Am I over-reacting? (Farrier related)

Mansel

Mansel

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My pony was shod for the 2nd time today, by the same farrier who did him last time. He was recomended to me by other liveries on the yard i just moved to recently. Last time I was pleased with his work, and quite happy to re-book him. My pony is 5 and has just gone from being barefoot and trimmed to wearing a full set of shoes. Unfortunately today I'm not so happy. I should have checked his feet before the farrier left, but I didn't, and when I did check, I noticed a fairly obvious overhang on his near hind, maybe 1/2cm or so, you can't even see the shoe at the front when the foot is on the ground. All the others are lovely and neat and aligned. I called him to query this, he said he knew what I was talking about, and said a lot of farriers shoe like this to avoid overreach injuries?! (My pony has never overreached and this wasnt even mentioned whilst shoeing) I have never heard of this before. I also asked why it was only one hind that was like this and strangely he changed his mind and said it was because my horse was being fidgety. He again told me he wasnt concerned about it, then said he would come out and rasp it off if I wanted. By this point I had decided I didn't like his attitude towards the situation so I won't be using him again. I think I will need to get another farrier out to have a look at his feet now, but can anyone give me their opinion on the above??! I am pretty sure this is not right but am doubting myself. Any input Much appreciated!
 
Farriers do sometimes sit the shoe slightly further back for the reason you mention, but its usually done to both hind feet & not quite as extreme as yours sounds like it is.
 
On one foot is odd! Think you need to get a new farrier, the first one you try never seems to be any good :-/ I know they can be a strange breed but I do like them to take me seriously and for there to be some degree of customer service!
 
Thanks, that's interesting to know that it IS a known method of shoeing to have a little overhang at the toe, but as you can imagine I would expect both feet to be done the same way, unless there was a specific reason. This is my 3rd horse and I've never come across it before, or even heard of it on other horses, so I actually thought he was making it up!

I was really polite on the phone to him, but felt like he was just making excuses :-/

I'm just concerned it will weaken his foot or there may be adverse effects, and am unsure as to how it works with regard to hoof growth? Surely the toe would grown down in front of the shoe?
 
mine always used to overreach so the farrier leaves abit of a overhang (mm not cm's) though and squares them off however this is on both hind. i agree with ffion winnie sounds like its an unfinished foot :0
 
Heres some pics of what i'm talking about...
off hind (which im ok with):
F9105A4C-67DA-43E2-AF1C-2DFD55DD9FC0-466-00000108C91A1277_zpsa5958718.jpg

048E5B90-E20D-4035-9869-530F639181B6-466-0000010AEE074B88_zpscc73dfb7.jpg

and the near hind which im concerned about:
5A385FD1-3C2D-424D-96F0-D63CF8DE3D40-466-00000108B715436D_zps6b212f32.jpg

9D9B5923-9E23-40A0-8686-977240711DAF-466-00000108C19E4BD3_zpse3c6ab31.jpg
 
thanks for the pics the near hind (the one with the overhang sorry if ive put the wrong leg) is like how my horse is shod for overeaching however her over hang is not that big when you look at her foot picked up. the off hind looks great but i have nothing to offer as to why they are mismatched other than the farrier has not finished the near hind properly IMO and had he been shoeing for over reaching it is normally both hooves :s and also my farrier tells me if he is changing the shape etc and the purpose. i would ring him and explain your not happy your horses hooves are mismatched. i hope you get sorted :)
 
Thanks, his suggestion is to come out and rasp the overhang off, I just wanted to check that's not just a quick fix to a badly done job?
 
is it possible to ask another farriers opinion before he rasps back to make sure it wont make him sore or anything? i dont know if he is just using it as a quick fix you certainly dont want him to make the matter worse. i feel sorry for you ive had a fair few annoying farriers that make you feel stupid for asking a questiom as something doesnt look right :(
 
Sounds like a bit of flannel with it being only one foot. I would give him the chance to come out and reshoe that foot and say if he wont you cant use him again. If I did use him I would be standing over him every time.
 
I would have thought he would have explained to you his justification as he shod your horse?! I can understand setting the shoes slightly back but not to just one foot. When I switched to my current farrier, he explained he was setting my cobs front shoes back and rolling his toe as I had told him he had a tendency to be clumsy and trip up. If he hadn't told me what he was doing, I would have questioned what on earth he had done:rolleyes:
 
robynandTilly said:
is it possible to ask another farriers opinion before he rasps back to make sure it wont make him sore or anything? i dont know if he is just using it as a quick fix you certainly dont want him to make the matter worse. i feel sorry for you ive had a fair few annoying farriers that make you feel stupid for asking a questiom as something doesnt look right :(
Click to expand...

That's good advice.
 
^^ Agreed with FfionWinnie.

If it was both I'd say it was fine. I've known lots of farriers to leave it longer and some significantly longer. I've never known one foot!
 
Thanks everyone for your comments and advice. I've got another farrier who I know and have previously used and trust coming out to look at my boy tomorrow.
 
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