How long in between trims do you go for your barefoot riding horses?
My farrier likes to keep everyone on a six week schedule. Most of our horses are shod in front, barefoot behind. This schedule is more for his benefit than mine. I think everyone could go longer especially my mare. When he trimmed her Friday she was sore till Wednesday. This doesn’t happen all the time and I know mistakes can be made. He was very apologetic and said he just took too much off of her (duh!) I would like to go 8 weeks and he thinks that’s too long. Back in the ice age we always reshod at 8 weeks. These are all pleasure horses. My mare is young, always been barefoot and has always done fine. What is your experience?
Out of the 17 horses on the farm only one wears front shoes. The rest are all barefoot. There are 3 different trimmers that come to our barn. The trimmer I use (he does 4 other horses) comes every 5 weeks in the summer, 4 would be much better but he hasn’t been able to work that out. The other trimmers come every 4 weeks this time of year.
In the winter, when their hooves don’t grow so fast they get trimmed every 6 or 7 weeks.
Personally, I can’t imagine 8 weeks between trims in the spring/summer when they’re growing so fast.
Depends. On the quality of the horse’s feet, growth rate, and terrain that the horse walks on. If the horse has good feet, lack of previous injury, straight legs, good growth, and access to abrasive hard ground, trimming can be left a long time, because it will be being subjected to the true “natural trim” (that done without the use of a farrier). If NOT any one of these previously mentioned necessities, trimming may be necessary more often. It is the horse owner’s responsibility to make these decision for their horse, based on what they see, and the job the horse has to do. There is no set answer.
Barefoot horses, every four to six weeks. In winters, maybe toward six instead of four. Shod horses, every six to eight weeks; again, in winters toward eight instead of six.
If your mare was sore, it had something to do with the trim, not the frequency.
I have minis who are pets and I can do six weeks in summer and eight in winter. My mare could go eight in summer and ten in winter but not the two geldings.
It depends.
Our horses are barefoot and for years, in our drought, the farrier was trimming every 8-9 weeks.
He does several ranches horses here at the same time, so we have to wait on him to fit all of us.
If a horse needs more attention, I touch it a bit to make it until the farrier shows up.
This last year it is very, very wet and hooves are growing way faster and he has been coming every 7 weeks, 6 last time.
[QUOTE=NancyM;8253638]
Depends. On the quality of the horse’s feet, growth rate, and terrain that the horse walks on. If the horse has good feet, lack of previous injury, straight legs, good growth, and access to abrasive hard ground, trimming can be left a long time, because it will be being subjected to the true “natural trim” (that done without the use of a farrier). If NOT any one of these previously mentioned necessities, trimming may be necessary more often. It is the horse owner’s responsibility to make these decision for their horse, based on what they see, and the job the horse has to do. There is no set answer.[/QUOTE]
This. My year round barefoot horse is trimmed every 6 weeks in the summer and in the winter we sometimes scoot it out to 7 weeks. She is ridden year round so I have to be aware of not riding off more hoof than she is growing.
6 weeks in the summer and 8-10 weeks in the winter.
4 weeks in summer, 6 weeks in winter. More often if the horse is in serious work, because it stimulates faster growth.
4 weeks in summer, 5 to 6 in winter - depending on how the feet look. I really don’t like overgrown feet, I think that is asking for leg trouble.
6 in summer and 8 in winter. I have one barefoot and one in front shoes April through Nov.
Both of my riding QH are barefoot all year round. They get trimmed every 6 weeks. My Farrier has a no soreness due to trimming “guarantee”. I only started using him two cycles ago, and he looked at me crazy when I asked “how long before I can ride after a trim?” He said the horses he trims (with healthy feet) should not ever be worse off after a trim. Was very thorough and attentive to the horses, im so grateful someone gave me his contact info!!
Plus my new mare behaved so much better after he was done, her hooves hadnt been being trimmed evenly, and shes moving more willingly now. The horses tell me how the farrier is doing in that sense.
