when to shoe a horse

Question
hello sir. how can i say that my 2 year old horse is ready to wear shoes?how does a farrier assess the strength of the hoof? my local farrier told me that young horses should be lunged properly and turned out every day for 20 minutes to strengthen their hooves but didnt tell me how can he assess the hoof strength.

Answer
Hello Caine,

Generally a horse that is two years old has hooves that can handle shoes. Some breeds of horses are shod as early as one year. I don't know what you mean by properly lunged. That means different things to different people. I would recommend that you turn your horse out at least eight hours a day, if not more. You should try to ensure that different surfaces are available for the horse to walk on. Assesment of hoof strength comes with practice. It is not a precise assesment.

Paul