Horse needs sedating to be shod - would you go and try/buy?

I'm sorry, but no way would I buy a horse with "issues" over feet, and shoeing. You just don't know what the underlying problem is - what the shoes may be hiding (navicular etc) , could the nails be hurting ? Even if barefoot, the horse still needs trimming.

As someone else said above, I have seen my farrier badly injured by a kicking horse, and would not want that on my conscience. Loads of horses out there. Sorry x
 
My friend had a horse like this but he was exceptionally talented so he was allowed this one quirk... He has since been sold on and the new owner was fine with the sedation thing. If the horse is called Clinton's Lad - buy him! He's amazing!
 
The owner has had the horse for 4 years so I imagine they have tried to desensitise it already.

To be honest, I am totally put off. It may well be a total superstar but there are plenty of others out there that don't have a problem. No point in buying a problem if you don't have to.
 
Wouldn't be interested. Having had a horse that threw shoes all the time, if I had had to sedate each time the farrier came out, I would have had a mental breakdown plus my bank balance wouldn't have coped. I have to have my lad sedated every 6 months for his teeth and that is enough. Plus I don't like sedation in that a horse can still flip out. Why buy a horse that has a problem already.
 
My lad was terrible. When I took him on LWVTB he obviously hadn't been shod for months. Owner gave me some cock and bull story about they were trying to grow his feet??? I soon found out he was a nightmare to shoe and suspect her farrier had just refused to do it. He was the worst when his fronts were being done. Would show no sign of stress but then would suddenly 'explode'. He ended up being signed over to me when he got kicked and needed an op as his owner said if he come back he would be shot. I had his hock operated on and the found he had kissing spines. Long story short, it was the pain from that when the farrier pulled his leg up between his knees that set him off. Now the farrier only trims him and makes sure his legs are not pulled up too far and he's fine.

So unless was just a case of the horse being scared of the noise and smoke of shoeing, I would be very put off by a horse that was bad with the farrier.
 
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It would have to be very special and equally cheap but even then I would think thrice....

I've been with horses to know that I can fix most problems with time and effort but I also can't be bothered.
 
My part loan, Jock, needs sedation to be trimmed. He had such good feet that the animal sanctuary he was in when he was a foal never taught him to pick up his feet(!!!). He's unshod and self-trims reasonably well and as far as riding school ponies go ones as good as him are like gold dust so the riding school doesn't mind the inconveniences. However if a shod horse needs sedation to be shod then that could be very expensive! If the horse could go unshod (I find it odd that it is shod considering, is there any specific reason?) and was perfect in every other way then I'd consider trying it out. If the horse is happy to have its feet picked up and trimmed, then I would of thought that with a bit of desensitising and a lot of patience it could get used to the shoeing process as well?
 
We bought a mare many years ago that had massive issues with being shod and could not be tied up under any circumstances. We spent years working at picking her feet up and just using a hammer and knocking her hooves so that she got used to the sensation and the noise. It took a while but in the end she would stand untied and unheld for the farrier with no problems what so ever. Farrier was brilliant and so patient with her over her 'training' period. She never did get used to be tied but she would stand to have anything done so it was never really an issue. Go and see the horse, if everything else is exactly what you want i am sure you can work on the shoeing problem.
 
It might be farrier fear [which can work both ways] I had one horse [unbroken at seven years old!] who was a b*****, my regular farrier left a jumper in his stable, for him, and also every time said farrier was in yard he picked up the b****s feet. After couple of months we got shoes on him, I am totally convinced a farrier had whacked him the first time he was shod. He was a pain in every other way, having been allowed to get away with everything when young.
 
I've brought 2 horses who were bad to shoe, both cheap and both came right with my farrier. I would never dismiss a bad to shoe horse without knowing more
 
I did. And her price wasn't discounted because of it. However, she is a big gangly 5yo who doesn't 'get' some things yet. She is learning and I don't expect her to need sedation long term.
 
I'd want to know WHY and what part it was he didn't like. I bought a horse that was supposedly good to shoe. My initial farrier described him as one of the worst he'd ever come across. Took me a few attempts to find the right farrier and even then it's definitely not been plain sailing. The horse rears, plunges forwards and if you go behind him when he's in this mood he's not above kicking out. Thus far he has kicked one farrier, caught another in various places in the process of rearing, ripped several shoes off in the process of them being put on, ripped a hole in his own leg with the clenches, nearly broken my foot and snapped a leadrope I'd had for about 9 years. He needs tying up very short straight to a tie ring with someone holding the other end of the rope. Sedalin has no effect on him whatsoever and sedation in general is tricky cos he needs boxing to the farrier (we're outside his area really), twitching works for about 5 mins but then he fights it. His behavior varies from one visit to the next in severity and which bits he objects to. Mostly it's the nailing on but he can also get worked up about shoes being removed.

