Hi I'm new and in need of some advice! - photos

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skewbald86

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Hi,
I bought my first horse after a 12 year break a few months ago.
I'm keeping him at full livery at the moment as I thought it would be a good idea to have lots of experienced people around.

When I bought him he was in very poor condition and looked like he hadnt been shod in a few months! When I had him vetted the vet said he had long toes and low heels but should be easily managed by a good farrier.

The first farrier that shod him did a great job and his feet looked quite "boxy" kept his heels long but took alot off his toes. But last time (about 4 weeks ago) he was shod by the normal livery farrier and I don't think hes done a very good job, but don't want to question him if he has done a good job of shoeing! So need some opinions first.

Two of his shoes I can't run the hoof pick from the top to the bottom of his frog (along the sides) as the shoes are resting on the edge of his frog, so he has a build up of debris under the shoe by the side of his frog, the only way I can get it out is by getting the hose on it, I showed the YO and she said this is OK nothing to worry about- but didnt seem right to me?

Also his heels have been cut back alot more. these photos were taken yesterday (four weeks after shoeing) and to me it looks like hes got alot of weight on his heels. (the vet said to be careful of his heels as they could become a problem if not shod correctly)

Please can I have your opinions on how hes been shod for his condition as I don't want to tell someone how to do their job when I'm not sure myself!
Hope I've added the photos correctly!

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IMG]http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz58/skewbald86/CIMG0353.jpg[/IMG]
 
doesn't look too good to me - but then I'm not much help as my boy is barefoot. Sure replies will be more use.

Welcome to the forum btw ! sm x
 
I don't think the bit going over his frog looks right, but am no expert, so sorry not much help.

Off the point.. Do you have any other full pictures of him, as he looks spotty and I'd love to see him!:D
 
Hi, I'm no expert either, but my boy is quite low at the heel and long in the toe. It was quite apparant when he arrived but my farrier is very good and came highly reccomended. Prehaps if you say what area you are in, people may be able to reccomend a good remeadial (sp) farrrier. Your boy does look very low at the heal.
Welcome to the forum by the way!!! :)
 
it looks to me like the farrier has tried to make the foot fit the shoe and not the other way round. His heels don't so much look low as just slightly underrun and not supported. (i'm not a farrier or an expert. just going on my experience of these things)

try sending TheFarrier and Nailed a message i'm sure they can help you...
 
The shoe does not fit, there is no support on the heal, and it's fitted far to close to the frog.

And there is no reason at all not to ask your farrier questions - I do it all the time.

Make sure you're there next time, and tell him of your concerns.
 
The first photo shows the heels of your horses different heights. This can cause a condition called sheared heels which is a bit of a nightmare condition once your horse gets it and can result in severe lameness. I would say that this needs rectifying quickly but I am not a farrier so am not really much help. I had a youngster who had this condition not long after I bought him due to using a bad farrier.
 
I dont think there is anything particularly wrong with the shoe touching the frog a little bit per se though you can see that despite this the horse doesn't really have much support to his heals

My boy's shoes frequently touch his frog just on his fronts, they have to in order for the shoe to give him sufficient heal support, his hinds are much boxier (he is generally just more upright behind) It has never caused either of us any trouble so I wouldn't worry about that side of things, I do find I can just get the hoof pick down underneath, and its still a damn site easier than picking out egg/heart bars ;). I do have some pics but they are on my phone so I can't put them up.
 
Thanks for the welcome and advice so far!
He is a skewbald but has a few spots on his legs and shoulder. Here is a photo of him last week, hes still not in great condition but improved so much from when I got him in may. The video of him is when we went to look at him before I bought him.
I have asked YO if I can use my own farrier but have been told no. Its a shame as I love the yard and people, this is the only bit I have a problem with.

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http://s813.photobucket.com/albums/zz58/skewbald86/?action=view&current=Video001D.mp4
 
Imo they dont look right, its like the foot is fitted to the shoe no the shoe to the foot.

That is terrible of the YO to not allow you your own farrier and this is wrong imo. I would be talking to your YO and insiting that you have your farrier out for the good of your horse.
 
BobbyMondeo said:
That is terrible of the YO to not allow you your own farrier and this is wrong imo. I would be talking to your YO and insiting that you have your farrier out for the good of your horse.
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agree with this! its your horse, you can have who you like to shoe it! could understand if she was the owner and you were the 'rider'. but if that is not the case then you should be able to have who you like to shoe him.
there doesnt look to be enough support to the heel.
 
Hi,
Yes I'm the owner. Reason given is because it will be to much hassel for them if everyone has a different farrier.
I will ask the farrier when I see him If he can shoe him differently - but what shall I ask him to do? (i know he should know anyway, but so he has every chance of correcting it!)
If its still not looking good I might have to look at moving maybe which would be a shame.
 
Seems to me to be very badly shod, but without knowing what they looked like before this set of shoes were put on its hard to make a judgement on the farrier. I would definatly get the original farrier to have a look as he sounds to have done a much better job.
 
difficult situation....

i'd ask the farrier exactly why he shod like that - it looks like the heel are unsupported and the soes is too small to me.... but i'm no farrier ;)
so i'd tell him all your concerns and if he doesn't have a stuiable answer or just gets stroppy then i'd tell YO that you're happy to organise another farrier and use him - YO does not need to do anything - ie your always there when farrier comes etc - then hopefully they should say its ok...
good luck
 
If the contract says you have to use their farrier you stuck but otherwise I would either ask them to recommend a remedial farrier on the advise of your vet. (they may just not want lots of 'strangers' on the yard) or say that you are more than willing to be present for your own farrier so it doesn't inconvienience (sp) them.
But I agree they don't quite look right and my horse woud have them off in seconds.
Did he hot shoe? Just out of curiosity.
 
