Fantasy_World
Well-Known Member
I don't know if anyone remembers my recent post asking about farriers in Staffs and if anyone had heard of Simon Bourne the farrier? Anyway here is an update. I have found a new farrier now who is great so can I say thank you to the people who got in touch with me.
Right my original post was in relation to a problem with the last set of shoes that my big lad had. I didn't say what the problem was at the time on the forum as I was not 100% sure at the time that it was down to the farrier, but after other events have transpired in my own mind I am convinced it was.
First of all the background.
My big lad is a big boy and is a heavy horse cross aged 17 years. He generally has good feet and with my first farrier he generally went 8 weeks to a maximum once of 12 weeks in between shoeing with no problems at all. He only ever had slightly raised clenches. I have had the horse just over 2 years now. The first year that I had him I did try barefoot over a winter as the ground was soft but it didnt work out and I had the shoes put back on as he was footy on the small stones.
All was fine with him until I moved yards in March. I changed my farrier to the one that most of the people on the yard used for convenience and also because I did like him and his shoeing seemed good. It was not that I was unhappy with my first farrier at all, it was just that sometimes it would be hard to get hold of him and we would play it by ear. Anyway I had the big lad shod in April, May, July and then shoes off in September ( all at 8 week intervals). The first time he was shod his clenches had to be tapped down I think if I remember correctly after 5 weeks as he was checked by the farrier at this time. Now I think I am correct in saying this that most on the yard were either on 5 to 6 week maximum cycles and one was even 4 to 5 weeks which was odd considering the pony was old, very old in fact and hoof growth generally slows down.
I have never been on a 6 week cycle since I had the horses and have never had any issues at all with lameness or hoof quality at all.
Other lad is trimmed btw not shod. In July of this year the big lad had the same shoes put back on. The assistant said it was because they didnt have his shoes, the farrier said it was because they were fine. I dont know who to believe now after recent events. Anyway I was still charged the same when it should have been less so a friend told me. After 5 weeks his clenches were up on his front feet yet again. Now bear in mind with my first farrier I never had this issue until after 8 weeks and it was only slightly. First farrier was Michael Handley who was a terrific farrier. Three days after moving my lads to a new place at the end of August which was a rented field and stables my lad had also knocked his foot and had two loose nails on one side which were just about in his hoof and shoe. I could not remove them and neither do I know how to remove a shoe. I tried to get hold of farrier by ringing and texting, didnt get any reply. I got in touch with a friend who said he was away. Nobody told me that someone else was looking after his clients until a few weeks later. The following day he lost his shoe. Not the one with the dodgy nails but his other shoe after a small mishap in the field with a gate in which he pulled his shoe off. A few days after that he lost his other shoe so there was no need the to try and get hold of the farrier as the shoes were off. They were both on grass at the time so I didnt worry about him being footy.
He was due to be shod on the 16th September and shortly before this I found out that a man had been looking after his clients. So who had the phone? I have no idea why any message was not answered or passed on as I left at least one voicemail and did text too.
I didnt have shoes re- applied because he had knocked his feet up on some flagging stones that were outside the stables which were actually in the fields they could graze and walk over. After trimming up his feet were actually ok but I was that psd off by that stage that I decided to not have shoes back on till the next time as we had done no riding since July and the field they were now in was pure grass and there were no stones for him to feel footy on.
At the beginning of October I moved to my present yard. I rode my lad a couple of times in the school and I two very short hacks with no shoes ( he has been ridden before with no shoes). On 11th November big lad was reshod. Shoes that were put on were much thinner than he had had before I noticed. My partner and I went for a ride down the track the following week and the next day, 9 days after shoeing he had lost a shoe in the field. Two other horses that share the same field also lost a front each the next day. I rang the farrier over the weekend, no reply so left a voicemail saying that he had lost a shoe and had never done before ( which he hadnt as the time before there was a genuine reason as he got tangled in a gate). There was no accident this time as he had lost it fair and square. I asked if he could come out to replace it as soon as possible as I was getting ready for a ride the next month. By Monday I heard nothing so I texted and asked him if he could get back to me before Wednesday so we could sort something. I got a sarky text back that day in which I also noticed his clenches were up on all his feet. Saying shoes come off in the wet and it was wet out there in case I hadnt noticed. Had I got the shoe. I was flabbergasted by the text to be honest and so was my yard owner when they saw it.