This horse was diagnosed with sidebone in both fronts after going lame. Opinion is divided on if there's a relation there (I think yes but not sure if anyone else involved agrees).

This issue has caused a lot of upset, trouble and expense for me. Costs me extra to use the farrier I use (plus transport to get over there) and I'm now looking at barefoot rehab for this horse. (partly to see if it helps his sidebone and general hoof balance but partly because I'm worried about him seriously injuring someone eventually.) This isn't going to be an easy or cheap route to go down and I've still got worries and reservations about it.

If you consider buying this horse get someone to take a very good and critical look at those feet and establish what it is the horse does and at what point
 
From experience I would say go and have a look and if you like it take the shoes off.

Our yard farrier refused to even take a loose shoe off mine without vet sedation. A little asking around found a farrier that was able to hot shoe the fronts without sedation using a lot of patience but the breakthrough came when she had her shoes off. She is fine to trim but hates the nails going in.

She hunts barefoot too!
 
I think the worrying thing is not so much the shoeing under sedation (very expensive as you point out) but discovering whether he behaves like this if ANYTHING is done to his feet (abscess, for example). There is nothing grimmer than the scenario when an out-of-hours strange vet is manfully trying to wrestle with your disobliging horse to get a shoe off.

However, things might improve. I bought a mare with a terrible reputation (but I only discovered that afterwards) and she was a pain the first time our wonderful farrier did her. Time 2 we sedated her, but farrier suggested that she stood on an old piece of carpet. Time 3 no sedation per se but a good does of Bach Flower Rescue Remedy (one of the most amazing things I have ever used). She never from that day on had anything but BFRR and the carpet, and was a doddle for the rest of her life.
 
Plus you'd be looking at at least 8 days without competing affiliated after each sedation and even then you'd run the risk of a positive test if the horse was ever tested.
 
blitznbobs said:
Just out of curiosity has anyone ever had their horse drug tested at a competition...?
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Yes, mine was done after a PN at Rodbaston.

OP, I bought one not knowing it was bad to shoe. If never do it again if I wanted shoes on the horse, it was a nightmare and I lost a lot of money when I sold her.
 
i wouldnt but a horse that has shoeing problems, my horse doesnt need to be sedated when shod but he has got very funny feet! they get glued on all the time and he can tend to pull pieces of hoof of with it! we've only found 1 farrier that is willing to put up with this every week or so. basiclly compared to being sedated this is nothing! but it can be very agatiating for him and for us and for the farrier! so can you imagine how bad it would be to go through something like that every six weeks or less! Also if i was a farrier i wouldnt be very keen. :)
 
Wouldn't touch with a barge pole I'm afraid.

There are enough straightforward horses out there, I won't deal with anything high maintenance anymore!
 
Re-arrange words to suit: "wouldn't", "barge-pole", "touch", "with, "a".

This horse will potentially cost you a fortune; and also if he's that bad to get near his feet then I'd bet a last dollar that he's a difficult blighter to "do" generally, probably has the stable manners of a rhino and will probably kick you into the middle of next week!

Personally I'd steer well clear. There are other nice horses out there; why buy-in trouble and expense??
 
Definitely don't buy. An unscrupulous seller sold me a quiet TB. He seemed OK to ride and was a really nice type. First time to have feet done he near on killed the farrier. Farrier very good and patient managed to trim the horse - took a long time. Next time horse was even worse.

Eventually find out through a young person who had worked at the racing stables that the horse required the vet to be sedated before being shod. Sent the horse to the knacker man. Certainly was not prepared to be responsible for the death or injury of anyone involved with showing the horse.

One of my brood mares was terrible about her feet. I spent a lot of time working with her but when she nearly removed my head that was it. Once a year she was knocked right out and her feet trimmed. Rest of the year they were allowed to chip. She has since been PTS.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I'd bet a last dollar that he's a difficult blighter to "do" generally, probably has the stable manners of a rhino and will probably kick you into the middle of next week!
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Sorry, but I can't help but stick up for my pony (mentioned earlier) here and say that that is most definitely not always the case.
Jock has the best stable manners you could ever dream of. He's the most gentle, quiet and cooperative pony I've ever come across, but at the same time he's not a 'zombie' and is alert to stimuli. He never kicks. You could sneak up behind him and slap him on the bum and he'd only give a small start, but all four hooves would remain rooted firmly to the spot; no kicking, no lurching forward, no swinging his quarters round.
When I first starting loaning him his old loaner demonstrated his quietness by crawling underneath him and he didn't move a muscle.
You could leave him standing in the middle of the yard and he wouldn't move a muscle unless he's been waiting a while when he'll then start to make his way back to his stable assuming you've forgotten him.
He's completely fine with all parts of his body messed with (except picking feet up) and will keep his head still while you brush his face. 'Bargy' isn't in his vocabulary. With children he's fantastic and will keep his head completely still while a young child summons up the courage to give his nose a stroke. He really is one-in-a-trillion and him being bad to trim is anything but an indicator of his overall temperament and manners.

