Farrier - lamed horse?

blackhor2e

blackhor2e

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So after your farrier has been to your new horse and you find it totally lame on all four feet what would you do?

I trust my judgement, but I thought I trusted my farrier as well. My new boy had very long feet and my farrier has taken them right back and now the poor thing can barely walk, to be honest I am heart broken. The farrier just said to keep him in for a day or two whilst he adjusts. Am i going mad or is this just unacceptable? :( I just don't equate shoeing with acute pain for your horse.

I'm sorry if this post sounds very emotional but I've only had the poor thing less then two weeks and i could of cried when i saw him :(
 
I wasn't I'm afraid, I was at work. The YO was there to hold him and I spoke to the farrier this evening after work as I was shocked that he was so lame. It was the farriers first time shoeing him, his feet look great now but the pain he is in far outweighs this in my eyes
 
TBH I would be changing my farrier.

There used to be a farrier who did a lot of horses on our yard and as a result of rushing made the same mistake on more than once occasion and that is why he now has no customers on our yard.
 
Well it's done now so you live and learn. I'd be speaking to the vet first thing for pain relief and I would be looking at my choice of farrier. Fact is that he should know to make adjustments slowly, Rome wasn't built in a day
 
b1ackhorse said:
I wasn't I'm afraid, I was at work. The YO was there to hold him and I spoke to the farrier this evening after work as I was shocked that he was so lame. It was the farriers first time shoeing him, his feet look great now but the pain he is in far outweighs this in my eyes
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how is he now? do you think the farrier just took off too much sole?
 
if he doesnt adjust to them in a couple of days ask the farrier to come back out and seat out the shoes- we have a horse who cant tolerate any sole pressure but goes like an angel in well seated natural balance shoes.
 
YorksG said:
I have to say for the first time my horse was shod, I would have made sure that I had the time off work to be there.
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Point taken, but since he is a farrier I use on a regular basis as does everyone else on our yard I thought it would be ok, and just a case of getting his feet right over a period of time..not all at once
 
victoria1980x said:
how is he now? do you think the farrier just took off too much sole?
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He was very pottery when I took him out of the stable this evening so I have gave him a deep bed and a bute to help ease the pain for now, and see how he is in the morning. I don't know whether there would be anything my vet could do for him though?
 
Zargon_91 said:
if he doesnt adjust to them in a couple of days ask the farrier to come back out and seat out the shoes- we have a horse who cant tolerate any sole pressure but goes like an angel in well seated natural balance shoes.
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Thanks zargon, I will certainly need to do something like this by Monday if he is no better.
 
You've already spoken to the farrier and he doesn't seem bothered, which doesn't sound great to me. If a horse was that unsound I'd expect him to come and have a look. I'd be considering getting a second opinion on what he's done. Vet or a recommended farrier. I don't think I'd let THIS farrier come back and start fiddling about with the shoes, I'd want to be more informed about why the horse is lame before giving him the change to possibly make things worse.
 
Sorry to hear your horse is so sore. You said your horse had very long feet to start with, well I can only assume your farrier has rebalanced the feet. SOmetimes this is done over a few visits for the comfort of the horse to make it more gradual, but it is equally hard for a good farrier to come in and correct another's work. It sounds like this is the case.
It is a shame you weren't there - you can ask questions and gain a lot of information from your farrier - particularly for his first visit to a new horse.

I would have expected him to have explained that the feet were far too long and that he had made a radical change and that you were to expect some soreness and maybe give bute. Without seeing pics they could have been so bad that with a partial change to the balance the horse has gone sore.
 
When you say the feet were 'long', was there simply a lot of excess hoof wall, or was the whole hoof capsule too long, with no excess wall? If the latter, then I'd be extremely concerned about what the farrier has done to 'correct' this.

I think you need another set of eyes on the ground; if you have a vet who's good at feet, or another farrier with a good reputation then I'd get them out to have a look.
 
Hi, thanks for all your responses on this. I am sorry I wasn't there at the time, but what's done is done. I will get the vet out to him today, I think it is a case of the whole hoof being far too long and instead of taking baby steps he has lopped the whole hoof
 
hi every time my horse has been shod by a few different vet reccomemded farriers and ones tht work on tbs.... he still lames for a few days in front feet aa they grow wuick and grow long farriers take them right back i was worried at first but eventually he never ended up lame he adjusted x
 
At least ring the vet and discuss.
I think a horse that lame after shoeing shows the farrier has not done his job well.
However in life I try to judge people who have made an error by how they deal with the issue rather than just by the fact they screwed up.
Are you happy with the way he's handled it ?
That's the question I would be asking, the vet would be able to comment on the shoeing what had been done what had gone wrong, if you horse had long toes weak heels and the farrier was trying to correct this I might be tempted to forgive him for to many farriers just keep slapping the shoes on without trying to help the balance the vet would be able to make a judgement on this and thats what I would do in your shoes have the vet have a look and advise.
You will have to make a judgement call if the farrier was trying to make changes for the better and just went a bit to far you might NOT want to change the farrier and perhaps get the vet to speak to him .
Good luck decideing what to do its not a black and white situation.
 
