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I have only ever used a farrier and will continue to only use farriers - for both shod and unshod beasties. I have one that is shod and one that isn't.

The one that isn't is a Dartie and has never has shoes and unless there is a medical reason for it I can't see a time she will, she hacks on tarmac etc and always been fine.

My TB/WB has shoes (I have tried her without when turn away winter time but she struggles hugely).

My old TB had very typical TB feet very thin soles, very flat broke easily etc - at one stage she had to have racing plates as her feet couldn't take the weight of standard shoes. How ever she had a severe tendon injury that required 18months off. Very against my old farriers advice (who was very shoe orrientated) I took her shoes off. Believe it or not it was one of the best things I ever did for her. Her feet were 100 x better. When she came back into work albeit light hacking she did have to have front shoes back on but they were normal (which was the first time ever - no egg bars, no heart bars no racing plates!!) and she was fine with no back shoes also.

I have had some bad farrier experiences - such as sedated above TB at alloted time on alloted day only for farrier to not pick up phone and not turn up. Same farrier also once told me he couldn't turn up as he was x-ray a pony - all well and good you'd think - but not when you are a VN at the practice the x-ray is apparently taking place (and know there are no x-rays being done). And countless not turning up and not letting me know or answering phone.

But equally I have had some very positive experiences also!!
 
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The hoof colour does not dictate its strength or health though
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huh, learn something every day, I was always told black horn is stronger
 
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Lucyfer you shouldnt be trotting your horses on tarmac or concrete surfaces anyway

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whyever not?
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Trotting on roads, not advisable but it can be done. Like Ezme's driving horses their legs would be conditioned to the work load and hardened because of it.

Shoes do increase the concussion though.

AmyMay i would rather say dont do it than do, otherwise you would sue me for misinformation
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The hoof colour does not dictate its strength or health though
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huh, learn something every day, I was always told black horn is stronger

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yeah ditto! i always thought the foot was weaker being anything but black!
 
see above. I would rather recommend that its not done than say 'sure its fine go ahead and do it' and get sued for a horse that throws a splint or something.

It is something that we advise agaisnt and is done at the owners discretion
 
always trot on road too, minimal off road riding, verges are too long at the mo and my boy needs the exercise. Never had a problem. (and our field is rock solid too so they do a lot of trotting on hard ground, no arena)
 
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see above. I would rather recommend that its not done than say 'sure its fine go ahead and do it' and get sued for a horse that throws a splint or something.

It is something that we advise agaisnt and is done at the owners discretion

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i must be one of the lucky owners then....

only had one horse throw a splint..and he was an unbacked 2 yr old ATT
 
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Lucyfer you shouldnt be trotting your horses on tarmac or concrete surfaces anyway

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whyever not?
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am i right TheFarrier in saying the following: ?

....because without shoes on, the horses hooves can contract and absorb the hit, where as shod horses hooves cannot contract and therefore the concussion goes straight up the leg to the ligaments/tendons, see my youtube clips on page 3.

Correct me if i am wrong x
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Trotting on roads, not advisable but it can be done. Like Ezme's driving horses their legs would be conditioned to the work load and hardened because of it.


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That is true, they spend the first few weeks walking on the roads on track and none of the have ever been on an artifical surface let along regularly worked on one!
 
I'm delighted with my farrier who has shod my horses for more than 10 years now. ATM both are shod all round but I'm considering taking the hind shoes off my old 99% retired horse - he'll have to keep the front ones as he has navicular and needs elevated heels. I would certainly trust my farrier to give him the trim he'd need - I wouldn't use a 'trimmer' as I've heard first-hand of too many bad experiences.

When my younger horse was first backed we kept him without shoes for as long as we could as he has excellent feet, but were forced to put first front then hind shoes on as his endurance workload increased.
 
Gosh, some really strong opinions on this thread. Also quite a lack of understanding in general about barefoot trimmers/EPs.

We've all heard of the strasser trims, which I think is horrific. We've also heard of untrained trimmers making a hash of things, which is also pretty poor. I agree that there should be an overarching body in the UK to oversee qualifications and standards, much as there is with the farriers. Might I stick my neck out though and say that having that regulatory body for farriers does not prevent cr@p farriers from practising and making a mess of horse's feet! There is one farrier in particular in my area who is just appalling.... I also used a well-known farrier, who a lot of you will probably have heard of, and when my horse suffered an injury the vets were appalled by his hoof balance. I trusted that using the best farrier in my region would guarantee a good job - not so and I have since educated myself a lot more so as to be able to check the work of the professionals I employ. Sad that this is necessary....

