Opinions on my cobs hooves please (pics)

SNORKEY

SNORKEY

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Hi, Ive been thinking i need to change farriers, but after realising we pay half the price of pretty much every other farrier around im wondering if my farrier really is that bad!
These are my 3yr old cobs hooves, im getting a bit concerned that they are getting a dip in them and that they seem to be splaying out and getting like dishes! Ive asked my farrier to keep them as small as possible but he always says they are just his shape.
So what do you think?


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My cobs toes never look that long even when he's due the farrier and he is done every 6-8 weeks.

I would have a chat with your farrier and if he doesn't take the toes back a bit more then find a new farrier.
 
I would say his heels are too long and he is putting his weight back on his heel which is causing the toes to start to curl up like that... I would be changing farrier asap!
 
I'm not an expert by any stretch - but I have a super-dooper equine podiatrist that does my 2 barefoot lads, and not one of their feet look like that. I know diet and exercise are important factors too, and I would be considering getting someone else to look at them.
 
Maybe the farrier is cheap because he's not very good? I'd think about investing in another more expensive farrier as those feet just don't look right.
 
Quite honestly, I'd be or rifled if my cob's feet looked like that. Change farriers. The going rate for a trim is about £20 round here and fronts plus back trim is £42.50.
 
Thanks, when I took him for his in hand hack today I noticed that he seemed to be putting his weight on his heels and there's a gap under his toe. I put a post on here the other day as we've had the farrier 10yrs and he's a lovely guy who's reliable and has never put his price up. I pay £15 for a trim and £40/£50 for a full set depending if they are refits or not. Il have a good chat to him on his next visit and if he can't see the problem then I guess il have to change farriers. I'm going to have to start paying £20 for a trim and £70-£80 for a full set though, which is a big jump.
 
It is a big jump but look at it like this, if his feet continue to grow as they are, in the end his toes will curl upwards, he will have strain on his tendons and worst case scenario is his pedeal bone could press against the soul of his hoof and he will be severely lame and potentially irreversibly damaged...
Remember, no foot no horse x
 
I know. I don't understand why he's cutting his feet so badly. He used to be really good and its only the past couple of years I've had to start asking him to cut the toes back more etc. maybe I should tell a white lie and say my vet was worried about them when she came the other day, that might make him concentrate more. Like I say, il give him one more chance, and have a good chat and if I'm still not happy then at least he'l know why he hasn't been called back.
 
The shape of your horse's feet are largely due to diet rather than trim, I'm afraid.

The difficulty is that farriers will rarely discuss the effect diet is having on feet, so his comment "it's just the shape his hooves are" is true, up to a point, and he's probably doing a not bad trim taking that into account.

To change and improve the shape of his feet is something you need to do, by making sure his diet is spot on. And that's not just what you add, but even more importantly, what's taken away - he looks to be very grass sensitive.
 
Brightbay how can you tell OP its the horses diet when OP has not said what her horses diet consists of? also it is not OPs fault that her farrier is trimming the feet at the wrong angle.
 
Ditto brightbay. Sole shots would be helpful, though.

Lay off the farrier, guys. The single biggest factor in the form and structure of hooves is diet.

Healthy laminae CANNOT stretch like that at the toe, regardless of how the horse is trimmed. If the laminae are stretched, no amount of trimming can un-stretch them. I'm not saying the farrier is infallible, but he's far, far from the main concern imo.

It's simply not fair to lay all the blame at the door of the farrier when the simple truth is that trimming has no effect on the true health of hooves. Trimming can help to improve function but that is all.

OP your horse's hooves look like that because the bottom part of the hoof wall is flared. The top looks better, so you may well find that once the bottom part grows out, the feet will look much better.

Feeding a good mineral balancer will help, as will regular stimulation to the hooves (walks out in hand). Control of dietary sugar and starch is usually also important, though some horses can tolerate more than others.
 
P.s. it's hard to tell without sole shots, but it looks like the horse has a good strong caudal hoof, so I wouldn't be worrying at all about tendons etc - under run heels are far more of a concern in that regard than hooves that are more upright.
 
Thanks. Diet wise. All winter he was on Alan and page fast fibre, and dengi hifi or mollichaff hoofkind. I then changed to just using winergy low energy, but he only had one bag of that. The past couple of months our grass has come through and he's not had any feed at all.
Il add a sole picture, sorry forgot I had that pic!
 
Do you have a picture of the soles of his feet? Yes the toes do look a bit on the long side but without seeing the underneath you can't see if that is just the foot that particular horse is growing imo.

Is he sound? If so, is there a problem? I could be reading the pictures wrong but the top half of the foot looks to be growing at a better angle than near the toe. If your farrier could shorten the break over by rolling the toe more they may improve with time/work anyway. Just my take on it but as always pictures can be deceiving.
 
The toe isn't that long really. He has a bit of flare at the quarters and a good solid looking frog. With a decent roll and some time and maybe inhand work (if hes not backed yet) I think they should look better anyway in a few months if they continue to grow like the top half of the hoof. I don't think the farrier needs sacking just yet! (if he is sound of course)
 
I really wouldn't panic. If he was trimmed 3 weeks ago then it looks like he grows a fair bit of hoof - perhaps think about having him trimmed a bit more often. I agree that the quarters are a bit long, but that's very common - switching farriers wouldn't necessarily help. Just ask the farrier to keep on top of them. Some road work would help keep them down in between trims, too.

Lovely frog & caudal hoof!
 
A horse should land heel first - that's completely normal and desirable. With those frogs and digital cushion, the shock absorption of the back of the foot will be functioning at maximum.

In short, the caudal hoof is doing its job. This is a good thing :).
 
I can't see the photos clearly and I've had problems with frogs looking strange in pics before but the frog looks a bit yucky to me but I will have to rely on those making positive comments.

I see dietary issues... flare, white line affected and ripples many which have been rasped out it appears. The coronary band looks pushed up at the quarters and I agree with Gloi they are being left too long and if my pic of the frog is right I suspect the heels are staying long to protect the frog. There appears to be some exfoliating sole (white crumby stuff).

Personally I would change to a hoof care professional who can advise you on all aspects and trim in balance with what his hooves are saying.
 
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Amandap, can you suggest anything with regards to his feeding. At the moment he's just on grass, he did do ok on dengi hifi with Allan and page fast fibre, but at the end of the winter I had to put him on winergy low energy to get a bit of condition on him.
When you say the frogs a bit yucky, do you mean soft bits? He hasn't got any thrush or anything like that.
And what part of the hoof are the quarters?
Thanks
 
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