Hoof care, self trim V no trim

Given this set of facts.

Horses that are unridden, pasture puffs or broodies, have good hooves, no issues, definitely don't need shoes, no special care or treatment is needed.

What would you think of the following options, the owner trimming alternate to farrier visits, so 6 weeks owner, 12 weeks farrier, then 18 weeks on owner again.

Or the farrier trimming twice a year and the owner trimming in between.

Maybe you think that people shouldn't have horses unless they are trimmed every 6 weeks by the farrier.

* Just to be clear this is merely a discussion question, prompted by the comment I read recently that "a bad trim is better than no trim*

**Bear in mind that some people are struggling more than ever before with cash flow issues, and also that there are some people who live in remote areas, so it can be difficult to get farriers to attend regularly. **

GH, I was trimming my mares for while. I did lots of learning, DVDs, reading, and asked for the help in very beginning (later on I also took a farrier class in UMD). The reason behind: they were unhandled, hard to deal, and with market here farriers were not interested in dealing with problem horses.

Was it better than no trim at all (given one of them NEVER was trimmed when I got her)? Heck, yes. Would I advise it? Depends. I think it's OK to alternate if you know what you are doing and horses are not in hard work AND neither horse has funny hoof conformation that require a very good knowledge/experience. I personally found it to be hard to do balancing correctly (everything else was rather easy). Now when I ride them quite intense (plus have some other issues) I prefer knowledgeable farrier to do the trimming.

I agree that ridden horses need expert care, so I purposely excluded them from the list, or any 'special needs' feet, I don't think people should be messing with them, but for the 'unemployed' horse, I'm on the fence and I would live to hear other peoples views

Well, I would say there is no "general" answer to this sort of "general" question...

The expertise of the owner would be a huge factor.

Does the owner know what he/she is doing? Obviously, an idiot trying to save a few bucks can make things a LOT worse.

Does the owner only *think* there are no hoof problems because he/she is not knowledgable enough to catch issues early?

I actually was told by couple farriers that I do quite a good job on them (i did NOT tell them it was MY trim before I asked ). So for unemployed horse I don't see it as a big problem (although using farrier from time to time to do it professionally plus give some guidance would be a good idea).

Edit: I bet you FHOTD would jump on top of me for such criminal suggestions!

no doubt

I just posted this link on a different hoof thread, but I just love this lady's videos so much. Check out the how-to's and do some studying, lots of people succesffully trim their own horses :)

‪thehappyhoof's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

I am hoping that once Froggys feet are in good shape (neglected) I will be able to at least rasp on my own. If I can even hold off a few weeks, it would surely help. I use one of the better farriers in my area and he is super busy. With Froggy 'rehabbing' his hooves, they are growing so fast. At 4 weeks, he looks like a horse at 12. It sure would help him and his feet if I could learn to just take a little off the top.

IMO bad trims and no trims (after a point) are equally bad. It's not just breakage and cracks you have to look out for. It's things like founder or navicular, or stressing/injuring the soft tissue from overloading. All dealing with improper angles. Not something to mess with.

I do think there comes a point when no trim does do more damage. That said a bad trim can be a total disaster to. I don't see a problem with owners having a go if they've taken the time to learn and err on the side of caution. Just enough to stop them being a total disaster when the farrier comes and then work with the farrier to learn more.