advice?

R

Rosiejazzandpia

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 December 2012
Messages
2,106
Visit site
Apologies in advance for a long and rambling post :)
At the current livery yard I am on (hoping to move soon!) the Yard Owner and her husband have 6 horses. The yard is a small local farm. YOs husband used to be a qualified farrier but now retired (they are both in their late 50s/early 60s).
Anyway YO used to take out small half hr pony rides in the woods. They stopped this yr and now 3 cobby ponies and 3 shires/heavy cobs now all mostly retired. Walked up to get the horses in this evening and noticed that all 6 of YOs horses have very overgrown feet (all barefoot). :( They obvs havent had their feet trimmed for months, but my problem is that it is YOs husband who trims them. Is this not classed as illegal? He is not a qualified farrier and has not been for 10yrs +
Now, I know the horses are not mine but their hooves are a mess and doesnt look like they will be sorted anytime soon as YOs husband has hurt his back. Can I do anything about this??
Thanks for reading and any advice or answers appreciated :)
M
 
It isn't illegal for an unqualified farrier/trimmer to trim hooves. Anyone can trim their own horses hooves.

I would try first of all just having a polite and diplomatic word with them and suggest that they need to sort the feet. If they still don't do it after a couple of weeks, I would perhaps contact RSPCA/WHW/BHS.
 
I "think" its shoeing that needs to be done by a qualified farrier.
Trimming is more of a grey area.

You could mention in a nice way. That they need some foot attention and as husband is not up to it you could suggest a few?

Or report them, whw or similar.
They may need help and are struggling in older age.
 
It's not illegal from the farrier point of view as they are his own horses, it's just someone else's you can't do. You are allowed to trim your own horse
 
It's not unusual at all to see horses in my country who are grass-kept and retired without shoes on to have long raggedy feet. Interestingly, the raggy bits chip off after time and the feet start to look good again. It often amazes me just how nice these unkempt feet can start to look when left to nature. Of course in England that would not be acceptable at all but as I don't live there I won't give advice on what to do for something that's fairly common here.
 
Thanks guys, I knew it was illegal when you involve shoes but really wasnt sure with just trimming them. Will give them a little longer and then politely mention something. Didnt want it to sound like I was making out that they were old or incapable or anything like that.
Those who mentioned various charities- will they actually do anything?
SpringFeather- thanks for the different point of view. Most of the horses on the yard are barefoot and in summer we never really have to get the farrier out ad the hoobes chip and wear naturally. Where abouts in the world are you?
 
I'm across the Pond from you :) Where many things are done differently and accepted. I have a thing for nice tidy feet all of the time so I like my horses trimmed regularly, but it doesn't bother me to see other people doing it differently.
 
It is perfectly legal for just about any-one to trim horses' hooves and charge for it, which is how the so-called 'barefoot trimmers' manage to set up in business. It is illegal for unqualified people to nail shoes onto a horse's hooves. These horses will probably be ok, as their feet will wear down as the ground dries up. If you want to help you could offer to take them for a walk down the road to help the process along.

And bluecanoo1990, 50s/60s is hardly older age.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top