Annoyed.com! Opinions?

wattamus · 27 April 2012

As many of you know Ebony had her last operation about 8 weeks aga, she has progressed really well since then and two weeks ago she was on one bute a day and had a stable bandage on and was sound. The faarrier cam and his apprentice gave her a trim as her heel was too long and she was walking "heel- toe" and placing a lot of weight on the outside of her foot. Anyway he trimmed her while the main guy did someone else's horses feet on the other yard. When he finished she was hopping lame, he assured me that it was footsoreness and should ease in a week, it hasnt, in fact it has got worse. So got the vet out today and he said that the foot was totally unbalanced, it has about an inch more toe than the other and that it should have some of the outside edge removed to engourage her to walk more naturally. to top it off her hind left has started to "flare out". I have never had a problem with my farrier and have always had compliments on my horses feet. But i am mortified that this has happened, and I have been told that apprentices should always be supervised when trimming, certianly when the horse has has surgical treatment that changes the structure of the leg. would i be overreacting to change farriers? I will post pictures tonight when i go back down.

The Fuzzy Furry · 27 April 2012

I hope you are keeping your current farrier 'in the loop' regarding the vet visit & what the vet has given their professional opinion about?

You farrier might like to come out for a visit to see what vet is talking about - and maybe ought to put things right for you, obviously you will need to discuss at whose cost tho.
Any farrier with his/her salt is not going to be happy with those sort of comments from a vet, they might also be embarrassed if they are not properly supervising their apprentice

Before changing farriers, get yours out & speak directly to him
If no joy, then contact here: http://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/ and ask them to recommend a master farrier to come out to inspect the bad work.

Good luck, but dont just change from one to another without getting recourse.

*hic* · 27 April 2012

^^^^ that - communicate with your farrier first. Did you not ask the farrier to check her feet when the apprentice told you she was footsore at time of trimming?

wattamus · 27 April 2012

No, didn't ask farrier as he's the type that says "if you think you can do it better, you do it." Also, the horse that he trimmed came back very footsore as well. I will speak to him and see what he says, however I'm not particularly keen on him doing her again, as his apprentice normally does her and most of the time he doesn't come out to visits.

Paris1 · 27 April 2012

If you aren't happy with the service ask your vet to recomend a farrier and check their credentials yourself.

Oberon · 27 April 2012

wattamus said:
As many of you know Ebony had her last operation about 8 weeks aga, she has progressed really well since then and two weeks ago she was on one bute a day and had a stable bandage on and was sound. The faarrier cam and his apprentice gave her a trim as her heel was too long and she was walking "heel- toe" and placing a lot of weight on the outside of her foot.

And as she is currently healing - any trim should be conservative and be focused on keeping the horse comfortable, no matter what it looks like

wattamus said:
When he finished she was hopping lame, he assured me that it was footsoreness and should ease in a week, it hasnt, in fact it has got worse. So got the vet out today and he said that the foot was totally unbalanced, it has about an inch more toe than the other and that it should have some of the outside edge removed to engourage her to walk more naturally. to top it off her hind left has started to "flare out". I have never had a problem with my farrier and have always had compliments on my horses feet. But i am mortified that this has happened, and I have been told that apprentices should always be supervised when trimming, certianly when the horse has has surgical treatment that changes the structure of the leg. would i be overreacting to change farriers? I will post pictures tonight when i go back down.

A horse should never be lame after a trim - although it can happen perfectly innocently. I would be extremely wary of manually 'balancing' a hoof on a post surgical horse. It's often much better to leave well alone, let the horse grow the hoof as they want while keeping an eye on them.

I would be interested to see a pic.

I would say to talk to your farrier - but if he isn't approachable, then find someone you can talk to and trust.

I'm sorry this has added to your current stress

Meowy Catkin · 27 April 2012

she was walking "heel- toe"

Call me crazy... but I thought that landing with the heel first was correct? Obviously side to side twist due to an unbalanced hoof is wrong.

I'd love to see photos and I hope that she feels better soon.

Goldenstar · 27 April 2012

me too Faracat I am I big trouble if heel first landing is not what you are supposed to be looking for.
OP if there is a good alternative I would change IMO no horse should be very lame after a trim and certainly not after a week .I would get the vet to advise you who to go to and even she is she will ring them for you.
Don't jump ship with the other farrier unless you know you have a new one .
It sounds awful I would be furious .

SusieT · 27 April 2012

The horse should not be footsore. I'd beringing your farrier and asking what he planned to do about this as his apprentice did it. I'd then be watching him like a hawk if I decided to let him come back and fix the mess he did-or I'd get a new farreir.

wattamus · 27 April 2012

Ok so have put the pictures on a whole new thread, let me know what you think

Thank you for all the advice, I think i will talk to my farrier on monday and see how we go from there.

Parker79 · 27 April 2012

change farrier - if it isn't easy to communicate with him then you will have to change....I've been down this road a few times and I have to 100% trust my farrier...no foot no horse and all that! there are some good ones out there, if I've asked questions then I do not get a defensive answer...I got bored of defensive farriers...would rather pay extra to get a very good one.

Hope she is better soon

wattamus · 27 April 2012

Ok so here are the pictures of her feet. Not the best quality but i think you can see the problems. Oh and i do pick her feet out twice a day and had done them just before i took the pictures but they still look terrible but didnt have the capability of washing them out.
Sorry total picture overload!
Front View, I know her feathers are in the way but you cas still see the difference.