Regular farriery is one of the most fundamental equine welfare provisions. Neglected hooves cause pain, lameness, and structural damage that can permanently compromise horse welfare.
Hoof neglect is among the most common welfare failures in equine management. Overgrown, cracked, imbalanced hooves cause chronic low-grade pain that compounds over weeks and months. Horses with severely neglected hooves develop permanent structural changes — elongated toes, contracted heels, and altered digit angles — that cause ongoing lameness even after corrective farriery begins. The financial barrier to regular farriery is real but welfare-significant: horses whose owners cannot afford farriery are suffering from preventable pain. Welfare organisations that provide subsidised farriery in under-resourced communities address a genuine welfare gap. Choosing an experienced, qualified farrier and maintaining the recommended interval is a basic welfare responsibility for all horse owners.