Little survey - How often do you...........

[mini1]

I'm talking about your horses that don't generally leave the farm. Not necessarily your show horses as they probably get trimmed more often.

My farrier spends quite a bit of time at "school" at Texas A&M and has been a professional farrier for better than 10 years. He says that the experts are recommending that miniature horses be trimmed every 4 weeks instead of every 6 weeks (of course it also depends on the horse).

He told me that he has a client that had 2 yearling miniatures that were so lame they couldn't stand up and the owners were going to have them put down because their vet couldn't figure out the problem. Dan was trimming their hooves every 6 weeks. Dan and the Vet happened to be there at the same time and Dan had just returned from Texas A&M school where they had discussed the every 4 weeks trimming and suggested that they try trimming every 4 weeks. The vet gave them the go ahead and Dan said he was there 2 weeks ago and they had a terrible time trying to catch one of them because he was running away from them doing laps around the pen with his tail straight in the air.

Anyway, as we were discussing this, I told him I would post this question on the Miniature Horse forum and see what others did.

 

[novachick]

I just had Goldi trimmed for the first time since I got her. With trying to find a farrier and get them out here, it was actually about 12 weeks since she was trimmed last (before she came to us). The farrier only had to trim about 1/2-1cm off each which he said is pretty good. He recommended every 8 weeks, but said he has some that grow more toe and need to be trimmed every 6 weeks.

He also said that when out on good pasture in the summer, some need to be trimmed more often, because the extra nutrients will go to their feet and cause more growth.

To me it seemed to depend on the horse and adjustment in trimming frequency should be made based on growth patterns.

I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks!

 

[Shari]

Every 8 weeks, works quite well here.

 

[Jetiki]

I check all of mine about every couple of weeks, some times they need done, sometimes they don't but on average about every 4 weeks, to me it doesn't matter if they are broodies or show horses, they all get done and aren't left to grow slippers. Just because a horse is a broodmare doesn't mean they can't have their feet done, now if they are close to being due and totally uncomfortable to hold a foot up then I wait until after foaling but it all depends on the horse.

Karen

 

[Carolyn R]

Alot of people on here work with their farriers and rasp/trim in between. I do my minis about once a month, I have my farrier out 2x's a year to check them over and do them himself. He has shown me alot in the previous years before I decided to take on some of the workload myself.

With that said, I would usually have him out every 6-8 weeks when he did it himself.

Carolyn

 

[Black Magic]

Okay.. here's my opinion for what it's worth. Hooves grow seasonally... (they really do!) We have six minis nd for years we had their hooves trimmed every six weeks like clock work. We never had a problem. Recently, we've had a bit of rain and I actually have grass that people tell me is so green the pilots in the area navigate by our lawn. The lawn looks good because I have sprinklers all over it. There is nothing so nice to me as watching the horses graze and be the only horses in our area that are on grass... nice thick grass. This means the lawn is always wet, damp, or wet. Yesterday, our QH was standing with the sprinkler right under her belly. Lol..

Needless to say.. the hooves are growing.. like when you wash her hair everyday, it will grow quicker. So.. we're headed to the trimming once a month for awhile. I hadn't noticed they were sneaking up on me, and I don't want the farrier to take them down so quickly they get the ouchies... So we're gonna do once a month, just for the next month or so, .. so we can play catch up.. and then back to once a month. I need to mention that we changed farriers too, so there is a time we went eight weeks and I can so see the difference.

My opinion is that you need to do for your horses what YOU feel they need. If a horse went lame.. with six week trims.. it could have been alot of other reasons.

You are the customer.. you tell him... you might consider it... but you'd like to read some articles on the subject. and talk to your vet. I doubt your vet will agree with him.

God Bless,

Lynn W

 

[Fred]

6 to 8 weeks is the norm. However that said I don't trim my driving horses that often as they wear their feet down in the proper manner and I just keep them rounded. If the horse is trimmed PROPERLY you will not get those pointed elf toes even if the horse is trimmed every three to four months. Some horses [gasp] do not need to be trimmed that often. I do some that when I started doing them they were in glu shoes and couldn't keep a shoe on for 3 weeks. They now go 10 -12 weeks with no lost shoes [regular nailed on shoes] [probably just jinxed myself on that one]. These horses have very slow hoof growth so to go that long is a good thing. I also do some chronic founder [severe cases] and in the winter they tend to slow down and can go up to six weeks at times usually its 3 to 4. Diet and exercise are the main contributors to hoof growth. Feet grow more in the summer months than in the winter.