I am not pro-barefoot, I believe in treating each horse as an individual. I own two - my old horse will always be shod, and needs shoes due to old injuries leaving him with an altered gait. However, my young horse is not shod and is trimmed by an EP. I also would not use someone "untrained" to trim my horse - that's just stupid! My trimmer has done lots of training and is one of the first people in this country to qualify to train other trimmers. She does take photos most times, but for her records, not mine. I don't get a report.

I'm afraid most farriers in my area don't do good trims. I am not anti-farrier, and if I found one who did a nice trim and treated my horse well, I would use him. I just want someone to do a good job so that my horse can work well. If in the future my horse needed shoes, then he could have them. But he has fantastic feet and I don't see why I should put shoes on "just because", when he's doing perfectly well without them.

I have an open mind and am willing to use the best person for the job - be that farrier or trimmer. I don't discriminate against a good practitioner because of their title ;-)
 
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always trot on road too, minimal off road riding, verges are too long at the mo and my boy needs the exercise. Never had a problem. (and our field is rock solid too so they do a lot of trotting on hard ground, no arena)

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Me too! Never had a problem with it. I would never ride on grass verges, too laced with holes/rubbish/bottles/god knows what!!

I think its cobblers to say you can't trot on roads
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I do and would only ever use a farrier
If I suspect my horse had a problem with her foot (puncture) I would prefer farrier over a vet (first instance) as I feel farriers are way better and don't dig great holes all over the place.
Would never ever use barefoot trimmer. Witnessed a horse quite literally butchered at the yard over months, feet were hideous, horse was in agony and still worked. Not to mention owner paid the woman £95 a visit to have the horse down with ohhhhhhhh about 6 files, one of them being the size of a nail file.
The poor horse after under going that for about 8 months finally ended up back in shoes. Thanks to the physio who was continually called out for a bad back. She kept pointing out that feet and balance so so bad the horse was compensating everywhere else. Owner finally saw sense.
What disgusted me the most is the barefoot trimmer kept saying what a normal process this was and to be expected.
Sorry not where I am from with horses it isn't
 
QR as only go this far and need to point something out.

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What annoys me most is that people think all trimmers in this country are unqualified. EPs are qualified and are regulated. There is a HUGE difference between a qualified EP and the awful extreme methods like Strasser which have given barefoot trimmers such bad press.

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Right.. the Strauser techinique as a very EFFECTIVE trim, when used by someone who is qualified and EXPERIENCE In this area!!! And EP's are NOT qualified or REGULATED! They are EXPLOITING a loop hole in the LAW!

Get of fyou high horse.

When a farrier removes shoes, they then pair the foor, Looking at the balence and wear and growth of the foot. then they trim the foot.. Im sorry youve had bad experiences, but I recon your farriers have had BAD experiences from you!!!

As I always found.. 75% of the time.. it was never the horse that was the issue it was the owners!

Lou x
 
2 years to adjust????? You've got to be kidding.

Mine all had their shoes off and were never footsore from the outset, happily cantering round the field minute they were turned back out and ridden the next day.

That said, they were given a good trim with a little bit more left on to start with, ridden on grass tracks or the school for the first few weeks and then on flat concrete for the next month or so to give them time to adjust before doing the few stoney tracks we have. The fact their feet were in good condition and hard to start with probably helped.
 
Oh, and incidentally, my trimmer does not engage in "farrier bashing" and has no problems with people choosing to shoe their horses if that's what the horse needs. In fact I believe she has recommended that some horses need to be shod. She also works with local vets and has had vets recommend her to their clients.
 
I havent really had problems with my farrier but my pony doesnt need shoes so I wanted a trimmer- farriers are not as easy to book when you need them- i.e evenings but the trimmer does any time of day on the 4 days a week that she works, so I know I can get her after work when I need her. She has never said a bad work against a farrier! in fact the loan horse Merlin has had shoes for 23 years and she recommended he keep them as she didnt think he would adjust well to the change.
 
Ive got a EP story.

I know of an EP and im not going to name names.. Whose horses have to LIVE in a woodchip paddock over the summer months when the ground is hard as they are field lame from being footsore on the hard ground...

Im afraid the Barefoot really does not suit every horse.

Lou x
 
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Ive seen first hand a number of horses lamed by barefoot trimmers of differing 'persuasions' and owners who seem to think that this is acceptable for long periods of 'adjustment'. IMO this is owner cruelty and having witnessed one strasser trimmed mare crying out in pain being asked to walk out of her stable, succumbing to laminitis and her owner STILL insisting there wasnt a problem Im afraid i will NOT have my opinion of ANY barefoot trimmer changed.

Ive had many horses over the years, some shod, some not and some who went from one to the other depending on work and the time of year and in all that time I have NEVER had any problem with a farrier looking after my hoofcare.

