Ladydragon
Well-Known Member
Hi All...
I'm hoping someone might be able to give me a few suggestions to proceed with our four yr old TB's horribly pathetic feet...
He's got very small feet and the hoof just seems to crumble with the slightest knock... The farrier family who shoe him are very popular locally but every time he's shod (cold as recommended because his feet are so bad and don't grow much), it's pretty much guaranteed he'll lose a back shoe within two to three weeks... So far we've been lucky with some pretty deep punctures and there's been no abscess develop but the time between losing a shoe and the farrier coming to replace one means he'll have taken chunks out of the hoof wall... He's horribly footsore within a day or two... He's not in proper work at the moment - just some schooling in the menage...
I've not had much from the farriers other than "He's just got bad feet and needs to be shod more regularly than most" although when the dad of the family saw him on one occasion he put lightweight shoes on the back feet and the whole set lasted a full six weeks... He's an older chap though and pretty much retired now so I can't have him out again... Since then, every set (still lightweight shoes on the back) has dropped one or both back shoes in two to three weeks...
He's fed Allan & Page with a Biotin supplement... The grazing and haylage is good quality with most horses (including our others) on the yard cheerfully barefoot... The same farrier trims them... I'm not very good with all things farrier related and awkward feet so am unsure if I should be expecting a bit more from them than the somewhat dismissive "He's just got bad feet" and the extra charges for the extra shoes...
I have spoken to another farrier who was recommended as he's got the extra qualifications for remedial work and master farrier... He's a bit more expensive but not much if I include the extra shoes each time going on at the moment... It was only a quick call but he recommended seaweed and sulpher and said he'd be very surprised if he wouldn't be able to help the horse's feet over time - I'm just not sure whether this situation is 'normal' with TBs?! I don't want to jump ship from a decent farrier family if what they are doing is good enough...
Any advice/opinions welcome...
I'm hoping someone might be able to give me a few suggestions to proceed with our four yr old TB's horribly pathetic feet...
He's got very small feet and the hoof just seems to crumble with the slightest knock... The farrier family who shoe him are very popular locally but every time he's shod (cold as recommended because his feet are so bad and don't grow much), it's pretty much guaranteed he'll lose a back shoe within two to three weeks... So far we've been lucky with some pretty deep punctures and there's been no abscess develop but the time between losing a shoe and the farrier coming to replace one means he'll have taken chunks out of the hoof wall... He's horribly footsore within a day or two... He's not in proper work at the moment - just some schooling in the menage...
I've not had much from the farriers other than "He's just got bad feet and needs to be shod more regularly than most" although when the dad of the family saw him on one occasion he put lightweight shoes on the back feet and the whole set lasted a full six weeks... He's an older chap though and pretty much retired now so I can't have him out again... Since then, every set (still lightweight shoes on the back) has dropped one or both back shoes in two to three weeks...
He's fed Allan & Page with a Biotin supplement... The grazing and haylage is good quality with most horses (including our others) on the yard cheerfully barefoot... The same farrier trims them... I'm not very good with all things farrier related and awkward feet so am unsure if I should be expecting a bit more from them than the somewhat dismissive "He's just got bad feet" and the extra charges for the extra shoes...
I have spoken to another farrier who was recommended as he's got the extra qualifications for remedial work and master farrier... He's a bit more expensive but not much if I include the extra shoes each time going on at the moment... It was only a quick call but he recommended seaweed and sulpher and said he'd be very surprised if he wouldn't be able to help the horse's feet over time - I'm just not sure whether this situation is 'normal' with TBs?! I don't want to jump ship from a decent farrier family if what they are doing is good enough...
Any advice/opinions welcome...