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Thrush

 When to start shoeing

Thrush and Shoeing

Dear Cherry,
I have a 9 month old filly. that has had thrush, and i would like to know if i should put shoes on her at all. and what age should i start shoeing her
Ashley

Dear Ashley,

There is quite a bit of information related to your questions on
Cherry Hill's Horse Information Roundup

You can read about Thrush here:
Treating Thrush

Also, read about Trimming a Yearling.

You might find Sherlock's Hoof Care section interesting and helpful.

Now to your questions specifically. Should you put shoes on your 9 month old filly? Probably not. I can't think of many instances where a 9-month-old horse would require shoes unless it was for a very specific medical condition and then the shoeing would be prescribed by your vet and supervised closely by your farrier. Usually all that a young horse requires is a good trim by a qualified farrier every 4-8 weeks and a daily check by you to clean out her hooves and watch for any problems, such as a reoccurrence of thrush.

What age should you start shoeing your filly? This will depend on the quality of her hooves and when you start working and riding her. Sometimes that will be 2 or 3 years of age, but often young horses in light work, especially if the round pen or arena has non-abrasive footing, can stay barefoot until they are in more regular work or are used on abrasive footing.