No foot no horse – as they say!

The Horse Trust is working with the University of Liverpool to understand the links between the work the farrier (the person that trims horses’ feet and shoes them if needed) does, the horse’s foot (hoof) shape and lameness in horses.

It’s a very important piece of work because results so far show that almost half of horses in the UK (45.9%) are reported to have hoof abnormalities and of course, these need proper professional attention.

Understanding the scale of the matter is the first thing and then we can continue to work with farriers and vets to make sure that our horses’ feet receive the best care and attention. Did you know that our study found that 13% of horses need special shoes to balance one or more of their feet!