Hoofs wear down too much! HELP!!

Is there any way to prevent hoofs from wearing down too much other than putting shoes on?

My farrier says my horse's hind hoofs wear out quite a lot, so he even don't trim them (except rounding the edges). Is there any way to protect them or make a growth faster? BTW, front ones seems to be OK.

I kinda oppose to shoes because she kicks (she's a bossy mare) and may injure other horses... :(

Do you have photos? Has she been sore? Personally if the horse hasn't been sore and is self-trimming, I wouldn't change anything.

There are some farriers who's "too short" really isn't according to some of the new barefoot trim methods and is actually where it should be.

As to what you can do - you can use boots when you ride and add a hoof supplement with biotin in it to help the growth.

Thanks, Cat! No, she isn't sore. In fact after thinking about it I kinda remember she almost didn't need trimming on back feet when I was trimming her myself. That time she was a youngster and I didn't ride her much (like I do now). Her front feet also don't grow as much as my paint does. I do use boots on front ones when I ride, but I think I'll consider getting pair for the back ones as well.

Honestly if she is not having a problem I wouldn't worry about it. Hinds don't grow as fast nor do they take as much abuse as front hooves do. As long as she isn't exhibiting any tenderness she's fine. As you mentioned, she doesn't show as much growth on her fronts as your other horse so it makes sense her hinds would show less as well.

Sounds like she's "self trimming" her hinds. How wonderful, she's growing at the proper rate to compensate for wear! Lucky her!

Thanks, bare! My concern though is there a possibility that wear will exceed the growth?? Sorry if it sounds stupid... Good thing about this wearing though (confirmed by my farrier) it's even all around the hoof. So I assume she's balanced, isn't she?

KittenVal,
It's certainly not a stupid question!
Yes, if the growth is even around the hoof wall, and her hoof is staying at an angle appropriate for her, matching her legs/conformation, then she is balanced and her hoof is quite happy.
The hoof grows in response to each step she takes, and the type of ground she's on. If you have been riding on softer grounds and decide to do some heavy riding on more abrasive grounds one day, the hoof will wear a little faster.But, it depends on how drastically harder the ground and ride is. That would be when boots are handy as a back-up, that occasional ride you take that's farther and harder than normal. But if you ride on gravel all the time, her feet are likely to be well conditioned for just about anything, or if she lives on rough terrain, her feet are conditioned for you in her pasture time.
Of course, just so nobody mis-interprets me, the horse has to move around in his turnout time on the hard ground for it to do any good, and the proper diet is another main factor...
Anyhoo, back to the question, if you don't go on extreme rides out of the norm without a backup handy , your mare is fine. She won't likely ever wear too short. If you start riding on rougher ground on a regular basis, her feet will adjust quickly, esp if they are truely that balanced already. If you aren't riding her as much or on softer ground, you will notice more to trim by the farrier. Usually when riding season is over, the first trim or two will take a little more hoof off, as it's used to the need to grow more, but by spring, just before you start riding, there's much less to trim because the hoof has adjusted to the idle lifestyle and is growing more slowly.

Sorry for the long answer!

Thank you very much!

I don't ride that much on hard ground, but with no rains we have really hard ground for last couple months. So I think she indeed self-trims just in field. Oh, boy, what I pay farrier for if she does it herself! Lol!