Ah, you mean feet - title says feed!

Depends on the horse, big mare - every six weeks, others every 8 - 10 (unshod brigade) unless they need it earlier, old welshy gets them done when he can be caught coinciding with farrier's visit and his feet are in as good nick now as they were when he was in regular work and still shod in front..
 
always, always, always have feet done regularly with all horses.

imo it is even MORE important with youngsters to ensure their feet are correctly balanced.

the way horses are kept in this country is not conducive to letting the horse trim its own feet unless you are doing miles and miles of roadwork to wear them down (and even then i would want the balance checked).
a horse thrown out into a paddock is never going to wear its feet down the way wild horses do as it won't be doing as many miles on varied terrain and its diet is totally different.
 
My farrier comes every 6 or 7 weeks. My 8 ponies range from a foal to almost 27 years old, some are in work some are not but they all get their feet done every time he comes :)
 
Yes. Well I say regularly but in reality its whenever they need doing. Last year she was trimmed every 6 weeks without fail and needed doing but this year she's probably only had her feet trimmed about 4 times all year as they haven't grown as much.
 
Depends it's between 6 weeks and 8 weeks but it's been known to be 10 weeks (farrier not 100% reliable!) and to be honest even at 10 it's been fine. Usually need it at 6 weeks in the summer cos I hack out alot and he wears them down but winter we can stretch abit.
 
My horses are shod every 28-30 days and everything without shoes is checked and trimmed as necessary. The youngsters are generally trimmed every 28 days as well. The pony I had as a paddock companion did go for double what the TB's go for though.
 
Every 6 weeks without fail for my retired veteran. Thats an all round trim and new shoes on the front.

I believe stringent hoof care is very important.

Sadiemay
 
Mine are done every 8 weeks, unless of course we have snow like we did last year & the farrier cant get to us!
On the subject of letting them be like wild horses the mare we bought recently had never had her feet done in her life & shes 12, i have to say though she has brilliant feet, even my farrier was rather impressed with them (i should add since weve had her she has been trimmed & is due to see the farrier again in a couple of weeks)
 
My little horror went through a phase of getting done every 4 weeks, but now he is less work its more 6-8 weeks, as his feet have also improved loads.
My pointer is lucky if shoes last 4 weeks, as he wears through them that quickly due to amount of roadwork- he has had 2 sets in 7 weeks, Expensive!!

I find horses feet (like our nails) grow quicker in hotter weather, e.g summer. In winter some horses feet grow very slowly. So it just depends how the feet are. The farrier comes out to yard every 2 weeks unless told otherwise, but I check myself whether they need done or not. Cob is normally done every 6-8 weeks anyways.
 
My girl goes 7-8 weeks before shoeing. She is only shod as she is a TB.

My last horse never had shoes and was trimmed every 3 months. I had them trimmed as we didn't do a lot of roadwork and I wanted them kept in balance.

In reponse to your bad horsemanship if kept like in the wild. I think that if you are riding them or having them as a domestic pet, then feet need to be trimmed and balanced as they are not living the life of a wild pony.

As for turning away, yes take shoes off (if have good feet) and trim as necessary.
 
My bare footed oldies have them done every other time. The shod ones have them done about ever 6weeks, so the mares every 12 weeks. They sit in a field all day, never do anything, so don't grow enough to have them done regularly

bexcy-bee x
 
Our two have their feet trimmed every 6 - 8 weeks depending on how they are growing as they do vary from summer to winter.

My old TB had her shoes done every 12 weeks - as advised by my farrier as she was light on her shoes and feet grew very slowly.

Other TB and my WB were shoed every 5 - 7 weeks again depending on how they were doing.
 
The shod one gets done every 5 weeks and the two barefoot ones get checked and balanced every 8 weeks - or when farrier is doing the other one. They mostly self trim but still need balance checking and general tidy up.
 
My ridden horses will have theirs done every 5 weeks, as I do a lot of road work. My TB now he is no longer ridden is still done every 5 weeks as he has navicular and we don't want his toes to grow too long.

My old shire cross went barefoot after I retired him, and I think it was due to his ancient age, but his feet barely grew in his later years. He saw my farrier every 10 weeks, but all the farrier did was give a quick rasp to tidy them up, he didnt even have enough growth to need a trim.
 
Every 6 weeks, her hooves grow quite quickly, and consequently she can begin to forge. If we've not done much road work she has refits.
Getting her feet right has been something of a challenge so I like to keep Farrier visits regular.
 
taz gets a new full set every four weeks, costs me a fortune but after the four weeks we start to loose shoes :-( as his feet arent that great to keep them on, he gets his back shoes off in two weeks for the winter and then he will still be every four weeks without fail on the front and a trim on the back x
 
I must be a vile owner, as mine are done every 12/13 weeks. Both unridden and barefoot, and have nice hard well balanced feet. The farrier always says what nice feet they have. Now my broodie is getting heavier her feet are flattening and flaring a bit so we are taling it to 10 weeks and then probably 8 weeks as the pregnancy goes on.
I must add that my girls never have splayed out feet, cracks or splits, my old lad was done every 6 weeks without fail as his feet needed it, every horse is differrent I guess!
 
Mine is on field rest so shoes are off as of tue and she will be trimmed or looked at every 6 weeks as her feet are in bad way. Other mare gets ridden on roads so only needs doing every 8 weeks and try to fit the shetland in with one of them and also youngster gets done every 6-8 weeks depending on if i have walked her in-hand or not.
 
Jemimia_Two - I can't stop watching your siggy! Just spent ages watching each kitten individually, SO cute!

With regards to feet - I don't have ours done every 6 weeks religeously, it depends on the horse. My competition horse is shod most of the year and is generally done every 7 weeks or so (he has superb feet which stay looking good for this period). He then has his shoes taken off from Mid-October until March (when the outdoor season starts), during this time I get my barefoot trimmer to do him whenever she feels necessary. She comes every 6 weeks generally for my 2 retired ponies who are proper barefoot trimmed, they have both had hoof problems in the past so they need to be done this often to keep everything in check.
 
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