I have no problem at all with a horse being unshod...if the feet can cope then thats wonderful but to inflict a fashion such as BFT on an animal for the sake of your own whim is appalling.

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This is what we have a problem wth as well. If a horse is footsore it is clearly not coping barefoot and i believe it is cruel to make it so.
either put shoes on or cut back on the work being done.

With barefoot trimmers the consensus seems to be that there is a two year period of adjustment (or was it a year) where the owner should view it as normal that the horse is lame or foot sore.

I dont think thats right personally

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That's certainly not the case with any qualified EP. They are adament that the horse should never be footsore whilst transitioning and if the horse is a little sore when the shoes first come off then it should be worked in boots until the hoof condition has improved. It does take a while for a foot to become accustomed to not having shoes on - but that is an indicator of weak feet, something that is bound to happen if a horse has been shod for a long time.

Again, I have no issues with horse's wearing shoes. I do think it's good practice to take the shoes off for a few months each year to help them strengthen up again.

I know plenty of TBs who are actually better barefoot than with shoes.

At the end of the day as long as they do a good job, I don't care if it's a farrier or a trimmer. It just angers me so much that people think all trimmers are so evil. If any of you want to come and see my trimmer do my horse's feet I can guarantee 1 million per cent that you'd be impressed.
 
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Ive seen first hand a number of horses lamed by barefoot trimmers of differing 'persuasions' and owners who seem to think that this is acceptable for long periods of 'adjustment'. IMO this is owner cruelty and having witnessed one strasser trimmed mare crying out in pain being asked to walk out of her stable, succumbing to laminitis and her owner STILL insisting there wasnt a problem Im afraid i will NOT have my opinion of ANY barefoot trimmer changed.

Ive had many horses over the years, some shod, some not and some who went from one to the other depending on work and the time of year and in all that time I have NEVER had any problem with a farrier looking after my hoofcare.

I have no problem at all with a horse being unshod...if the feet can cope then thats wonderful but to inflict a fashion such as BFT on an animal for the sake of your own whim is appalling.

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This is what we have a problem wth as well. If a horse is footsore it is clearly not coping barefoot and i believe it is cruel to make it so.
either put shoes on or cut back on the work being done.

With barefoot trimmers the consensus seems to be that there is a two year period of adjustment (or was it a year) where the owner should view it as normal that the horse is lame or foot sore.

I dont think thats right personally

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That's certainly not the case with any qualified EP. They are adament that the horse should never be footsore whilst transitioning and if the horse is a little sore when the shoes first come off then it should be worked in boots until the hoof condition has improved. It does take a while for a foot to become accustomed to not having shoes on - but that is an indicator of weak feet, something that is bound to happen if a horse has been shod for a long time.

Again, I have no issues with horse's wearing shoes. I do think it's good practice to take the shoes off for a few months each year to help them strengthen up again.

I know plenty of TBs who are actually better barefoot than with shoes.

At the end of the day as long as they do a good job, I don't care if it's a farrier or a trimmer. It just angers me so much that people think all trimmers are so evil. If any of you want to come and see my trimmer do my horse's feet I can guarantee 1 million per cent that you'd be impressed.

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I cant say i want to or that am i impressed that you felt the need to call me an arrogant sh*t to try and prove a point.
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You your self have said that you think all farriers are evil

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I have work to do soon but if anyone else has some light to shed on the choice of farrier over barefoot trimmer and barefoot trimmer over farrier

i am very interested to hear your reasoning for both
 
Agree with you there, I tried my second TB who was having a few months off without shoes - had to put fronts back on as she was not happy. She was kept with fronts on even in retirement.

My first TB, had to be shoed all round no matter what - without them her feet fell to pieces, her feet were very slow growing and not good quality horn.

If mine had to be kept off hard ground to be kept sound, shoes would be back on tomorrow.

Some horses thrive without shoes - Cairo is an example of this, no more foot health problems, but others, it is really not fair to do this to them - surely six months is the maximum time to adjust and they should be sound in the field on soft ground from the start?
 
I think this is a major problem. IME (and ive had a bit) the attitude of the pro BFT stinks. I have come across 4 locally (and had anecdotals from further afield) ALL of whom had some really unpleasent things to say about farriers.

One in particular (and I will admit she was a strasser tutor so probably extreme anyway) came to a yard I was on to see a clients horse. As they walked down the line she looked over EVERY stable door and I kid you not made very nasty and disparaging remarks about EVERY shod horse she saw including telling one girl her pony would be dead by the time it was 20 if she didnt get its shoes off. Now this was a very serious veteran pony who has spent her life competing hard with never a days lameness....!! Cue one very, very upset little girl.

Until BFTs realise that self importance doesnt make you an expert there will be problems.
 
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