Donny's halo has slipped - really naughty with farrier

FabioandFreddy

FabioandFreddy

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We've had Donny for a month now - yesterday came to shoeing time. Will give a brief history as it is related. When we viewed and had vetted, he was barefoot. The vet wouldn't pass him as he was very footy and in her opinion he should have had at least fronts on a long while back. He had been shod in the past, the girl we bought him from said he came over from Ireland shod (Know he did as seen pics) - all 3 of her horses were barefoot though which i think was more a cost saving reason than wanting them barefoot. They agreed for us to have our farrier out to shoe him then have the vet back out to re-do that part of the vetting. My OH went with our farrier so seen him shod - was a bit reluctant with back feet but farrier thought was more due to the fact he hadn't been shod in a while. Was nothing major though. Vet came back out week or so after, met her there, passed him no bother.

So, back to yesterday. He was a nightmare. Not scared, just naughty and rude. OH had brought him in for the farrier, i went down about half way through when i got back from work. He'd been fine for trim etc but kept jumping about, swinging from side to side for the shoeing. They had got the fronts on when i went down but still had to clench etc the one hoof and hadn't got shoes on the back. OH had went and brought Fabio in too to see if he'd be better with him in his stable too. I went and got a bucket of chaff and as soon as his face was in it he let the farrier finish off his fronts with no issue whatsoever! In fact, it gave a very false sense of security as we decided as he was fine to try the backs. He then was grabbing a gobful of chaff then moving from side to side again. So we've had to leave the backs for now.

Now, couple of other things - our shetland companion is in season at the moment and her and Donny have been mithering one another for the last 2 days. It was REALLY windy yesterday, he was shod in the enclosed area inbetween the stables, so could have possibly felt trapped? But - could be nothing to do with any of it and i could just be trying to make excuses?! Its really frustrating as he's so good with everything else. Been bathed, trimmed up his face, ears and bridlepath with the trimmers without so much of a flinch. He's fine for picking feet etc too.

Waiting for the farrier to come back to us to see what to do re his backs (was the lads who work for him who came out yesterday, not our farrier who shod him initially). I am guessing our options are:

1 - Just have him shod on fronts

2 - If feasible, have fronts done then backs 3 weeks after, so he only has one lot done at one time. He's out of sync with Fabio's shoeing regime anyway so could do that - assuming we can get backs on!

3 - Try him again maybe in the field where he's not enclosed

4 - Get some Sedalin from the vet and see if that will make a difference

To be honest, it can't be like it was yesterday everytime. Its dangerous and i wouldn't blame our farrier for saying he won't do him. I'm sure he wouldn't but safety has to come first.

So, all tips greatfully received! I'm going to bring him in each day and work on holding his back feet up until i release them, working up to tapping on them - i'm working on the basis that treats when he lets me do this will instill this is a good thing. It can't hurt anyway.

Also - i have no experience of Sedalin, have never had to use it. I'm assuming it would be a possibility for this? Does the vet need to come out initially to prescribe? Or will they prescribe if i call them and explain the situation?

Sorry for the extremely long ramble, just frustrating as he's been fab in every other way.
 
If the reason you are shoeing him is that he's footsore, isn't it a logical conclusion that having shoes nailed on was hurting him, hence the bad behaviour?

Perhaps if you addressed the source of the pain the horse wouldn't feel the need to 'misbehave' in this way.
 
When my horse is getting shod i hold a treacle likkit? It was only £3 from local feed store. Vinnie was a was bit of a pain with the farrier like yours and i tried this and hes so engrosed with licking this treacle thing that he hardly notices the farrier. (He does still have a moment now and again but nothing like before)

Maybe worth trying? Keeping him occupied? Dont let him kiss you afterwards as you will get coverd :D
 
TwoStroke said:
If the reason you are shoeing him is that he's footsore, isn't it a logical conclusion that having shoes nailed on was hurting him, hence the bad behaviour?

Perhaps if you addressed the source of the pain the horse wouldn't feel the need to 'misbehave' in this way.
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It was his heels that were sore as they were pretty much on the ground before he was shod.

If it was genuine pain then wouldn't he have shown this when his face was stuck in his feed bucket and he behaved perfectly? And wouldn't he have been worse when he was shod the first time when he was footsore rather than now? IMO it wasn't pain related.

I'm not after a debate about barefoot/shoeing - helpful advice please!
 
Personally I would have tried him on a barefoot diet and seen how he got on barefoot first, its has only been a month on the new yard after all.
Like TwoStroke said, if he is foot sore then shoeing could be painful for him, in which case it's not any wonder he is reacting in this way.
He is clearly not happy with shoes being nailed in!
 
FabioandFreddy said:
It was his heels that were sore as they were pretty much on the ground before he was shod.

If it was genuine pain then wouldn't he have shown this when his face was stuck in his feed bucket and he behaved perfectly? And wouldn't he have been worse when he was shod the first time when he was footsore rather than now? IMO it wasn't pain related.

I'm not after a debate about barefoot/shoeing - helpful advice please!
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Sorry but you are going to get one with the situation you describe! Putting nails into already sore feet mustve been uncomfortable for him the first time, hes obviously remembered that and is objecting accordingly. Also did the farrier trim the feet before re shoeing? He may have made them sore again. Did the vet consider LGL? Or did she just go oh he's sore he must need shoes? What is the pony being fed on?
 
FabioandFreddy said:
It was his heels that were sore as they were pretty much on the ground before he was shod.

If it was genuine pain then wouldn't he have shown this when his face was stuck in his feed bucket and he behaved perfectly? And wouldn't he have been worse when he was shod the first time when he was footsore rather than now? IMO it wasn't pain related.

I'm not after a debate about barefoot/shoeing - helpful advice please!
Click to expand...

Horses don't act badly for no reason, give the poor pony the benefit of the doubt before deciding that he's just being naughty. That's my helpful advice.
 
I would get the main man farrier out to see him. Do the training you have mentioned too in the mean time.

Did the farrier reprimand him for his behaviour?

I had a horse which was a bit snatchy with her back feet. She wasn't terrible but if the farrier reprimanded at all her she would go mental and be really difficult. Different farriers have different techniques with difficult horses (sometimes impercivable) which can make the difficulties invisible or exacerbate them a lot!!

Sedative paste is a bit hit or miss to be honest. Some times it's ok but timing is everything.
 
No - he didn't reprimand him at all. He was really patient with him and gave lots of praise when he was good. I wouldn't have been happy if he'd reprimanded him as whether he was just playing up or not, it would make the situation 10 times worse next time.

Fabio when i got him was bad with his back feet, down to his stringhalt i guess. I had to work with him to get him to trust me to hold his back feet until i released as he was very snatchy with them. But he's generally good with the farrier.

The main farrier is ringing OH today so will see what he thinks is the best route to go down. I'm thinking maybe just fronts for now and we can try backs again once he's had another few farrier visits.
 
Well that's one thing. But some farriers do have a calming effect. I don't know why. I had an IDxTB who would hop round with farrier attached. He lost a shoe once and usual farrier wouldnt come. Got another farrier and he shod the horse with no hopping from that day on. I couldn't see what he did differently!
 
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