Problems with farrier on barefoot horse - WWYD

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Zipzop

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My 14 yo horse has been barefoot his whole life and his feet have always been fine, trimmed by normal farrier.
My latest farrier of about four years moved out of area so I had to get a new one.
He has done my horse about four times now and I don't think it's going to well.
The first two times I felt he trimmed them really short and horse was hobbling on stones. Coincidentally he ended up for the first time ever with really thin soles, (I don't think the new farrier and the thin soles was linked possibly just coincidence).
Anyway horse was put on good quality mineral supplement and things have improved.
However, I did ask the farrier to not trim them so short and leave them a little longer which he dutifully has. Great I thought.
However, one of his front feet is beginning to become misshapen. I never really loked at his feet in detail before so I'm not sure if this is a new thing or if it has happened before but it's really starting to be noticably different to the opposite front hoof.
It seems to have quite a bit of flare to the Inside and the whole hoof looks like it is starting to incline inwards and potentially lead to a pigeon toe?
I have no idea whether the farrier is doing a bad job or if this is something my horse gets and now the feet are a little longer it's starting to be noticeable. I just don't know.
I absolutely hate change and I find it extremely stressful when I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. To have to find another farrier may well tip me over the edge.
I'm trying to get my old farrier out to see if he can just advise as to whether I've got a problem or not. But waiting to hear back from him.
Any advice?
 
I would go with your gut and get a new farrier/barefoot trimmer. A few years ago i took my mare barefoot when she was diagnosed with bone spavin, everytime the trimmer came my poor mare was crippled. She had EMS and thin soles anyway. she was so footsore that i used to have to sweep a path to the field each morning of little stones. This trimmer came every 6 weeks and talked the talk and i trusted that she knew what she was doing. Sadly i had that mare pts and in the meantime we started using a different trimmer. He will only come every 8-10 weeks as he said feet don't need doing that often, in short, just because someone is qualified doesn't mean they are good at what they do and where feet are concerned i wouldn't take the risk. I think that first trimmer caused my mare unecessary suffering in her transition to going barefoot. If you have noticed things aren't right i would stop using them. i hope you find another good one
 
If your not happy I would source a new farrier. As with the change of shape I would expect that as horses get older they do move differently and therefore the hoof will change shape. It is a minefield, I dread the day when my farrier of forty years retires !! Maybe you could ask others who have barefoot horses who they use. ?
 
You need to start looking at barefoot pages like Rockley Farm and maybe a good FB page (but god be careful, some of them are evangelical fanatics who would burn your farrier at the stake given half the chance!) You need to know what you are looking for, what they should look like and be confident enough to find someone who can trim to suit your horse. Not all farriers know how to trim a ridden barefoot horse and there is a massive difference between a field trim and a barefoot trim. This farrier doesnt know how to do barefoot trims is my guess and I would not use him again.

Ive just transitioned my boy to barefoot and its amazing how much I know about horses hooves now where before I would offer the farrier a cuppa tea and off I would go leaving him to it ... Now I have a barefoot trimmer but I watch her like a hawk learning as much as i can and if i had to use a farrier I would now feel confident giving him strict instructions on what he can and cant touch on the foot, lol :)
 
If you say where you are someone might recommend a good trimmer and meanwhile learn as much as you can (Rockley, Pete Ramey, Phoenix Horse forum are good places to start, although yes, Phoenix peeps can be a bit full on at times). You never know, you might end up keeping them tidy yourself :D
 
Are you really sure the horse is not sore somewhere because that can cause flaring in feet that were a conventional shape previously .
 
Goldenstar said:
Are you really sure the horse is not sore somewhere because that can cause flaring in feet that were a conventional shape previously .
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This. I'd also look for metabolic disease to account for the thinning of the soles, which could not normally be caused by two trims.
 
I am in bedfordshire.
Horse is just coming back into work after a long holiday so he will be having regular bodywork now before we start and ongoing to iron anything out.
When the thin soles occurred I did have the vet out and they hoof tested him which gave no reaction and also blood tested him for cushings which came back negative.
I have made arrangements for a qualified and recommended barefoot trimmer to come and look at him next week and give her opinion.
 
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