How often are your horses feet trimmed?

paddy555 said:
I can't see it would have been a Strasser or any other BF trimmer as I would be very surprised that a horse hospital would have allowed them to work on the premises if they were not a qualified farrier.
Only 1 vet supported the Strasser trimmers, no other vets or farriers and definitely not hospitals.

Once we got that vet educated which was Sept 2002 they had no support.

I would guess this man was in fact a qualified farrier who called himself a specialist trimmer and trimmed as a farrier would or even as he thought Strasser would have done.
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I took Birker's word for it that it was a trimmer. We'll never know, will we? 25 years ago you'd be hard put to find a farrier offering barefoot trimming, a completely unqualified "back man" ran clinics at a local horse hospital here, and vets with no dentistry training rasped teeth. Not forgetting also that Strasser herself was a vet. The world has changed since 1997, thank goodness.
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ycbm said:
I took Birker's word for it that it was a trimmer. We'll never know, will we? 25 years ago you'd be hard put to find a farrier offering barefoot trimming, a completely unqualified "back man" ran clinics at a local horse hospital here, and vets with no dentistry training rasped teeth. Not forgetting also that Strasser herself was a vet. The world has changed since 1997, thank goodness.
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the whole Strasser thing was an extra ordinary period of time, so very very difficult to stop and the shame and upset of the owners who had allowed this to happen to their horses was so very sad.
 
yes needs shoes off now whilst ground is soft for cushioning and to have regular trims now to get the old nail holes grown out rasped away and the whole foot will change without shoes on. you dont want to put a horse who is used to wearing shoes barefoot in summer on hard ground it will be too painful for them. i self trim mine have done for 15 years just taken one 2 Augusts ago shod all her life removed her shoes, trimmed every 4 weeks now nail holes have gone, heels no longer underun, foot changed shape, can now go 6 weeks trimming cycle. i feed biotin in winter because of the soft ground helps stop feet becoming too soft which in turns will result in abscess
 
Getbackboys said:
interesting how many horses does the blood bank have, do they are get trimmed, i wonder…..
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guessing around 100 horses, someone ssid more.

Its in their interests to look after the horses in their care as its a business. Of course they get their feet trimmed, wormed, etc lol. How do you think they'd walk if their feet resemble egyptian slippers!?
 
Getbackboys said:
yes needs shoes off now whilst ground is soft for cushioning and to have regular trims now to get the old nail holes grown out rasped away and the whole foot will change without shoes on. you dont want to put a horse who is used to wearing shoes barefoot in summer on hard ground it will be too painful for them. i self trim mine have done for 15 years just taken one 2 Augusts ago shod all her life removed her shoes, trimmed every 4 weeks now nail holes have gone, heels no longer underun, foot changed shape, can now go 6 weeks trimming cycle. i feed biotin in winter because of the soft ground helps stop feet becoming too soft which in turns will result in abscess
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Yep in a nutshell what my farrier said. Best time of year.
 
well thats good to hear although a lot of horses living out esp that many and wild horses they dont get their feet trimmed they leave it to happen naturally and the movement should in theory not allow them to become alladin slippers.

that tends to happen when horses are left in situations where they dont move around too much, lone animals lots of grass and ofcourse laminitis that has been ignored and those sadly locked away in stables, trailers and forgotten about.

there are 3 ex racehorses in a field next to mine been there 3 years and never seen a farrier, yes their feet are chipped and a bit long, i wouldnt have it with mine, but they are defo not alladin slippers neither is the shettie with them, because they are moving around all the time looking for grass which is sparse.
 
OP, not wanting to worry you but a lot (awful lot) of farriers out there do not know the difference between a "field trim", a "shoe-prep" trim, and a proper barefoot trim. There is one heck of a difference and if your farrier does a "field trim" or even worse just comes and does a normal trim as if for prep for putting a shoe on (this frequently happens unfortunately) then your horse's feet just will not thrive.

Ask your farrier for a "mustang roll" and if they don't know what you are talking about then you need to change to someone like an EP (Equine Podiatrist) who will be able to advise you and support you through the transitioning period.

To start with, you will probably need a trim around about every month or so; then you may be able to increase the gap. Ours are around 6 weeks interval at the moment; we have a barefoot-friendly farrier which is helpful but have had to send two who were NOT sympathetic to our ethos up the road!

There is a FB group "Barefoot Horse Owners UK" group which is helpful and supportive, and has barefoot experts who contribute to it.
 
I might be being a little simplistic on this but I’d just take the shoes off, go steady on the trimming and see what happens! It’s not as though you are needing some special performance trim.

Mine all go in and out of shoes as it suits me. Rarely would I have a situation where a non working horse would be uncomfortable.
 
ihatework said:
I might be being a little simplistic on this but I’d just take the shoes off, go steady on the trimming and see what happens! It’s not as though you are needing some special performance trim.

Mine all go in and out of shoes as it suits me. Rarely would I have a situation where a non working horse would be uncomfortable.
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This. Thousands of non working horses will simply have their shoes removed to be turned away this winter, as they have been for centuries.
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ihatework said:
I might be being a little simplistic on this but I’d just take the shoes off, go steady on the trimming and see what happens! It’s not as though you are needing some special performance trim.

Mine all go in and out of shoes as it suits me. Rarely would I have a situation where a non working horse would be uncomfortable.
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This. It's what I did with my little Arab and she does great without shoes. The only trouble I've had was my initial farrier, who was trimming her, would take slightly too much off and she would be a tiny bit footy on our stony drive the first few days afterwards. I was very new to having an unshod horse and didn't realise this wasn't normal, although in fairness to farrier it was quite minimal footiness. I then once used a barefoot trimmer who came highly recommended and she absolutely butchered my mare's feet - she took so much off and they looked incredibly tidy, but she was SO uncomfortable on them for quite some time afterwards. I actually cried! I have currently used the same farrier for 6 years and he's fab, never leaves them any less comfortable than he finds them.
 
I think the ease of transitioning is more to do with the initial hoof health than the trim (unless someone butchers them).

Mine always have huge, meaty frogs in shoes, and have then had little problem transitioning, even if the rest of the foot hasn't looked great initially. They have all been on a barefoot diet and good nutrition prior to the shoes coming off too.

I always have the horses shod wider and longer than the farrier would naturally prefer, I think this is where chunks for frogs come from. Simplistic, but I think that it does help.

I am shocked when I see the underside of some feet: weedy sick frogs and cracks in the frog holding thrush.
 
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