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Found out a surprising fact about hoof wall growth rates at a clinic in Kentucky
I went to a farrier clinic last month down in Lexington and learned that a horse's hoof wall only grows about a quarter inch per month. That blew my mind because I always figured it was faster given how often we're trimming. The presenter had us measure our own horses to prove it, and sure enough mine were right in that range. Has anyone else run into owners who expect way more growth than that?
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rivera.jesse1mo ago
I gotta push back on that a little, @williamt44. It's not really about assuming things move faster to me. A quarter inch per month is barely 3 inches a year, and if you've ever watched a hoof get trimmed, you see way more material coming off than that. I've had owners swear their horse's hooves grow like weeds, especially in wet spring weather, and I've measured some that hit closer to a half inch a month. The clinic presenter probably had them measure at the right time, but horses vary a ton by breed, diet, and even the season. So yeah, the average is a quarter inch, but I think calling that a hard rule is ignoring how much individual horses can surprise you.
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