 

[roxy's_mom]

I do my own trimming after watching my farrier trim and reshoe my riding horse for several years, and always asked questions. It depends on the horse and how fast their feet grow. Mostly though I trim every 8 weeks, sometimes before that if they need it. It just really depends on the horse and what they are doing, driving, etc.

Becky M.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

foals... evry two weeks for a long while. I like to really keep after them as they grow ,if their feet grow out, sometimes they will toe out and I want to keep them straight.

Adults every 6 weeks spring summer and fall, and 6-7 weeks in the winter.

Robin

 

[lvponies]

Everyone here is done every 8 weeks. Sometimes the babies need it more often and they will be done every 4 weeks if necessary.

 

[horsehug]

I have been trimming my own horses for 19 years now. My herd usually is between 25 and 30 horses.

I have about 2 or 3 that need to be trimmed every two months or their heels get too long. But the vast majority are only trimmed every 3 months and do great! They NEVER have gotten the turned up toe look!

And none of them are lame! They all move just fine.

I should add my horses are on grass hay. I also trim horses for a few friends and I have noticed over the years that the horses on alfalfa grow lots faster. I am very happy with the three month plan and my horses' hooves.

I have kept a running calendar all these years and know which ones need to be trimmed each month.

And I mark them off and date it as I do them.

Susan O.

 

[Bluerocket]

My horses' feet seem to grow slowly and they wear them down well -- we have the farrier out every 6 weeks in spring/summer and every 8 weeks in fall/winter - farrier says they grow more slowly in the winter. He rarely has to trim off more than 1/4" to 1/2" of hoof. If they are getting long I have him come out earlier.

Many suckling and weanling babies may need to have their feet done every 2 weeks if they need corrective work to make their legs grow straighter -- mostly just rasping the toe or evening up the hoof. After they are a year old their legs are mostly grown so you have whatever you have at that point.

 

[Gini]

We have a standing appointment with our farrier. Sept - March every 6 weeks. April - August every 4 weeks. We found that ours do well on this schedule.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Every 6 weeks, trimmed by a trained professional - that would be my farrier!

Liz R.

 

[bevann]

Some of my foals are done as early as 1 week old then all foals are on a 4 week schedule(sometimes I rasp in between if needed) up to age 18 months then every 8 weeks like all mature horses.I also worm and trim bridle paths at the same time.that way nobody is missed on anything.

 

[MInx]

Every eight weeks unless we notice they've had a growth spurt or something needs attending to..

We drive them and our soil is all sand based so helps wear them down..

Have had no problems on this schedule.

Maxine

 

[Mona]

I do mine every 2-3 months or as needed. Sometimes even less often during the winter, as they seem to slow right down during the very cold weather!

 

[Candice]

For me it varies with my horses. My adult minis are trimmed on average of every 6 weeks. I have one mare that needed her back trimmed more often and with my now weanlings this past year I had a colt that required trimming every 2 weeks from the time he was 2 mos old and my filly varied. Sometimes she went two weeks and sometimes she went 3-4. My farrier lives right around the corner from me so stopping in as needed is not a problem for him. I had one mare recently that after 6 weeks had nothing to trim. When he came back out 6 weeks after that she did need trimming and then in only 3 weeks needed another trim. She's late in pregnancy and I suspect that has something to do with it.

 

[dgrminis]

We do every 8-12 weeks here depending on the horse - we have several that rarely need any trimmed off and others that we do more often (such as the foals). This last summer we had to do a 4-6 week schedule because they were growing so much faster - we had a very wet spring/summer.

 

[Magic]

My farrier trims all of my horses, and he is scheduled every 6 to 8 weeks, generally. Less time in between in warm weather, longer in the winter since their hoof growth slows then. ALL of my horses are trimmed every time, it doesn't matter if it's a show horse, broodmare, or retired mare, they all get the same care. Younger horses, weanlings and yearlings, usually are trimmed much more often than the mature horses, since their hooves many times tend to grow faster.