Pigeon toed -not happy with current farrier

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DollyDolls

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My new horse is pigeon toed & as a result has lateral extensions on both front shoes. I never get the head honcho farrier, only the apprentice who works on his own & although qualified lacks experience.

I am keeping the horse at the same yard & for the past 6wks his feet have been getting worse almost each day. Last year they were improving. I had him shod 3 weeks ago & I've just had them back again today (to trim & re-fit).

Can anyone suggest a farrier that is reliable & available for my 2 currently kept in Mid Sussex (1/2 way between Gatwick & Brighton).

His conformation isn't causing any trouble.....yet, but I dont want to wait for the current farrier to continue saying, "well not much I can do, I'll just come out & trim again in 3 weeks" when his trimming isn't really correcting. I'm just worried that without an experienced farrier his poor conformation will lead to joint problems/ lameness.

Any suggestions? PM me if you prefer.
 
Hi, I dont know what age your new horse is, but pigeon toes really need to be sorted when the horse is very young, when things are soft and not set. often they if they are pigeon toed, they get shod accordingly, as like us, if someone starts trying to change things once things are established, everything then has to accomondate this as well. hope this might be useful info
best wishes jackie
 
Jackie, whilst I appreciate what you're saying (to correct once its established can cause more problems), what I dont want is a small conformation problem being left untreated & developing into serious, expensive & avoidable lameness.
 
As Jackie has already said, once a horse is pigeon toed there is nothing a farrier can do unless it is done at a very early age.
My horse was very pigeon toed and the farrier always did a good job but he couldnt dramatically alter the feet too much else it would unbalance other things I'm afraid.
Maybe if you are not happy with your current farrier you could get a second opinion from another one maybe?
 
This may be a dumb question but can bad shoeing make a horse pigeon toed if he wasnt already?
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Not in your case but I thought Id ask coz my chap has always been very straight but since his shoeing last week he looks a bit PT'd
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Just out of Curiosity where are you based? and whos your farrier? feel free to PM me if you like. This sounds like a farrier i used to know!
 
[ QUOTE ]
This may be a dumb question but can bad shoeing make a horse pigeon toed if he wasnt already?
confused.gif
Not in your case but I thought Id ask coz my chap has always been very straight but since his shoeing last week he looks a bit PT'd
crazy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly what I was wondering!
I've only had her 6 months & can't decide if she's always been like this & it's more apparent now or something...

Or maybe the clips in the wrong place...
I don't know!
 
Phone farrier and insist that he comes rather than apprentice - if you word it correctly then it shouldn't cause offence! I've just had to fork out for major remedial farriery for a mare that we bought who'd been poorly shod prior to us purchasing her. Don't let it escalate - best to nip it in the bud now!

PS - who is your farrier? I used to live your way - PM me if easier!
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Yes they can create Pigeon toe also dishing, navicular, forgeing, overreaching and lots of other things if they are not as good as they ought to be! but it is our responsibility to seek out recommendation, provide good facilities for them to work in and clean dry non muddy feet to work on at very regular times of 5-6 wks too.
 
The farriers work in mint conditions, american style barn which they can drive straight into.

I will try to speak to the farrier, but when I suggested that one of the nails had been put into broken hoof which then came away & the nail cut his leg (quite badly) needing vet treatment & antibiotics (hence my last plea for help). The farrier denied that this could have happened & that it was my horses fault for treading on himself.
 
If there is a break down in communication with your farrier then you need to change to someone that can discuss your problems & worries with you. There has to be a professional relationship between farrier, owner & horse for you to get the best out of the service he is providing. Unfortunately quite a few of the main stream farriers just put shoes on!!! rather than actually shoe a horse if you get what I mean, its an art that requires good training, a good brain and a good ear too! the profession seems to attract quite a few arrogent men that know they can earn in excess of £500 per day usually in CASH and so would rather book as many horses in as possible in one day rather than just doing about 5 horses a day giving them enough time to show some patience balancing the hooves, listening to the client and being sympathetic to the horse. Its your responsibility to look after your horse so change farrier if he is not up to your expectations, I have a livery yard that has 4 different farriers I would not change my farrier for any of them and my farrier has been doing my horses for 18yrs and in this time my horses have only ever lost 5 shoes between them, they have superb feet that everyone comments on - Now thats what I call a damn good farrier!!
 
Just a quick note on this.

My rising 5 year old is v pigeon toed. Knew it when I bought her had he rfully vetted etc Vet said obviously can't predict future but she passed a 5 stage as suitable for hunting all RC etc.

I have a natural balance v experienced farrier do her and he says you can't do ANYTHING to change it, shouldn't try as it's too late and she has great feet. he does cosmetically change the appearance by moving the toe clips round but that doesn nothing for the mechanics.

I'm not at all worried by her feet and she'll never do a huge amount anyway as I really bought her as companion hack, occasional light hunter but if you are worried get on the phone to you farrier and politely request the experienced guy has a look.After all, you are paying for a service.
 
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