Grr - horse suddenly won't be shod

[now_loves_mares]

Ideas please!!! Last week my farrier couldn't get the hinds on either of my horses shod

My youngster I can handle, I will keep de-sensitising her and getting her used to having her feet lifted for longer periods. But my other one is nearly 8 and always been easy to shoe

I had to change farriers recently as my last one wasn't doing a great job on her feet. The one that is being a cow-bag is a chestnut mare, so it could just be that

but it's quite out of character really. When I first got her, one day she suddenly had a tantrum about her feet and I ended up using a leadrope to hold it up, as you would a youngster. She has been fine with me ever since. She could of course just be trying it on with the new farrier, but she did seem a bit stressed out, was pulling back on her leadrope and throwing herself about. He had to come back today and re-do a front which she had pulled off, so he tried her hind today and another tantrum.

I have booked her in to the vets on Friday for a check up - could be nothing, but it's out of character so feel I owe it to her. She's been out of work basically for the last few months but still looks fine muscularly - and when I started riding her again, she felt sound?

The new farrier is very tall and the horse is only 15.2. It crossed my mind that he is having to lift her leg a bit higher than normal, hence my call to the vet. He also just said maybe they don't like him

Has anyone had any experience of this? I'm always with them when they are shod so nobody has mistreated her! I'm at a loss as to the sudden change in behaviour, and therefore how to handle it?

 

[millitiger]

i would definitely get the vet/backman to give her a look over to begin with.

can you try and handle her feet the way a farrier does? lift the feet higher and have the sole horizontal like they do? is she ok if you hammer her feet etc?

 

[now_loves_mares]

Thanks - she was generally ok when I was banging her feet after he had left. But just a bit inconsistent. One minute refusing to hold her foot up and threatening to lash out, the next she relaxed and let me hold it and bang it for ages.

Farrier suggests sedating her next time to get her over whatever is bothering her, but that's a route I'm keen to avoid. Will see what the vet says first

 

[Minxie]

Yup definately agree with millitiger and with you getting the vet to have a look. If they are fine one day and iffy the next this can often be pain related.

Hope its something minor and resolved quickly.

 

[tikino]

my lad has always been an angel to shoe and then one day a couple of years ago he was a complete arse and we couldn't get his hind shoes on. this was totaly out of charicter. to cut a long story short got vet and he was la,e on both hocks and has worn cartlige in his hock joints so he was reacting to pain he has injections into boh hock and is now on a jiont supplement and doing well.

so it could be a problem with his hocks or back etc but then she could be just being a witch but your doing the right thing getting her checked out. i would be a bit warry of going down the sedation line unless absolutly ness as it can become ness to do it for every time but you also need to think of safety first for you and the farrier.