Do feet change over time?

[Greylegs]

....... As title really. My boy is now 14 and has never been shod at any time in his life. He is trimmed every 8-9 weeks but seems to be more sensitive in his feet now than he was when he was younger. I was wondering if feet get softer, more sensitive, more fragile, flatter or change in any other way as a horse ages and whether I ought to be thinking about changing his trimming or management regime in any way to compensate for his age. (I should add that I don't want to start shoeing him at this stage of his life).

 

[Oberon]

Hooves are often a symptom, not the primary problem.

It's not the hooves that change but the metabolism does.

It's just like us who can eat whatever we like when we are younger but then get fat/heart disease when we hit our 50s

Don't forget to rule out Cushings too.

Try removing him from all grass and bucket feeds for 48 hours and see if that makes any difference, then you'll know if it's a metabolism issue .

Maybe leave a trim cycle and see if that makes a difference too.

 

[mjcssjw2]

I have had to do the 'Oberon' method with my horse, have never really had a problem before and he is 15, turns out he has EMS/IR. At the moment he cannot tolerate any grass.