IMO his heels are too low and his toes too long and the shoe too small.

Can you not be there when your farrier shoes him so YO has nothing to do with it - that way ther is no 'hassle' from everyone having different farriers.

I agree with the others - its your horse, you choose the farrier

and remember No Foot - No Horse!!
 
I thought the shoes may be too small as on at least one of his shoes, when you pick it up his hoof is showing around the edge of his shoe.
Will have a word. I have a feeling he will get stroppy! I'm not normally there when hes shod as I can only get down four times a week and he comes over very early.
But would prefer to be there when he is shod, so if I got a different farrier I would meet him there.

amymay-thanks!
 
I know very little about farriery so won't comment on that. But in your situation I would go back to the original farrier that you used and stick with him if you are happy with his work.

Don't let the YO dictate to you what you can and can't do with your horse. I made that mistake myself, to the detriment of my horses welfare because I didn't have the guts to stand up to the ignorant woman. Luckily in my case, I moved away and there was no lasting damage, but with something as important as farriery you don't want to mess about - if your horse develops problems as a result it will be you who has to pick up the pieces and pay the bills, not your YO, so don't let her dictate to you who can shoe your horse.
 
I'm not sure if he was hot or cold shod. I know he makes his own shoes he doesnt buy them in- so maybe he is being sparing (spelling!) to save himself money!
I dont have a contract with the livery yard.
Thats a good idea will ask the vet if he can recomend a farrier.
I have a friend with a yard about 45mins hack away and could use her farrier, but if I was having to go to them lengths to get him shod think it would be best to move him?
 
but if I was having to go to them lengths to get him shod think it would be best to move him?
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I think you've been put in a really difficult position. Certainly I've never been in a position where I've been told I can only use professionals as recommended by my YO, and wouldn't be happy to be on a yard where this was the case. But if the yard is a good one apart from that, then I'd be loath to leave.

Your best bet really is to be there for the shoeing - at an appointment time to suit you not the YO, and make a decision from there.

As a professional the farrier should be very happy to talk to you about your concerns, and explain why things have been done in certain ways.

As an aside, I would PM The Farrier on here - he may be very happy to look at your photos and advise you accordingly.
 
If you have any concerns then bring it up with BOTH farriers, end of the day you are (or have done) paying them for a service and that is to correctly shoe your horse, doesn't matter who shod the horse last, explain that you have concerns about your horses feet (you don't have to word it by saying concerns about how you'd shod my horse etc) then ask them to explain about your horses feet, if they think there is any problems, get them both out if need be but either way get onto it now, the sooner a problem is recognised the sooner it can be sorted.

It's your horse at the end of the day, doesn't matter about ruffling a few feathers and worrying about what they may think, they are their to do a job, your job is to find the right one for your horse.
 
Look, no help at all regarding the pictures, but you MUST ask any farrier all the questions you need to ask - thats how you learn. Your farrier is meant to know more than you!

Regarding the YO not letting you use another farriers, sounds very odd. Have you asked why? Are they getting some sort of pay back for it?

If it was my horse and I loved the yard, I would ask around for the BEST farrier in the area, take my horse to him and ask for an opinion on how he would shoe him if the horse was under his care - and more importantly why he would do that. You could then have an informed discussion with your new farrier.

Good luck!
 
Now I know he is badly shod I can say something. I didn't want to kick up a fuss if it was all in my own head.
Will ask him why he has shod him how he has, and my concerns about his low heels/long toe and how the shoes don't seem to fit.
 
What a bloomin` awful shoeing job!The shoe pinches in on the bars,the foot is`nt level.There is an overhang of foot on the heels..shoot the farrier,get a decent one to redo the horse again ASAP ,`spect he`ll say the same.
 
Maybe not give him a second chance to rectiy then?
Will tell YO tomorrow I'm not happy and want to get my own farrier, i the answers no I'm not sure what I'll say- I'm not the comfrontational (spelling) type! But don't want my horse suffering from me not speaking up.
I was just very shocked when I asked first time and was told no.
 
The shoe needs to be pulled at the ends apart more (its elongated rather than round), the shoe shouldn't be going over those ends of the grooves. As someone else says, looks like he tried to fit the horse to the shoe and was too lazy to bother shoeing it correctly!

I would have the original farrier back if his feet looked better then, your horse and its whats best for the horse at the end of the day :) I would say to the YO that you'd like your own farrier as you feel your horse needs more time spent on it than a farrier doing however many horses on a livery yard is trying to do in an hour. Don't be worried about confrontation, YOU are the customer if the YO wants liveries then she'll have to compromise a bit.
 
Hi and welcome, Having had so many problems as the result of bad shoeing I would urge you to find someone else. The feet are not at all balanced or at the right angles and I am sure lots of other things are wrong but I am no expert but have picked up a lot from the problems I have had. The importance of balance was pointed out by my vet who urged me to change farriers as it was affecting my boy's hocks. Is there a remedial farrier with a good reputation locally who could help? Don't be pushed into using someone you don't have faith in, go with your gut instinct, I didn't and my horse suffered because of it. Good luck
 
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