I've no idea if what you say is a general truth, because Jock's the only horse I know with this vice. I don't want to start a debate - this is not a personal attack in any way. I just want to make it clear to anyone reading this that you really can't make assumptions on a horse based on one vice only. :)
 
DreamingIsBelieving said:
Sorry, but I can't help but stick up for my pony (mentioned earlier) here and say that that is most definitely not always the case.
Jock has the best stable manners you could ever dream of. He's the most gentle, quiet and cooperative pony I've ever come across, but at the same time he's not a 'zombie' and is alert to stimuli. He never kicks. You could sneak up behind him and slap him on the bum and he'd only give a small start, but all four hooves would remain rooted firmly to the spot; no kicking, no lurching forward, no swinging his quarters round. Y
When I first starting loaning him his old loaner demonstrated his quietness by crawling underneath him and he didn't move a muscle.
You could leave him standing in the middle of the yard and he wouldn't move a muscle unless he's been waiting a while when he'll then start to make his way back to his stable assuming you've forgotten him.
He's completely fine with all parts of his body messed with (except picking feet up) and will keep his head still while you brush his face. 'Bargy' isn't in his vocabulary. With children he's fantastic and will keep his head completely still while a young child summons up the courage to give his nose a stroke. He really is one-in-a-trillion and him being bad to trim is anything but an indicator of his overall temperament and manners.

I've no idea if what you say is a general truth, because Jock's the only horse I know with this vice. I don't want to start a debate - this is not a personal attack in any way. I just want to make it clear to anyone reading this that you really can't make assumptions on a horse based on one vice only. :)
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Mine was just the same - an absolute gem to handle both under saddle and on the ground - but try and pick up the feet- a totally different horse. A dangerous one.

I have a duty of care to my farrier and anyone else who might need to handle his feet and I'd not knowingly put anyone at risk. Hence the reason to put the horse down.
 
The thing is what ever a farrier does they are vulnerable when trying to work on with a horses foot it's just not worth it .
 
haven't read every post in this thread but here is my experience, long story so will keep it brief if possible.
I bought my boy last September - he ticked every box on my wanted list and passed a 5 stage vetting, perfect. Got him home and introduced him to the rest of the herd over a fence, one of my other horses broke through fence and attacked him very, very badly which also caused my new boy to loose 2 shoes. Called farrier out who came to put on a new set and went in without thinking about it as horse is incredibly sweet natured and relaxed. Farrier could not get near him, poor horse was ballistic. Still not sure whether this is pre-existing with farriers (scent/previous experience) or just general defensive behaviour after being attacked. Farrier went away, re-booked and heavily sedated for next appointment. Still managed to viciously, I mean seriously scary, kick out when touching one offside hind (said leg has an old scar on, put behaviour down to this). Anyway, six months on and he was shod for the first time without sedation and without trying to kill my lovely farrier who has worked really hard with him.
If we had known that Baz required sedation to be shod or how awfully he could kick out(honestly he was centimetres from knocking my farrier's head off, frightening) we wouldn't have considered even viewing him, but we would have missed out on my absolute dream horse who is now my idea of perfect! Don't write it off if it could potentially be solved. I didn't think we would ever get over Baz's behaviour but it only took 6 months in the end.
 
Just had the farrier visit this morning and have to say that since taking my mare's hind shoes off she is so much better. This morning she stood there really quietly for shoes on the front and trim to the hinds, no treats, carrots etc. (I used to have to stuff her with whatever I had to keep her entertained!) and no problems. Her only fault is that she stamps her feet down when they're done sometimes, but given that she used to be nutty I have to say I am very relieved.

I've not really been riding her over winter so not sure how her hinds will stand up to that but hopefully we can make it work!

I guess I just wanted to post to say that sometimes it can work out, though I have had her for over 4 years so it's about time really. :p

I think if a horse is good to handle in other ways and is afraid of the shoes or doesn't like the nailing then I'd still consider buying, but if they're generally tricky to handle or are dangerous then it would definitely put me off. Despite the difficulties with shoeing my mare she has never really behaved in a way so as to intentionally injure somebody.
 
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