Perhaps try a new farrier?
[QUOTE=ThatGirlTina;8253853]
Both of my riding QH are barefoot all year round. They get trimmed every 6 weeks. My Farrier has a no soreness due to trimming “guarantee”. I only started using him two cycles ago, and he looked at me crazy when I asked "how long before I can ride after a trim?" He said the horses he trims (with healthy feet) should not ever be worse off after a trim. Was very thorough and attentive to the horses, im so grateful someone gave me his contact info!!
Plus my new mare behaved so much better after he was done, her hooves hadnt been being trimmed evenly, and shes moving more willingly now. The horses tell me how the farrier is doing in that sense.
Perhaps try a new farrier?[/QUOTE]
I would look at you crazy, too! You shouldn’t have to wait to ride after a trim!
Depends entirely on the horse and the environment. My current horse is shod on all 4 and goes 6 weeks in spring/summer/early fall and 8-10 weeks late fall/winter based on hoof growth. My previous two mares were barefoot and would go 10+ weeks in the dry season because they would wear off enough hoof that they only needed to be balanced occasionally. In the wet season (we are all mud/soft pasture when it rains) they’d need to be done every 5-6 weeks or so because even though their feet weren’t growing very fast, they weren’t able to wear anything off.
[QUOTE=ThatGirlTina;8253853]
He said the horses he trims (with healthy feet) should not ever be worse off after a trim.[/QUOTE]
Quoting and bolding this because it applies whether the horse is barefoot or shod. If your trimmer or farrier is doing their job correctly a healthy horse should never be sore after.
I find it disturbing that there are many people out there who have come to accept that they can’t ride for a period of time after a trim or shoeing.
It doesn’t matter if I have front shoes or do a trim all around I do every 8 weeks.
It has served me well for 37 years, so why change it .
In winter, my horse was able to go 8 weeks between trims (she was barefoot in winter) and then 6 weeks when I had fronts only on for the other seasons. I think a lot of times it’s an individual situation thing, as others have stated. Usually in the months when she was front-shod, the farrier would only have to do a bit of rasping on her hind feet. She had amazingly good feet for a TB though.
All mine are barefoot. Farrier comes every 5 weeks in summer and we can go ~10 sometimes evn 12 in winter.
Whenever anyone is shoe I hate to go more than 5 In summer, 6 in winter
This farrier is young. He bought the business from my old farrier who I never had this problem with before. If I hadn’t know better, I’d thought my mare had foundered when she came out of her stall and hit the concrete aisle. She was much better when I got her out on the grass. It took days before she was perfect and I used Keratex every day.
I ride her almost every day. Our footing choices are grass fields and sand/limestone combos on our racetrack, ring and the FP trails. So nobody gets long between shoeings. Its kind of like riding on giant emery boards.
I am giving him another chance at 6 weeks. Otherwise, I’ll be looking for a new shoer. Thanks for your input!
Sorry but as a Barefoot Trimmer, NO horse should be sore after a trim. That’s not a CAPITAL B Barefoot Trim. That’s a pasture trim which is nothing more than a trim done before a shoe is nailed on, only no shoe. Sole was carved out. :sigh:
I trim every 4 weeks.
[QUOTE=Thoroughbred in Color;8253870]
I find it disturbing that there are many people out there who have come to accept that they can’t ride for a period of time after a trim or shoeing.[/QUOTE]
Until I got to COTH, I had no idea horses trimmed too close and made sore was such a common occurrence. This wasn’t part of my horse care experience. Until now, I have lived in relatively cosmopolitan areas and kept my horses in a middle-of-the-market way, or better. I suppose that has something to do with it. But I echo the PSA here: It’s not SOP for a horse to be made sore after he’s trimmed/shod. If the particular horse does have bad feet and lives in an environment that’s tough, I can see adding some toughener or waiting a day so that you don’t sting his soles. But this is not the norm, IME.
