equine podiatrists - anyone use them?

Talking of balanced view, I'll stick with my farrier, who has also trained in barefoot methods and works closely with the vets.

He uses whichever method will suit the horse. He's happy to do barefoot or shoeing, surely that is better than someone who will only do one or the other. I know some farriers aren't into barefoot, but then the barefoot people cant shoe if necessary.
 
I used one when my old mare had laminitis and he helped so much, I learned a lot and he got her right again. Sadly he moved away and I used a farrier who was good but when I started asking questions about the trim either couldn't or wouldnt answer. I I then moved yards and both times the yard farrier trimmed my boy went lame so I found another ep and she is fab his feet have never been better, she will answer questions and show me what she's doing as I like to understand a bit rather than just let someone get on with it. Wouldn't go back to farrier. She will say if she thinks the horse needs shoes which i like as means she won't put the welfare of the horse at risk. I do think you get some who are against shoeing and this can be to horses detriment, but same with farriers many look down on eps its a shame!
 
Countrychic said:
The reason the barefoot community is growing fast is not necessarily because there are so many bad farriers, it is probably because there will always be people who want to feel they are keeping their horses " naturally" and they enjoy the feeling that they are right and others are wrong. I also genuinely believe that a great number of them enjoy "healing" their horses and if it means they can't ride for a year because their horse is too footsore to even make it to the field all the better.
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Oh Countrychic, you forgot the money! I save £800 a year hunting my lame barefoot horse!

OP if your horse is fine stay with your farrier.
 
darkhorse123 said:
See as a first time horse owner who admits to knowing nothing about feet i agree with this - i use what i think is common sense and think id prefer advice and work done by someone who has trained in that area for 4 or 5 years, learning from principles used by horse owners and experts for centuries before them.
I watched a ep work at my yard recently and she was very "self important" - put me off when she basically said anyone who doesnt use them dont care about their horses - I was gobsmacked when she said if you just want to ride, chuck your horse in field and get another when he cant do his job anymore then you dont need her!
Must admit I also rolled eyes when she started spouting about her knowledge and abilities as an animal communicator :confused:

Maybe Im old fashioned and sceptical
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I am sure that as a first time owner you would agree. By the time you are a "many times" owner who has dealt with lame horses your views may be different. You say you know nothing about feet. How are you able to make a judgement as to whether your farrier's work is good or bad. There is plenty of extremely poor farrier work out there which has the potential to damage feet. Equally there is good farriery. All of this work is done by farriers who have trained for 4 or 5 years.
Are you able to recognise if your heels are underun, the toes are long or the degree of thrush in your feet? Are you able to recognise from your feet if you have diet problems which are very much reflected in both shod and unshod feet?
I agree that there is a lack of old fashioned commonsense but if you don't actually know anything about feet how are you able to tell if the farrier or EP is giving accurate information or spinning a story?


I agree that some EP's and trimmers of all sorts can sound very self important however I think people find it very difficult when they see damage being caused to feet by poor shoeing. To some extent she has a point about chucking the horse in a field and getting another when he cannot do his job because that is what happens. Horses are considered very expendable. Some of those horses cannot do their job because of foot problems. A lot of time and money has gone into training them. It is a bit of a waste when you have to chuck it in the field and get another.
 
paddy555 said:
I am sure that as a first time owner you would agree. By the time you are a "many times" owner who has dealt with lame horses your views may be different. You say you know nothing about feet. How are you able to make a judgement as to whether your farrier's work is good or bad. There is plenty of extremely poor farrier work out there which has the potential to damage feet. Equally there is good farriery. All of this work is done by farriers who have trained for 4 or 5 years.
Are you able to recognise if your heels are underun, the toes are long or the degree of thrush in your feet? Are you able to recognise from your feet if you have diet problems which are very much reflected in both shod and unshod feet?
I agree that there is a lack of old fashioned commonsense but if you don't actually know anything about feet how are you able to tell if the farrier or EP is giving accurate information or spinning a story?

Exactly paddy I admit I wouldnt have a clue about anything you mention - I feel guilty admitting that but it is the truth - hence I need to trust and rely on anyone who does my horses feet.
My farrier knows this, as you can see i am very honest about it - i see him often and he knows i know nothing on this subject - knows i rely on him to point out any problems such as if in his opinion my horse is showing signs of needing shoes or diet change etc.
I am on a livery yard for this very reason (I am a new learning owner) and watch and learn from other people - my farrier is used by most liveries and the yo - hence why I trust him.
My original question was asked because I am trying to learn and understand as much as I can so that I can make informed decisions from information shared by the very knowledgeable people here.
I agree totally I cant tell if the farrier or ep are spining me a yarn (apart from the fact Ive had my boy 3 years now and used the same farrier in all that time and touch wood no problems yet) .
If i had asked this question and everyone said oh yes eps are wonderful, you may encounter future problems if you continue without one, then I would have changed my mind.
I was just asking for experiences, opinions and thoughts.
Thank you everyone for sharing yours
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hence I need to trust and rely on anyone who does my horses feet.


I think that a lot of people will agree that you need to investigate exactly what constitute good and bad feet so that you can make an accurate judgement. A lot of people have trusted their farrier. A lot, have found they have misplaced that trust. A similar situation arises with trimmers. If your farrier is keeping your horse sound then that is wonderful (don't change for heaven's sake) but it is always better to know that the work carried out is good rather than basing judgments on opinions of people either on your yard or on here.

I am afraid that the same applies with everything else to do with horses. It is very easy to trust feed companies, supplement firms, in fact anyone.

If you want an easy starting point can I suggest www.barefoothorse.com and go to the photos gallery. There are lots of pics showing good and bad points about feet.
 
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