I replied and said no I hadnt as I couldnt find it and asked how much it would cost me. I got no reply. I gave him until the next night to reply and then I got in touch with another farrier and paid out to have the shoe replaced that week as well as having his clenches tapped back down.
Hope you are still reading, sorry for long post. I dont beat about the bush and didnt want to omit anything.
I changed farrier and have since cancelled the appointment with Mr Bourne.
Now I do know that horses can in fact lose shoes in the mud. The horses that lost their shoes had been shod that week and they didnt have any raised clenches at all but do tank around the field sometimes. Their farrier who was really nice and I was talking to came out the following week and reshod them both for free.
I did a ride on Sunday, a pleasure ride of 20 miles and guess what he lost a shoe. Which shoe do you think he lost? The one that was more vulnerable on a foot that had had a shoe replaced, you would think so wouldnt you. But no he lost in on the other front. No idea at which point he had lost it but we had to ride back home with one shoe on the front. I had a great time on the ride but it marred it for me to be honest as we had to take the slow option home as the terrain was varied and I didnt want him to get injured in any way. I am having the shoe replaced temporarily as they are due for shoeing early Jan anyway and we are having fronts put on the other horse too. That is another issue as my first farrier said he had hard feet and would go miles but since we moved yards this year and changed farriers we have noticed that he had become footy on his fronts so we are having fronts put on the cob too. Now it could be a coincidence I really dont know but I just have little niggles at the back of my mind now.
Has anyone ever had similar experiences. Would anyone have felt the same as I did. Was I overreacting or do farriers have a duty of care to their clients? Now we have paid on time, have never been late, have had clean horses to shoe and have always offered a drink. Anyway it was good to know that he kept on the shoe that he had been put on before we went on the ride so we know that it is not his feet which caused him to lose the shoe in the first place. The other horses have kept their shoes on fine as well so we know it is not necessarily the mud either.
Can farriers shoe in such a way that the shoes will only last so long, i.e. the placement of the nails etc? Only asking because of the 4-6 week cycle on the last yard and also because on 2 occasions he has had raised clenches after 5 weeks and the last one being after just nearly 2 weeks which seemed odd to me.
Sorry for very long post
Caz
Right my original post was in relation to a problem with the last set of shoes that my big lad had. I didn't say what the problem was at the time on the forum as I was not 100% sure at the time that it was down to the farrier, but after other events have transpired in my own mind I am convinced it was.
First of all the background.
My big lad is a big boy and is a heavy horse cross aged 17 years. He generally has good feet and with my first farrier he generally went 8 weeks to a maximum once of 12 weeks in between shoeing with no problems at all. He only ever had slightly raised clenches. I have had the horse just over 2 years now. The first year that I had him I did try barefoot over a winter as the ground was soft but it didnt work out and I had the shoes put back on as he was footy on the small stones.
All was fine with him until I moved yards in March. I changed my farrier to the one that most of the people on the yard used for convenience and also because I did like him and his shoeing seemed good. It was not that I was unhappy with my first farrier at all, it was just that sometimes it would be hard to get hold of him and we would play it by ear. Anyway I had the big lad shod in April, May, July and then shoes off in September ( all at 8 week intervals). The first time he was shod his clenches had to be tapped down I think if I remember correctly after 5 weeks as he was checked by the farrier at this time. Now I think I am correct in saying this that most on the yard were either on 5 to 6 week maximum cycles and one was even 4 to 5 weeks which was odd considering the pony was old, very old in fact and hoof growth generally slows down.
I have never been on a 6 week cycle since I had the horses and have never had any issues at all with lameness or hoof quality at all.
Other lad is trimmed btw not shod. In July of this year the big lad had the same shoes put back on. The assistant said it was because they didnt have his shoes, the farrier said it was because they were fine. I dont know who to believe now after recent events. Anyway I was still charged the same when it should have been less so a friend told me. After 5 weeks his clenches were up on his front feet yet again. Now bear in mind with my first farrier I never had this issue until after 8 weeks and it was only slightly. First farrier was Michael Handley who was a terrific farrier. Three days after moving my lads to a new place at the end of August which was a rented field and stables my lad had also knocked his foot and had two loose nails on one side which were just about in his hoof and shoe. I could not remove them and neither do I know how to remove a shoe. I tried to get hold of farrier by ringing and texting, didnt get any reply. I got in touch with a friend who said he was away. Nobody told me that someone else was looking after his clients until a few weeks later. The following day he lost his shoe. Not the one with the dodgy nails but his other shoe after a small mishap in the field with a gate in which he pulled his shoe off. A few days after that he lost his other shoe so there was no need the to try and get hold of the farrier as the shoes were off. They were both on grass at the time so I didnt worry about him being footy.
