hoof growth

["Maggie Mieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Laura,

If your area is pretty constant weather wise, perhaps hoof growth may not vary.  We noticed this year that (as usual) hoof growth sped up early in the spring especially for those on fresh pasture but then we had quite a drought for a spell (from June to mid August) and a lot of horses slowed down their growth and chipped a lot more than normal between trims.  Not all, but a good percentage (probably 70% of all the horses we trim).  In August, we started getting rain and the grass started growing like crazy again.  Suddenly, this past month, horses are growing much more than they did earlier in the year.  Soon, most everyone will be pulling shoes for the winter and we start scheduling people farther apart because during the winter, horses put more energy into keeping warm, growing fuzzy coats, etc. than into hoof growth.  Most but not all.  Supplements or not.  Just an observation I thought I'd share with you...of course, I have to keep in mind that what is happening here in Michigan is not always what is going on around the country where the climates differ. 

Maggie