Stupid question,but do hooves grow more slowly during winter?

[Mirage]

When we bought dpony,her owners said she generally needed shoeing every 9-12 weeks.She was shod in July before she came to us,and needed doing again at the end of Sept,mainly because her shoes were worn rather than her feet needed trimming.It is nearly 3 months since she was shod and there doesn't seem to be much hoof growth at all,and her shoes aren't worn down much,because the dark nights have cut down on the amount of road work she does [2 hacks out a week as opposed to 5].

She lives out,is about 22 years old and this time of year is ridden 3 or 4 times a week,mostly in the bark menage.I feel a bit bad that she has gone so long between shoeings,and am more than happy to get the farrier out if need be,but the lack of growth struck me as odd.

Any thoughts? Thank you.

I'm amazed she is keeping shoes on for so long tbh. Do you need to have her shod or can she be barefoot through the winter? DD's pony hasn't been trimmed since I got him over a year ago (though I regularly ask the yard farrier if his feet are ok) and he doesn't do loads of roadwork either.

dponys feet def have slowed down. I was looking at them yesterday and thinking he was nowhere near needing a trim - last one must have been 8 weeks ago

We've always found that they grow more slowly in winter.

Doesn't human hair and nails grow more slowly in winter too?

Thanks everyone,I felt a bad mum for not having them done.I've shod her because she is 22 and always had them done,she has great feet and I don't want to mess them up now by changing things.

It is amazing that she has never lost a shoe - she is ridden by both dds,6 days a week over the fields,she went to the Opening meet and hunted for 3 hours and came back with all 4 shoes intact.The dds are taking her hunting this Friday so I may have jinxed things by saying that.

Yes, they do generally grow more slowly in winter, they also have other seasonal changes, like higher oil content in autumn.

I had a native pony that went barefoot and she got to almost a year without needing a trim the farrier kept looking at her feet and they weren't wearing unevenly, or growing long. I felt bad that she went so long, just because convention is 6-8 weeks!

Sorry, but I wouldnt be paying a farrier to shoe a pony that is hardly ridden out of the manege. Its throwing money away! Id allow the feet to grow long with the shoes off, and then have them removed, and the nail holes, or as much of them as possible trimmed away. The hooves may be a bit brittle until the nail holes are all trimmed out, and the pony may be a little foot sore for a while, but it will get accustomed to being barefoot. Ours are all barefoot, and are ridden out on the road between 2 and 4 times a week. If you were really worried, you could buy some horse 'trainers' and just put them on when doing road work. Either way, a barefoot trim is much less than a set of shoes! Mine cost nothing, I file all their feet myself!

I'm very surprised that her shoes haven't worn down with 2 hacks out a week on roads! If her feet aren't growing then barefoot might cause issues but then you are are not wearing her shoes down either! If it ain't broke don't fix it, at 22 I think thats probably best! Their feet grow more slowly when the grass is poorer usually and I think old age can make a differance, cushings disease can mess up feet I think from memory. Don't feel bad if you are not shoeing her, so long as you are aware and happy to have the farrier to check etc every so often, then lucky you! My horse grows no foot most of the time and what she does have is pants, lots of teeth sucking by my farrier everytime he comes to do her!

Thankyou-farrier came today and gave her a trim and new shoes.The dds have ridden her out almost every day over the holidays,so her shoes were looking pretty worn by the time he came,one was slightly loose at the back,so I'm glad he came when he did.

I love our farrier! He shod Dh's and mine today and has found the cause of DH's girl's lameness which the vet couldn't find and was suggesting nerve blocks next. She'd got a small puncture wound in the frog. He's trimmed it and drained it, and she's bouncing around like her old self. Another time I'll get the farrier before the vet. DH is ecstatic as he was so worried about his beloved girl

Brilliant news Older.What a relief for both the horse and your DH.Your farrier isn't MB is he?

My farrier jumped into a freezing river recently,to rescue a feral pony.It was darted,but managed to run across a 50 acre field and throw itself into the river before anyone could catch it.Poor old farrier had only gone to trim its feet and ended up in 10ft deep water trying to stop it drowning.Thankfully he did and both of them are fine now.

Yep, MB (Matt?) He's brilliant. Shod the ponies at 7.30am ready for hunting as I hadn't got my act together!