"No hoof, no horse" Do people no longer use this term!!

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NicoleS_007

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Just a general musing :p I just dont understand why people leave there horses feet so long between shoeing intervals that they look long in the toe, the foot has over grown the side of the shoes, there loose or only have one shoe left!! I have witnessed quite alot of this with novice owners or teenagers etc or just people who dont really care tbh. One at my old yard waited until her horse had one shoe left on, hadnt been shod in about 3 months atleast. Another one all 4 were off and feet still werent attented to for a while, it was quite foot sore to poor thing (my boy had been shod about 3 or more times in between these two's shoeing intervals!). And then they moan about not being able to ride etc :rolleyes: Do people just no longer care about the state of there horses feet!! I find it all rather shocking tbh!! But maybe im just persnickety as i dont like my horses feet going over 6 weeks, usually 4-5 weeks! Are more people frequently leaving there horses feet unattented for 11+ weeks?! So how often does everyone get there feetsies done these days, please tell me im not the only "persnickety one out there :p
 
My boy is shod every 7 weeks.
He had to go 11 weeks when an injury ment he couldn't be shod. It was a one off and didn't do him any harm, infact the farrier agreed that his feet looked good.
 
4-5 weeks is a touch neurotic unless your remedial shoeing :o

im quite happy at 8 week intervals, will stretch it if neccesary but we tend to wear them out quicker than that!
 
My horse very often goes 9 weeks in the winter she has very slow growing hooves/not worked very often with me being at uni for the last 3 years! However in the summer when she's wearing her shoes down & her feet seem to grow more - think its something to do with the more concussion the more they grow (?) - she goes about 7 weeks but can go 8 with no problems.

I agree 4-5 weeks seems a bit excessive :o but better than a lame horse through poor hoof management! :)
 
We're at 4-5 week intervals currently just because we've JUST hit the road to recovery and want to keep on top of everything for now! No point rocking the boat :)
K x
 
Well, Billy has been missing a shoe for the best part of a week & last night he lost the other front one. I would have got him shod (was due to be shod this week anyway) last week but farrier couldn't come till tonight! I'm lucky though that B has good feet so isn't footy :)

We don't go by 7-8 weeks, we go by the horse's hoof - if it looks like it needs doing then it gets done, if they are fine then they are left :)
 
I understand one offs as i had to leave my last boyo about 9 weeks due to injury but they did look awful especially because he was flat footed. These on the other hand are not one offs, and imo have been affected by it. The one whom ended with no shoes was very footy and sore on muddy soft ground, feet were that long it was walking on its heels. Same with another one i know, couldnt even see the side of the shoes as the hoof had grown over and down slightly and was also putting more weight on its heels. Has rather flat feet now and heels look collapsed after about a year of "Oh i think my horse needs shod" yes about 3 weeks ago :rolleyes:
 
My two are shod every six weeks, my farrier would not let me go over 8 weeks. Don't people realise the damage that can be done by irregular shoeing?
 
only_me said:
Well, Billy has been missing a shoe for the best part of a week & last night he lost the other front one. I would have got him shod (was due to be shod this week anyway) last week but farrier couldn't come till tonight! I'm lucky though that B has good feet so isn't footy :)

We don't go by 7-8 weeks, we go by the horse's hoof - if it looks like it needs doing then it gets done, if they are fine then they are left :)
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love your pic by the way.............

Mine was 8 weeks every other pay day and even then in the winter if it snowed etc probably 10 weeks no problem. If good grass etc did keep to 8 weeks as def growing!
His feet were good though. But I do agree with your title of post... I am fussy about picking out feet too......
 
Yes but I usually notice a couple of weeks before they get to the point where they need to be done so still have time to book farrier. Also neither of mine are shod.
 
One horse on my yard has had to go from 6 weeks to 4-5weeks due to the amount of work they're doing and they're wearing their shoes down so much they're getting little grip. They do a lot of road work and go to a lot of comps. Horse is ridden 6 times a week.

My shod horse is every 6 - 8 weeks (I try to keep it at 6 but it depends on how busy farrier is as his diary can be full 6-7 weeks in advance). I find this works well for her but then she has little growth. Going to try Kevin Bacon -see if can help growth.

My barefoot pony is every 12 weeks and the farrier is happy with that and indeed it was him that mentioned how long to leave it.

If either of them needed seeing more regularly, then he'd be the first to tell me.

Different horses go different lengths of time especially depending on work, quality of hooves etc BUT some of those scenarios you desribe OP are just plain and simply lazy and scrimping on the horse's health.

How anyone can deliberately not get a horses hooves seen to especially when they clearly need it for casting shoes etc is disgraceful.
 
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People seem hung up on how many weeks, the horse should be shod when it needs it, not every 6,7,8 or 10 weeks. Farriers are the trouble booking regular visits in their diary, but they have a living to make.

