[Frivian]

...and I'm not asking about retired/semi retired horses either. I mean horses that are in regular work, whether it's dressage/jumping/etc. almost every day.

My horse is barefoot for the winter but is still being worked regularly. I am currently an absentee owner, and have to arrange his farrier schedule from far away. I am at the mercy of the convenience of a fellow boarder, who has done a great job keeping an eye on him thus far, and holds him for the farrier for me (We use a different farrier than the barn farrier, so the BO has nothing to do with the farrier schedule for my horse).

However, this time around, fellow boarder has delayed the farrier appt. by a month. This means that by the time he gets his feet done, it will have been almost 11 weeks. I have never let it go longer than 7 or 8 weeks in the winter, and when he's shod it's usually 5-6 weeks. I feel awful, knowing that he's still being worked on his probably unbalanced and long feet. Should I be concerned, or will he (probably) be ok?

[LMH]

My are going on 2+ years and counting.

Yes in work

[Simkie]

Depends on how the horse looks. Do the feet look in balance, without an excess of length? Then no worries.

If the feet are out of balance and excessively long, then it's a concern.

You say "probably unbalanced and long feet"...unless you KNOW what they look like, you really cannot make a judgement here.

[Tom Bloomer]

My are going on 2+ years and counting.

Yes in work

Hope you don't mind, I've been sneaking in every so often during wee hours and trimming your horses.

[Frivian]

I don't know how they look. I am basing my assumptions on how his feet usually look. Also, his turnout is much more limited in the winter, so it is less likely that he will wear down his feet on his own. I have asked his regular rider/leaser to take a close look at his feet for me and let me know what she thinks.

[betsyk]

My main riding horse is at 10 weeks right now, barefoot obviously. We've had snow covered ground and he's on rough board, so very little wear but seemingly very little growth. He got a great, balanced trim last time and is growing out beautifully. Farrier is due to come on Tuesday but it's forecast to be in the single digits, so my guys will probably go another week or two without problems. I'm referring to the barefoot guys; the one with shoes stays on a 5-6 week schedule year round.

[FineAlready]

Couldn't you just have someone snap a few quick pictures of his feet and send them to you? Surely someone has a smartphone...

[candyappy]

Mine went 12 weeks once in the dead of winter. There is nothing very appealing ( to me or my shoer) about standing in below zero weather to trim feet that have hardly grown. Depending on the climate you are in feet may not grow much in Jan & Feb.

[VaqueroToro]

Depending on the climate you are in feet may not grow much in Jan & Feb.

This. Some horses grow foot like weeds in the spring/summer and slow right up to a snail's pace crawl in the winter. It's really dependent on the horse. I second having someone take a good shot of his feet from the sides and front to see if he really needs a trim.

[vxf111]

How are his feet?

Due to really unexpected circumstances, my young gelding once went nearly 10 weeks between shoeings in the summer... and he wear shoes. It was NOT ideal, but they stayed on and he was sound.

No shoes, in the winter, your boy may not be growing a ton ton ton of foot. I would let how they look/grow and how he feels guide you.

[Frivian]

Thank you all for your input. I realize I may be overreacting, but I've just never let him go that long before.

I just talked to his regular rider, whose opinion I trust, and she said his feet look okay for now. The farrier is not coming for 2 more weeks, but it seems that he will be fine until then. She plans on keeping a close eye on him and being mindful of it under saddle. If she has more concerns, she will send me a picture of his feet.

I know his feet don't grow as much in the winter, but usually by 8 weeks he needs it, hence my concern.

Thank you!

[Auburn]

My mare can go about 4 weeks in the summer, when I am riding 5-6 days/week. She is at 5 weeks now and will be done next week. Because she her left front tends to grow a forward, underun heel, I like to get her trimmed at 4 weeks, if possible.

Because our weather has been fairly nice, I have been able to ride 3-4 days/week.

[RedmondDressage]

back when my old man was in work he would regularly go 10 - 12 weeks in the winter. In the summer it was more like 8 - 10. I miss that. My current horse has to be done at 6 weeks on the nose since he's shod

[shayaalliard]

My girls are very different-
Both are barefoot and have never been shod in their lives (just shook out that way, I'm not diehard anti shoes or anything)
Bonnie needs trimmed every 4 weeks in summer and 6 in winter- she grows a LOT of foot pretty fast, and she will chip and chunk if left long- but as soon as she is trimmed she is smooth and solid. She doesn't seem bothered by the chips, but they bother ME, so I make sure she is done very often

Kitty has feet that tend to spread, but do not grow a lot of length, at least in winter, so she gets done every 8-10 weeks, as needed. I haven't owned her in summer yet. She trots on gravel and is happy, so I'm happy too.

Luckily my BO is my farrier, so we can do them whenever they need done.

[Beethoven]

My horse once went 10 weeks in shoes during the winter. The farrier was out multiple times to do him but he didn't grow enough. At 10 weeks, we had to do him so he didn't wear through the shoe! It was a very odd winter where he didn't want to grow foot. This was in CO.

Now living in FL, he got done every 4 weeks in summer and depending on the winter was still on a 4/5 week schedule.

[NBChoice]

We once went about 10 weeks with a horse that had shoes. Her hooves just were not growing enough during the winter to really trim anything off.

[Hippolyta]

My mare is barefoot, outside most of the day.

Farrier comes every two weeks to the barn, so last month my calendar said it had been 8 weeks, I walk her over & she totally doesn't need a trim. I ask: next time (10 weeks)? Farrier say no, probably another 4 weeks! It had been dry, so he thinks maybe the sand had been wearing down, plus the cool weather. Who knows?

I didn't believe him but I will be damned if she is just going on 12 weeks & now they need to be done, but they don't look any worse than they usually do at 8/10 weeks in the summer.

I thanked horse for being such a thrifty & efficient creature. She saved me some $!