Horse sore after trim...any advice?

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HashRouge

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I am really annoyed with myself for letting this happen :(
To cut a long story short, I couldn't get hold of my usual farrier and horse was pretty desperate for a trim, so I made an appointment with a BF trimmer. This person is highly recommended and used by lots of acquaintances, so I felt like we were in safe hands. However, horse has now been sore for over a week, ever since the trim, especially on her flatter front foot. I keep her in a very stony area - even the yard is stony - so obviously her being sore after a trim is a massive deal, as the effects are magnified by where I keep her. With my usual farrier, she has never ever been sore after a trim :(
So I basically just want some advice. How long do you think she will be sore for? Every time I bring her in I end up hating myself! I have decided she will have to stay in the field until the weekend, and then I will get her in to see if she is any better. What do I do if she is still sore 2 weeks after a trim??!! And is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? I toyed with giving her some bute but decided that all it is likely to do is make me feel like I am doing something! She doesn't have any boots and I'm reluctant to buy any at the moment because knowing my luck she would be fine again before they arrived, and she is retired so wouldn't get much use out of them. Would something like hoof wraps help, or would they not give much protection from stones?
I feel so sorry for my poor pony :(
 
Sorry to hear about your horse. However, I think you are panicking a bit. My horse has very sensitive feet and has shoes on. Sometimes he is very footy after shoeing so I just rest him for a couple of days. However, the last time he was shod the farrier warned me he might be lame because he had to take a lot of foot off as it had grown substantially. Sure enough he was lame for well over a week so I put him on bute to ease the discomfort and rested him. It really worried me because I wasn't expecting him to be unlevel for more than a couple of days so I was checking for laminitis and all sorts. Don't waste your money on boots, just rest your horse, try some bute and then give it time.
 
Are you sure she does not have laminitis?Does she have bounding pulses?If she has I would call your vet.Something similar happened to my mare and she was diagnosed with EMS,which is not the end of the world but needs a complete change of management.
 
First have you rung the trimmer and asked what to do?
Check for signs of thrush. A horse really shouldn't be sore after shoeing or trimming but it does happen. I would be a bit concerned the horse was still sore after two weeks though.

There are these which come with pads http://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/Boots/Hoof-Wraps-Hoof-Bandage
Or use layers of gamgee or for eg. layers of exercize mats cut to size and secure with nappies and duck tape.
 
Zuzzie said:
Sorry to hear about your horse. However, I think you are panicking a bit. My horse has very sensitive feet and has shoes on. Sometimes he is very footy after shoeing so I just rest him for a couple of days. However, the last time he was shod the farrier warned me he might be lame because he had to take a lot of foot off as it had grown substantially. Sure enough he was lame for well over a week so I put him on bute to ease the discomfort and rested him. It really worried me because I wasn't expecting him to be unlevel for more than a couple of days so I was checking for laminitis and all sorts. Don't waste your money on boots, just rest your horse, try some bute and then give it time.
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I'm sorry but I think this is dreadful. No horse should be sore after a routine shoeing. Something is wrong, either with the horse or with the farrier.
 
Give her bute. She should come sound in a few more days. It sounds like the farrier has taken off too much foot in one go, more proabably because he thought she would cope with this, not because he doesn't know his job.

I've seen this done by a 'top remedial farrier' on a friends horse and within minutes the horse was lame, the next day he was lying in his bed sweating. He needed bute for quite a while afterwards.

Time will help, but whilst waiting its best to give the horse some kind of pain relief and put her on a deep bed to help with her soreness.
 
Sorry to argue over this but I know my horse - he is 19 years old now (he's been with me since 4 years old) and he has ALWAYS been footy after shoeing and it doesn't matter who shoes him because I've had more than one farrier in all these years including the farrier(s) that work with the RCVS and also my vets. I think it would be fair to say that they can't all be bad farriers.
 
applecart14 said:
Give her bute. She should come sound in a few more days. It sounds like the farrier has taken off too much foot in one go, more proabably because he thought she would cope with this, not because he doesn't know his job.

I've seen this done by a 'top remedial farrier' on a friends horse and within minutes the horse was lame, the next day he was lying in his bed sweating. He needed bute for quite a while afterwards.

Time will help, but whilst waiting its best to give the horse some kind of pain relief and put her on a deep bed to help with her soreness.
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Couldn't agree more!
 