Of course the really smart owners go barefoot, that way you can manage the feet yourself, properly, once you know how, and a decent trimmer will keep you on the right track.
 
Pale Rider said:
People seem hung up on how many weeks, the horse should be shod when it needs it, not every 6,7,8 or 10 weeks. Farriers are the trouble booking regular visits in their diary, but they have a living to make.

Of course the really smart owners go barefoot, that way you can manage the feet yourself, properly, once you know how, and a decent trimmer will keep you on the right track.
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Healthy hooves on average grow roughly 1cm every 4 weeks and I work on plenty that grow a lot more than that. If the foot is shod it can't wear this growth down, so from the moment the shoe is on the breakover point starts extending forwards. This is not good for the horse. So I agree with the farriers who book in and suggest shorter shoeing intervals, this may improve their bank balance, but it also (with good farriery etc a given) works for the health of the horse.

I completely understand the reasons behind extended shoeing intervals, but if I ever shod my horses then I would always go for shoeing intervals of 4/5 weeks if only because of the expectations of growth rate and if my horses feet weren't growing that fast then I would want to know why.

As to vets and the like that leave them for much longer. Vets are not perfect, any more than the rest of us.
 
my mare is barefoot so i go by how her feet look, and when they look ready she get's a trim!

if she did more roadwork i'd probs want front shoes on her though in which case probably every 6 to 8 weeks..
 
One of the ponies I loaned was in a bit of a state when I got her and started off being trimmed every 5-6 weeks but within 6 moths the roadwork (a LOT of hacking) we did and her hoof growth seemed to balance out and she was barely trimmed at all. I ended up being lucky as the farrier who did the other horses at the yard was happy just to take a look at her every time he was down and do a little trimming if it was needed. She would go up to 3 moths sometimes without him feeling she needed anything doing but I always asked him to check. Barefoot that is, not shod.
 
Pale Rider said:
Of course the really smart owners go barefoot, that way you can manage the feet yourself, properly, once you know how, and a decent trimmer will keep you on the right track.
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:rolleyes:
And the really really smart owners realise that barefoot isn't for every horse...
 
The sad truth and fact is that there are so many horse owners out there that can't distinguish a well or badly shod/trimmed foot! And I do not just mean new horse owners - I am talking people who have owned horses for years. Some folk are so ignorant that they believe because their horse never loses a shoe that it must be well shod!!!

imo it should be a part of anyone's education with horses to learn what a balanced foot looks like. I sometimes look at others horses feet and despair that they cannot see a problem, when the toes are long the heels contracted.
At worst an owner should be asking their vet if their horses feet look balanced and well trimmed/shod, if they cannot tell themselves.

Rant over.
 
Every 6 weeks. I won't leave it longer then that as it compromises the balance of the hoof. I wouldn't wait to my horses feet were looking shoddy before I called the farrier that's awful.
6 weeks is the maximum. My horse was shod 5 weeks last time as the shoes were wearing down with all the riding I'm doing at the moment.
 
Having always had a full set of shoes on my last horse i have noticed that if you have a full set you are never asked WHY you have shoes but if you are barefoot your asked WHY is he/she barefoot. Anyone else noticed this? My mare is shod infront and bare behind and i have been asked numerous times by many people "Why is she barefoot behind?" and they seem shocked tbh. My response is that she doesnt need them yet, isnt doing enough work to warrant them, isnt footy and there in great condition. She is only 4yrs old so i dont see the point in putting hinds on for no reason. But im pretty sure if i had shoes all round i wouldnt be asked why i have them as its the "norm". A bit off topic there :D
 
Pale Rider said:
People seem hung up on how many weeks, the horse should be shod when it needs it, not every 6,7,8 or 10 weeks. Farriers are the trouble booking regular visits in their diary, but they have a living to make.
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Agree completly.
Six to eight weeks is a good estimate for most horses in most situations, which is why nearly every horse care book on the planet will recomend that interval.

It's good for the farrier to have horses booked well in advance so he can plan his days,but it's also usefull for owners to gett he feet done before problems arise.
However,it's pointless to get the farrier out at week 7 if the feet are fine and can go another 3 weeks.

As with everything,use what is "normal" as a starting point and tweak untill you have the right management for your horse :)

Pale Rider said:
Of course the really smart owners go barefoot, that way you can manage the feet yourself, properly, once you know how, and a decent trimmer will keep you on the right track.
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Not suitable for every combination,but thats another debate ;)
 
Mine goes 7 weeks, he was barefoot for 4 weeks due to having an operation and was suprised as to well he coped but he needs his shoes on for support. My last pony I brought to break and sell I left barefoot, he used to go hacking and never felt footy, he ws trimmed every 12 weeks if he needed doing
 
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