just a quick 'wwyd?'

[Dumbo]

I'll keep this silly dilema brief -
just seen my boy and he's lost a shoe so I can't ride until the farrier has been out.
It's very annoying because I've been looking forward to riding all week, as I didn't ride last weekend and he's been stuck in his stable as the fields are so muddy (this must be how he lost the shoe)

Spoke to the YO and she said the farrier doesn't work on weekends (but I've seen him up on sundays at least 3 times).

Should I call the farrier myself and ask if there's any chance he could come out? (Even though the YO always arranges it, so this might tick her off)

Or; find another farrier just to sort out the problem as a one off.

OR; just leave it and accept that these things happen (the farrier will come out in the week)

 

[WelshD]

I'd leave it personally

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

If you have an arena or soft field to ride in and the horse is sound, I'd ride with the shoe missing. Given the circumstances I think its important the horse gets some exercise and being wonkey for an hour or so won't kill it. If the farrier is due to come out in the next week then I wouldn't ask him to come at the weekend because its not like its an emergency. He may have been doing someone a favour when you saw him before, it doesn't mean he works weekends normally and its annoying to receive work calls on your days off.

 

[Caol Ila]

Do you have an Easy Boot or some such thing? My horse doesn't get free days off for losing a shoe. She gets the Easy Boot chucked on and off we go.

 

[Littlelegs]

I'd only call the farrier at wkend if I either knew for a fact he was working as normal that wkend, or if it was a real emergency. I think with one shoe missing I'd just see how he was first before deciding I couldn't ride. As s&s says it shouldn't be a problem on soft ground, & some are fine on hard ground with one missing.

 

[Dumbo]

Unfortunately the arena is more of a pond at the mo so only option is to hack on the road. Plus, he's a tb with typical tb feet so he's sore barefoot
No easy boot but will look into that, might be a god send with this weather!
Thanks for your replies, will just leave it this weekend, he'll just get an extra long groom and fuss!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Plus, he's a tb with typical tb feet so he's sore barefoot

Sorry I have to pick up on this. TB's can have wonderful hooves, they can and do go barefoot including lots of roadwork. Quite often their hooves are bad due to being shod from a young age (think of the age that racehorses are backed). Then they don't have a break from wearing shoes and they are often fed high sugar diets which are bad for hooves.

 

[Dumbo]

Yes I know - my farrier has said that they typically have flatter hooves, and I think mine has been shod since an early age as you said, but he's very sore barefoot so giving riding a miss today!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

You are quite right not to ride if your horse is sore. I hope that you get his shoe back on soon.

my farrier has said that they typically have flatter hooves

They have flatter hooves because of the reasons I stated above, not because they are TB's. If you sort the diet etc... out they will grow better shaped hooves.

Sorry, this just riles me because I had a very bad Farrier (now sacked) who spouted all this rubbish at me and nearly caused my horse to be PTS in the process. I really want people to realise that TB's and part bred TB's are not condemned to having flat, long toed, under-run hooves with contracted heels for the rest of their lives.