Zuzzie said:
I think it would be fair to say that they can't all be bad farriers.
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Well for some reason, something is not working with this horse and the Farriers concerned.

No horse should walk away from a trim or shoeing less sound than it was before. Just because it has become normal, doesn't make it right.

I'm really sorry to put it so bluntly, but think of it coldly, just the facts, no emotional attachment - is it right for a horse to be made footy for a couple of days plus, every 6 weeks approx for 15 years?
 
Zuzzie said:
Sorry to argue over this but I know my horse - he is 19 years old now (he's been with me since 4 years old) and he has ALWAYS been footy after shoeing and it doesn't matter who shoes him because I've had more than one farrier in all these years including the farrier(s) that work with the RCVS and also my vets. I think it would be fair to say that they can't all be bad farriers.
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I'm sure you know your horse better than anyone and certainly better than strangers on a forum. Being sore after shoeing might be usual for him but it is not normal or to be expected. Soreness is a sign something isn't right and if it happens routinely after shoeing it would prompt me to ask why and what was going wrong.
 
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Faracat said:
Well for some reason, something is not working with this horse and the Farriers concerned.

No horse should walk away from a trim or shoeing less sound than it was before. Just because it has become normal, doesn't make it right.

I'm really sorry to put it so bluntly, but think of it coldly, just the facts, no emotional attachment - is it right for a horse to be made footy for a couple of days plus, every 6 weeks approx for 15 years?
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If this horse has been footie irrespective of farrier every time it's been shod for the last 15 years, then I'd be looking to the owners care regime for a cause. No horse should experience discomfort like this. Shocking
 
cptrayes said:
I'm sorry but I think this is dreadful. No horse should be sore after a routine shoeing. Something is wrong, either with the horse or with the farrier.
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Absolutely agree 100%

Tell the trimmer, then tell him/her that you won't use them again

But if your horse is still sore after 2 weeks then it's possible you have an LGL thing going on - should check for PPID too since she is an older girl.

Sadly, this is not an uncommon story.
 
Queenbee said:
If this horse has been footie irrespective of farrier every time it's been shod for the last 15 years, then I'd be looking to the owners care regime for a cause. No horse should experience discomfort like this. Shocking
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Totally agree. Alarm bells should be ringing if a horse is ALWAYS sore after shoeing rather than accepting it as the norm.
 
LGL, dietary issue, metabolic issue, nail issues or just taking too much horn off should all be considered and I'm sure that there are other issues that I've not thought of.

EB - there are two horses, HR's who is sore for the first time after a BF trim and Z's who is normally sore after being shod.
 
applecart14 said:
Give her bute. She should come sound in a few more days. It sounds like the farrier has taken off too much foot in one go, more proabably because he thought she would cope with this, not because he doesn't know his job.

I've seen this done by a 'top remedial farrier' on a friends horse and within minutes the horse was lame, the next day he was lying in his bed sweating. He needed bute for quite a while afterwards.
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Well, if any farrier made my horse that sore, it'd be the farrier needing bute! And possibly also surgery to remove my boot from his derriere!

Just can't believe that any owner thinks it's acceptable for their horse to need bute after a visit from the farrier or trimmer. Or that it's ok to be whacking bute into their horse willy nilly, without vet advice.
 
Echo Bravo said:
I thought I read Barefoot trimmer not her usual Farrier and it hadn't happened before, so the trimmer has taken far too much hoof off, put her on deep bed and herbal painkiller.
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It's got a bit confusing, op's horse was sore after a bf trim ad another poster's horse has always been sore after shoeing.

Oh I missed Faracat has already pointed that out.
 
Faracat said:
LGL, dietary issue, metabolic issue, nail issues or just taking too much horn off should all be considered and I'm sure that there are other issues that I've not thought of.

EB - there are two horses, HR's who is sore for the first time after a BF trim and Z's who is normally sore after being shod.
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Ah, I totally missed that bit. Then my comment was aimed at Z. :)
 
cptrayes said:
I'm sorry but I think this is dreadful. No horse should be sore after a routine shoeing. Something is wrong, either with the horse or with the farrier.
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Agree with this totally it's not normal and it's not right you need to contact the trimmer ASAP and perhaps yourvet as well.
 
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