Hoof neglect is a common and preventable welfare problem in horses, causing chronic pain and lameness when hooves are not regularly trimmed and maintained.
Hoof neglect is insidious because it develops gradually, allowing welfare problems to become severe before obvious lameness forces owner attention. Horses with chronically overgrown hooves experience altered joint angles, tendon strain, and in severe cases irreversible skeletal changes. The pain of walking on distorted hooves affects behaviour, appetite, and social interaction. Owners who cannot afford regular farriery, lack knowledge, or neglect their responsibilities allow preventable suffering to accumulate over months or years. Even where neglect is unintentional, the welfare outcome is the same. Early intervention through owner education, welfare inspections, and affordable farriery services prevents suffering that once established is difficult to reverse.