Quite a few years ago I had a farrier do my horse who was the farrier that most of the yard used. I knew nothing about hooves and just assumed they were doing the job right. But for at least a week after every shoeing he would be pottery and sore. I was told that it was just because the shoes were new and that some horses are just like that. I never questioned it as I put my faith in someone I thought knew their job. I then moved my horse to another yard where they used a different farrier. The horse was never sore again and strode out happily all the time. And that's the time when I realised that all along it was MY fault that my horse had been sore - a whole week in every six weeks - because I hadn't questioned why. If I were you I would change farriers, fast.
 
Holly Hocks said:
Quite a few years ago I had a farrier do my horse who was the farrier that most of the yard used. I knew nothing about hooves and just assumed they were doing the job right. But for at least a week after every shoeing he would be pottery and sore. I was told that it was just because the shoes were new and that some horses are just like that. I never questioned it as I put my faith in someone I thought knew their job. I then moved my horse to another yard where they used a different farrier. The horse was never sore again and strode out happily all the time. And that's the time when I realised that all along it was MY fault that my horse had been sore - a whole week in every six weeks - because I hadn't questioned why. If I were you I would change farriers, fast.
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I disagree - OP needs to get some independant advice like from a vet. The farrier may be doing an excellent job. If you or anyone is unsure about what a well balanced well shod foot should look like - ASK an independent llike a vet. The worst farrier in the world may make a shoe stay on a foot and may never make the horse sore, BUT he could be doing untold damage through poor balance.
The sad thing in this instance is that a) the owner was not there for the first shoeing and b) that the farrier left no advice or notice that the horse would be sore and he should have known that from the adjustments he had to make.
Just a general aside - the times folk have told me their farriers are amazing because the shoes don't come off......unbelievably naive to think this makes a good farrier.
 
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Agree with Yasandctrystal, and my advice is to ask the farrier to come back asap to see for himself. My OH is a farrier, and if there was a problem, not that it's likely, he would want to review the horse himself. That's the correct procedure. I know someone who gets her three horses trimmed by a farrier, not my OH, and they are footsore for a week afterwards-and she has never told him! She just keeps letting him do it!
 
If the whole hoof capsule was too long then it may be that the horse has distal descent of p3, which means the pedal bone is lower in the hoof capsule than it should be. Shortening the hooves of a horse like this will make it very sore, and make the pedal bone vulnerable by reducing the protection it has on the bottom of the foot.

I'd definitely get a vet out, and change farriers. If this is what has occurred then the horse may need some sole protection. In the mean time I would make sure to keep the horse well away from stones.
 
The only time my farrier did something that made one of mine sore was a (rare) time I wasn't there. He called me explained in great detail what he had done & why he thought the pony might be sore. He also told me the best way to manage her & arranged a date a couple of days later when he could come back to check on her.
Maybe I'm just demanding but that's the sort of service I would want.
 
Don't just change if you are unhappy. The have a governing body called the FRC so please make sure you put in a complaint. That is what they are there for.
 
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but if you expected him to correct the hoof over a number if visits, it may have been an idea to let him know this.

I wouldn't be reporting him, it seems rather churlish.
On the plus side, if the damage is prolonged, you do have that option. Had you employed the services of a man with an angle grinder, you'd have no such path available to you :rolleyes:

I hope he becomes more comfortable very soon and you are enjoying him again soon :)
 
quirky said:
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but if you expected him to correct the hoof over a number if visits, it may have been an idea to let him know this.

I wouldn't be reporting him, it seems rather churlish.
On the plus side, if the damage is prolonged, you do have that option. Had you employed the services of a man with an angle grinder, you'd have no such path available to you :rolleyes:

I hope he becomes more comfortable very soon and you are enjoying him again soon :)
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What's on earth has a man with an angle grinder got to do with this .
It sounds like the farrier has just made a bit to much of an adjustment in one go the FC is not going to do anything about that.
 
Goldenstar said:
What's on earth has a man with an angle grinder got to do with this .
It sounds like the farrier has just made a bit to much of an adjustment in one go the FC is not going to do anything about that.
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A 'man with an angle grinder' is a catch all term for those that operate as barefoot podiatrists/barefoot trimmers etc ... they seem to go under a number of titles but do the same thing :D

And don't tell me the FC won't do anything about it, it was somebody up there ^^^ that suggested it :o, not me :)
 
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quirky said:
A 'man with an angle grinder' is a catch all term for those that operate as barefoot podiatrists/barefoot trimmers etc ... they seem to go under a number of titles but do the same thing :D
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But never with angle grinders that I have ever seen.
You have redress in law agaisnt a trimmer for bad work
 
TWOSTROKE has said what I was going to say.
I would love to see some pics.

OP this is what happened to my horse every time he was re shod due to reverse rotated pedal bones which was brought on by bad shoeing.
He use to go very pottery and uncomfy. I hope this isn't the case with yours must I must add... Was he vetted? Mine wasn't and the vet who looked at him said she would of put me of buying him due to his feet. We have things underway now but it wasn't easy.
 
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