Is my farrier doing the right thing??

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redriverrock

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I have a bit of a concern and would appreciate a few opinions please!
I have a TB who in general has pretty good feet, the weather this year has been abit problematic but we have managed OK.
At the beginning of April we started upping our workload with him and hacking out alot more than previously. Because of this the farrier fitted back shoes as well as his normal fronts. He has been going great and is now alot fitter. The one problem we have is he has a quarter crack on his left hind which seems to be getting worse and though not at his coronet is not far off....alongside that he has a dent in the hoof wall starting about where the nail line is and a ridge line.
I have been asking the farrier about this each time he comes (every 3 weeks as I have other horses) and he has been blaming the weather and though he says he is concerned dosent seem to beable to discuss remedies with me...he can be difficult to deal with at times.
Anyhow I bit the bullet and decided to get a second opinion and basically the other farrier has said that the hind shoes are too long and this is what is causing the dent/flare and also he is devolping a change of hoof angle on the nail line where the ridge is. He showed me the centre of his foot should be an equal distance from the front and back of the shoe and on my horses hinds they clearly are too long at the toe.
What do I do know...is this a difference of farrier styles or is my farrier causing a problem? I am very confused...the farrier I use is extremly well qualified and very well regarded.
 
If they are too long at the toe this can cause many issues, if he wont ackowledg or change this, id suggest a different farrier. My knowledge doesnt allow me to comment on the crack/dent as i cant tell what may be causing this, tho the ridge line is likely to be more growth/feeding/weather related.

what is he being fed? what hoof oil if any do you use? is he out/in, on shavings/straw?
 
If you're not happy then try the other farrier.

As for quarter flares - you may find this thread interesting.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=534542

IME quarters are the first to start complaining when the hoof is too long.

There is often a 'scoop' in the quarter area (inperceptable in most hooves) which, when the horse loads the hoof and it expands as part of the hoof mechanism, the scoop provides some extra room.

It is clear in the iconic 'wild hoof photo' where the wall lifts up at the quarter.

wild_hoof18942859_std.jpg


When the hoof gets too long, the quarters start to crack under the strain.
 
Hi, he is a cribber so is out most of the time and is far happier for it! He is on Dengie coat and hoof and has 2 feeds of horse any pony nuts alongside as mauch haylage he wants on top of grazing. This is the same as he has always been on in the 3/4 years I have had him and he does well on this and is also what my vet has recommended I stick with. The ridge line is more a line where the angle changes if that makes sense and is just about on the nail line and is only on his hinds.
 
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The first one is just so you can see him in the whole! He is a real live wire as you can tell!!
Hope the photos make more sense than a million words
 
I will have a look at the blog...thanks. We dont always have back shoes but with the amount of road and track work we are doing his feet just wouldnt stand upto it...please bare footers dont shoot me down in flames, I judge these decisions on each horse and with advice. He simply cannot cope with the amount of work he is doing with out shoes at the moment.
 
No-one is shooting you down in flames, but if that crack goes to the coronet and goes unstable you're going to end up with a horse which is not able to cope with its work shod or barefoot. I write from experience of two horses with similar issues in the past.

Do you have an option to increase the amount of work he is doing more slowly? Or are there any diet changes you can make to enable him to cope without shoes on?

Photos are deceptive, but from the lines of the sides of his pasterns on that cracked foot, it does not look as if the foot is balanced. At the very least you need to change the way he is shod to stop that crack getting any worse. I hope you can find a farrier who can help you.
 
I think that the photo may be slightly deceptive as I have been told his feet are nicely balanced from another farrier but again I am prepared to listen to opinion. He has not been over worked, his workload has increased gradually...a point I probably didnt make clear but thought that would be taken as read. We have never had any soundness issues with him apart from being footy when the ground was hard last year. His diet is kept deliberately simple and has been discussed with our vet.
The crack to a lesser or greater degree is always there and has been from when we first got him, in or out of work shoes on or off...the difference know is we are also get this dent and ridge line which is something new.
 
Go with the other farrier, you need to be able to work with them and ask as many questions as you like and not feel stupid. I pepper my farrier with loads of stupid questions and he has no problem answering then as its my horses feet how am I going to know a good job from a bad one.
Xxx
 
slightlyconfused said:
Go with the other farrier, you need to be able to work with them and ask as many questions as you like and not feel stupid. I pepper my farrier with loads of stupid questions and he has no problem answering then as its my horses feet how am I going to know a good job from a bad one.
Xxx
Click to expand...

This is exactly where my worries stem from really...I know he is a fantastic farrier but he just dosent seem to want to get into a serious conversation about horses feet! Its almost like he cant be bothered. Then when things like this crop up I am left with loads of questions...some of which are probably dim but with no one to answer them.
The other farrier who is new in the area (the other local farriers wouldnt come out so i was abit stuck) spent a good 40 mins explaining exactly what he thought and if Im honest I probably learnt more in that conversation than in the 3 years with the other farrier!
 
photo of the underneath would be good.

Very lovely shiny, handsome lad in good nick. Except for the hooves which might not be appreciating the diet quite so much.
 
LucyPriory said:
photo of the underneath would be good.

Very lovely shiny, handsome lad in good nick. Except for the hooves which might not be appreciating the diet quite so much.
Click to expand...

He is looking pretty well at the moment! His diet has been looked at as we had a scarey time over xmas when he got compaction colic...other than a course of horsey probiotics the name of which eludes me we were advised to maintain the same feed regime. He was not lacking in any nutrients when we had his bloods done...what sort of diet would you have him on? I like to keep things very simple with him...
Just came back from a 2 hour hack this afternoon and he was slighly lively to say the least which really isnt like him...we have decided to stick to walk until we sort his crack/dent out and he wasnt to pleased!
Its getting abit dark now for taking a photo but from how the other farrier explained it the shoe is too long at the toe
 
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