He was due to be shod on the 16th September and shortly before this I found out that a man had been looking after his clients. So who had the phone? I have no idea why any message was not answered or passed on as I left at least one voicemail and did text too.
I didnt have shoes re- applied because he had knocked his feet up on some flagging stones that were outside the stables which were actually in the fields they could graze and walk over. After trimming up his feet were actually ok but I was that psd off by that stage that I decided to not have shoes back on till the next time as we had done no riding since July and the field they were now in was pure grass and there were no stones for him to feel footy on.
At the beginning of October I moved to my present yard. I rode my lad a couple of times in the school and I two very short hacks with no shoes ( he has been ridden before with no shoes). On 11th November big lad was reshod. Shoes that were put on were much thinner than he had had before I noticed. My partner and I went for a ride down the track the following week and the next day, 9 days after shoeing he had lost a shoe in the field. Two other horses that share the same field also lost a front each the next day. I rang the farrier over the weekend, no reply so left a voicemail saying that he had lost a shoe and had never done before ( which he hadnt as the time before there was a genuine reason as he got tangled in a gate). There was no accident this time as he had lost it fair and square. I asked if he could come out to replace it as soon as possible as I was getting ready for a ride the next month. By Monday I heard nothing so I texted and asked him if he could get back to me before Wednesday so we could sort something. I got a sarky text back that day in which I also noticed his clenches were up on all his feet. Saying shoes come off in the wet and it was wet out there in case I hadnt noticed. Had I got the shoe. I was flabbergasted by the text to be honest and so was my yard owner when they saw it.
I replied and said no I hadnt as I couldnt find it and asked how much it would cost me. I got no reply. I gave him until the next night to reply and then I got in touch with another farrier and paid out to have the shoe replaced that week as well as having his clenches tapped back down.
Hope you are still reading, sorry for long post. I dont beat about the bush and didnt want to omit anything.
I changed farrier and have since cancelled the appointment with Mr Bourne.
Now I do know that horses can in fact lose shoes in the mud. The horses that lost their shoes had been shod that week and they didnt have any raised clenches at all but do tank around the field sometimes. Their farrier who was really nice and I was talking to came out the following week and reshod them both for free.
I did a ride on Sunday, a pleasure ride of 20 miles and guess what he lost a shoe. Which shoe do you think he lost? The one that was more vulnerable on a foot that had had a shoe replaced, you would think so wouldnt you. But no he lost in on the other front. No idea at which point he had lost it but we had to ride back home with one shoe on the front. I had a great time on the ride but it marred it for me to be honest as we had to take the slow option home as the terrain was varied and I didnt want him to get injured in any way. I am having the shoe replaced temporarily as they are due for shoeing early Jan anyway and we are having fronts put on the other horse too. That is another issue as my first farrier said he had hard feet and would go miles but since we moved yards this year and changed farriers we have noticed that he had become footy on his fronts so we are having fronts put on the cob too. Now it could be a coincidence I really dont know but I just have little niggles at the back of my mind now.
Has anyone ever had similar experiences. Would anyone have felt the same as I did. Was I overreacting or do farriers have a duty of care to their clients? Now we have paid on time, have never been late, have had clean horses to shoe and have always offered a drink. Anyway it was good to know that he kept on the shoe that he had been put on before we went on the ride so we know that it is not his feet which caused him to lose the shoe in the first place. The other horses have kept their shoes on fine as well so we know it is not necessarily the mud either.
Can farriers shoe in such a way that the shoes will only last so long, i.e. the placement of the nails etc? Only asking because of the 4-6 week cycle on the last yard and also because on 2 occasions he has had raised clenches after 5 weeks and the last one being after just nearly 2 weeks which seemed odd to me.
Sorry for very long post
Caz
