THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT – IS YOUR HORSE DUE FOR A TRIM?

Has your farrier or barefoot trimmer ever commented that your horse’s feet were awfully long, but they simply didn’t look that long to you? Or, if you’re not sticking to a specific trimming schedule, are you unsure as to when you need to have your horse’s feet trimmed? Or are you the person uttering the words that make every hoof care provider cringe, “We can skip this trim. I’m not riding him for a while now, anyway, so I’m not too worried about his feet.” If any of the above describes your situation, read on to learn about the importance of regular trims, the signs that your horse is due for a trim and why it’s not okay to skip a trim, especially if you are not riding.

How the process works

To understand the reason for trimming, we need to think about what is natural and normal for a horse in a healthy environment. A barefoot horse moving over various surfaces, including hard ground and stones in a large enough area, will receive a fair amount of wear on his feet. If the horse is fed correctly and his body is healthy enough to utilise his good diet correctly, he should push out sufficient growth for the movement and wear he is getting on his hooves. Genetics will also play a role, with some horses being really good at growing a lot of hoof and requiring more movement to create enough wear to combat this, and others growing more slowly and needing less. Older horses also tend to grow hoof wall a lot slower, but the chances are good that they are not be nearly as active as they were in their younger days, so this tends not to be a major issue.

In nature

We also need to keep in mind that wild horses would move roughly 40km a day over a variety of surfaces in a natural environment. This serves to keep their feet short throughout their lives, only resulting in excess growth and length if they are lame or injured and don’t move as much as usual. The healthy wild horse is not going to have any extra growth to put strain on the various structures of his limbs. If we can take anything from the wild horse model that does so well in nature, it is to not allow our horses’ hooves to grow excessively long.

What this means

Generally, this means a 4-5 week trimming schedule for most horses, with less frequent trims for horses that move more, i.e. barefoot endurance horses. Horses that aren’t working or are kept in small paddocks and not ridden much should be kept on a regular trimming schedule and will probably need more frequent trimming due to less overall wear on the hooves.

Signs your horse is due for a trim

The following are signs that your horse is due for a trim:

• Toes look unusually long
• Heels look long, and bent tubules are noted
• Hooves are flared, and hoof wall is quite long above the live sole level
• Chips and cracks have appeared
• Thrush is present
• Dead sole is present
• The frog is loose or shedding

What to do when you can’t get a hoof care provider in time

While regular trims should be in the budget of every horse owner, there are times when money is tight, and perhaps you can’t get your hoof care provider out as regularly as necessary. You may also live in an area where it is hard to come by a hoof care provider. Is there anything you, as a horse owner, can do? Certainly!

1. Riding or hand-walking on tar or over stones if your horse can handle it, even a couple of times a week, can help dramatically to increase wear on his hooves. Of course, if your horse starts to get uncomfortable on a surface, he started out comfortable on, please keep him off that surface for a while and consider working him on the surface a little less once he is comfortable again.
2. Ask your trimmer or farrier to show you how to do a bevel on your horse’s toes in between trims if he or she is open to it. It is important that the bevel does not invade the toe callous area which is the part of the sole in front of the frog. Thinning this area can cause the horse to become uncomfortable, especially on harder ground.
3. Put down pea gravel in the areas where your horse eats, sleeps and drinks or consider creating a horse track system to increase movement and wear on the feet.

While all of the above can be helpful with regards to increasing the wear on your horse’s feet, it is not intended to replace the professional services of your hoof care provider.

Take-home message

The more horses move over varied terrain, the more wear they will have on their feet. Horses that move less will therefore require a trim more quickly than those who move more. Calling your hoof care provider as a priority when your horse needs a trim, or better yet, arranging a regular trimming cycle, is necessary for your horse’s health. Overgrown feet have angles that are no longer optimal, putting strain on the joints above, and are also more prone to infection, so it is vital that you prioritise regular hoof care for your horse.