Foot growth after age 6

[Caol Ila]

My farrier once told me that the feet of a horse are the last thing to grow. I never verified that fact by reading up on any papers, but he may be right.

I'd been struggling a bit to make Hermosa's hoof boots fit, and after a real struggle yesterday, I measured her feet. They were a good 5mm+ larger than when I last measured her (admittedly when I first bought her boots as a 4yo). Well, balls, especially since I just replaced an old set of Renegades. I should have measured her feet before doing that, but we were getting ready for a trip to Africa, and it was still kind of fine (now looking back, it was 'kind of' more than 'fine') and the change has just crept up on me.

We might be able to adjust the cables of this existing boots and run them for the summer. Or I can try selling them and get the next size up. Oy. That's a pain 'cause they are bright orange and I had them shipped from the States (via Hoof Bootique), since neither Hoof Bootique nor Urban Horse keep colourful ones in stock.

 

[Nocturnal]

I heard somewhere that hooves don’t stop maturing till age 8, but I don’t know how true that is and can’t remember where I read it. Would be interested if there were any studies on it!

 

[Sanversera]

My two year olds hoofs have suddenly grown much bigger and he's going through a stalky growth stage.

 

[holeymoley]

Gosh, if that’s the case my 2 year old will have feet like an elephant his feet are already quite big.

 

[Suechoccy]

Hoof Boutique will resell your boots for you. Hoofboots are also increasingly in demand so you shouild be able to sell them on facebook or ebay too.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Farans hooves are still changing shape and he’s 7 I’ve been lucky the his scoots with pads have adapted well but if the grow much more I’m going to have to go up a size as well. He got his when he was 5.

 

[kerrieberry2]

I would keep your old boots and get new ones! my horse has gone, up and down sizes quite a lot since being barefoot! he started with cavallos, went from a 3 to a 4 to a 5 back to a 4, now somewhere in between a 4 and a 5, so i've swapped over to flex 145s with pads. he had renegade classics in a 4ww for a while but they ended up too wide!

I basically have a box full of boots in a few different sizes, so I can find the ones that fit best when he needs them.

my mare has been mostly consistent and has been 140 in flex's but recently had a growth spirt and a week or two before her trim, she's needed to move up into a the 145s with pads!