Shoeing intervals - how often?

[HappyHollyDays]

Following on from the thread on shoeing costs which has been an interesting comparison I was wondering how often people shoe or trim.

I use two farriers as one is shod and other barefoot. Having found a very knowledgable and well regarded farrier who is also a barefoot trimmer I wouldn't use anyone else for DP. He travels extensively and I call him when I think DP needs to be balanced but I also use a Radius rasp inbetween visits to keep the feet tidy. He probably sees him every 10 weeks.

B on the other hand needs new shoes every 4 weeks in summer and 5 weeks in winter. He is extremely heavy on his ironware, rarely loses them but has the slowest growing foot I have ever come across. It's a constant battle to give the farrier enough foot to work with versus how thin can his shoes go before they need replacing.

 

[Pinkvboots]

personally I would not leave shoes longer than 7 weeks I have only left mine this long a handful of times purely because of circumstances out of my control, mine are done every 5 weeks in summer 6 in winter, if your horses feet are not growing enough between shoeings as 4 weeks is not that long but your shoes are wearing out sometimes fitting some road nails in each shoe can effectively make the shoe last a bit longer.

 

[Michen]

4 weeks for mine to ensure they are kept balanced whilst growing in summer.

 

[milliepops]

Mine are on a 6 week cycle the barefoot oldies get trimmed as and when.

 

[MissGee]

My farrier is booked in every 4 weeks. My 2 x competition horses are shod every 4 weeks and my two oldies (25 and 26) that only hack 2/3 times per week are shod every 8 weeks. However, he inevitably has to pop in in-between times for the odd lost shoe etc - which is very rarely for the olds lol

 

[Annagain]

M goes 6 weeks normally but only 4 1/2 before I had to beg the farrier to come out sooner this time. I think we've had so much wet and sun, wet and sun that his hooves seemed to grow like mad!

A goes 8. I wouldn't like this normally but his feet grow incredibly slowly and if he's done any earlier than that the new nail holes are so close to the old ones, his hoof cracks in between, creating a hole twice the size and then all his shoes become loose so 8 weeks works well for him.

 

[AandK]

My ridden horse is shod, he is done every 4 weeks in summer, 5 in winter. The most I would leave it is 6 weeks if I had a horse with better feet. The other is retired and unshod, she is trimmed as an when needed, usually 8-12 weeks.

 

[ihatework]

Mine is currently needing 4 week cycles.
I’m the winter it was 5-6 weeks.

That would be fairly usual for most competing horses I have had.

For the non working ones who just need trimming generally 10-12 weeks but I will often run a rasp over the toe mid interval.

 

[Floofball]

5 weeks in summer, 6 weeks in winter for shod boy. Retired barefoot boy was done every other visit but I did run a rasp round if needed in between.

 

[Sophire]

My ridden horse has just gone from a 6 week to a 5 week cycle. Retired horse gets done in line with that, but I will run a rasp round her feet also.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

NF goes on a regular 6 week cycle.
The 2 x tinies are unshod and either see farrier every time or every other time (more usual) depending on growth. I might rasp in between if needed.
New one has a set on, welded to very worn feet, so will require a new set tomorrow when farrier comes and then we'll play it by sight, hoping she and NF can tie in together

 

[scats]

6 weeks in summer and 6-7 in winter. One shod and one barefoot. New horse is also barefoot but farrier coming to see her next week and we will decide what the plan is with her.

 

[eggs]

Tends to be 6 weeks in winter and 5 weeks in summer. Those that are barefoot get checked at the same time to see if they need a trim - usually they do but then we don't do any road work.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Thank you for your replies. It is nice to see I'm not alone in shoeing on a 4 weeks cycle and that others use a rasp. I was quite nervous to start with but it does keep chips at bay.

As kids our ponies shoes had to last at least 8 weeks, balancing or remedial shoeing was unheard of and more often than not they were cold shod unless we rode to the forge. How things have changed for the better and owners appear far more conscientious and understanding of Hoof anatomy now.

 

[Mule]

Every 6 weeks

 

[Goldenstar]

Never ever more than five weeks .

 

[googol]

I booked mine in every 6 weeks. Farrier was a bit tricky to get hold of so I liked having the date of his next visit before he left so I didn’t need to contact him. Occasionally I would have let him go 7 weeks if it helped me out with payday or something, and when I did that it didn’t make a difference

 

[Follysmum]

5/6 weeks for shod
Barefoot as and when, usually 5/6 weeks summer 6/8 weeks winter

 

[poiuytrewq]

5 weeks for my riding horse, 6 in winter.
Ponies are trimmed as required and retired horse usually 7 week intervals

 

[dreamcometrue]

7 weeks for my pony.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

5 weeks in summer and 6 in winter.

 

[HashRouge]

Mine aren't shod, but I'd do 5-6 weeks for a shoeing cycle, unless the horse had particularly fast-growing hooves. I'm glad this seems to be the norm now - it was always 8 weeks (or longer!) when I was a kid, which seems too long.

My two get trimmed every 6-8 weeks atm.

 

[southerncomfort]

None of mine are shod.

Two of them are trimmed every 6 weeks. The third has the most amazing feet. She self trims so doesn't always need anything more than a quick tidy up and has been known to go 8-9 weeks without needing a thing doing to them. Never been lame in her life that one.