14/02/2025
Trimming cycle length 📆
When I take on new clients I usually explain that I like to keep everyone on a 6 week cycle, but I thought it would be good to show why.
Occasionally I hear things like “I don’t think they need doing yet - they don’t look long”. Well, that’s good because they shouldn’t ever be long! Feral horses living in the habitat they evolved for have short, compact, strong feet, because the wear is equal to the growth. Our domestic horses don’t move as much as they evolved to do and so very few of them are creating enough wear. Any excess material is technically “too long”. If we allow the hoof to get a bit long, then cut it back, and then let it get long again, we are opening the door for distortion to set in as the excess material creates unnatural strain on the structures of the hoof, plus the tendons, and potentially everything above it in the horse. Conversely, if we trim the horse frequently we are closer to mimicking the natural wear the hoof was designed for, which helps the foot stay in good shape and get stronger over time.
But it’s not just about length, it’s also about hoof balance and how the horse can move. I’ve included some pictures from a mare I trimmed yesterday on a 6 week cycle who tends to breakover slightly laterally. If you imagine her hoof as a clock face, as she lifts her left foreleg she rolls off from her toe between 10 and 12. This area gets nicely and smoothly worn but between 12 and 2 gets less wear, and as a result the hoof becomes a little higher there than the opposite side. So now it’s even easier for her to breakover at 10 and even harder at 2, thus perpetuating and worsening this wear pattern. The picture of the hoof before being trimmed might not look like there is a lot to come off, or be that unbalanced, but her owner told me she could FEEL she was ready for a trim when riding her because of how it affects her stride.
So you can see the importance, hopefully, of having any imbalances regularly addressed.
Why every 6 weeks then? Well in all honesty 6 weeks is just what I find most people will accept as a suitable compromise of making trimming affordable for the owner whilst still being able to manage distortion. 4 weeks would be even better, and sometimes I do recommend that if feet have a lot of pathology. In a situation, for example, where a horse is suffering from laminitis, even more frequent visits might be appropriate.
For the most part, it seems that at 6 weeks we can keep on top of things enough to deliver positive changes over time, which is always my aim.
