The "barefoot" post I thought I'd never write!

[Greylegs]

Never thought I'd post a barefoot post, but I'm so blooming cross ( with myself!!!!!) it just has to happen.

Had the hairy highland trimmed yesterday ....... Been barefoot all his life - 13 years! Today, hobbling sore on all four feet to the point of being sore in the school on a soft surface and obviously lame in front when trotted up on a hard surface in the yard.

Have the farrier round every 8 weeks to trim but as we'd done a lot of road work lately didn't think he needed much doing this time. But that didn't stop me from letting the farrier rasp his feet and generally " tidy up". Seemed ok afterwards but unsound today. Feel I should have known better but also that farrier should have told me that nothing much to do this time. I would still have paid him for coming and he lives very close to the yard so didn't have to make a long trip.

Now beating myself up for not having enough gumption to tell the farrier not to come, or not to do anything much to him when he did arrive, or for not knowing when my pony has been over trimmed ...... Stupid person that I am!!!,

Do I continue to self flagellate for my ignorance as I feel I've lamed my pony myself, sack the farrier, move trim appointments to 10 weekly instead of the current 8, give up horses completely and take up jigsaw puzzles instead, find a foot care practitioner who actually understands the needs of the shoeless pony or continue to do what I'm doing now which is sitting on the sofa with a glass of red wine feeling like a complete failure for letting down the nicest pony in the universe. AARGH!!!!

Really mad with myself and the wine isn't making me feel better.... Which won't stop me from having another glass .....!!!!!

 

[Oberon]

Now beating myself up for not having enough gumption to tell the farrier not to come, or not to do anything much to him when he did arrive, or for not knowing when my pony has been over trimmed ...... Stupid person that I am!!!

Hindsight is a bitch . You can't really blame yourself for not being psychic though, can you?

Do I continue to self flagellate for my ignorance as I feel I've lamed my pony myself

What would that achieve?

sack the farrier

Bit drastic

move trim appointments to 10 weekly instead of the current 8

Maybe leave it flexible for the spring/summer if you are doing enough roadwork? He may not really need a trim if you are matching wear with growth.

give up horses completely and take up jigsaw puzzles instead

Perhaps...it would be cheaper

find a foot care practitioner who actually understands the needs of the shoeless pony

Probably not necessary at this stage, although I can certainly try and help you find a good one if you wanted to follow that route.

or continue to do what I'm doing now which is sitting on the sofa with a glass of red wine feeling like a complete failure for letting down the nicest pony in the universe. AARGH!!!!

Drink the wine. Let go of the distress .

The best farriers/trimmers in the world have all been 'guilty' of a 'bad trim' at one time or another.
Most of the time it could not have been avoided and the practitioner was performing the same, sympathetic trim that had been done for years.
Sometimes you just end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the horse ends up sore.

I have seen a very gentle and sympathetic trim leave a horse sore .

Causes can be as varied as inflammation (either sub clinical lami or even just a batch of high sugar hay that week), thrush where the trim makes them suddenly bear weight on it, a body issue making an imbalance that no one can perceive, a wonky saddle/rider...... The list could go on and on......

Trimming isn't as simple as it seems

Don't beat yourself or your farrier up....chalk it up to experience and adapt for next time.

(If trim lameness is a common theme though - yes, change the HCP).

 

[LMJ]

We have 3 barefooters and our farrier comes 9 weekly. If there isn't much growth I'll ring him a few weeks before and he'll move the appointment back a little. We do small amount of roadwork but very flinty where we are. Lucky as ours will pop up for a cuppa , check feet and then rebook if nowt to be done. Hope your boy is more comfy soon.

 

[cptrayes]

Buy a rasp. Do him yourself when he needs it. It's not rocket science with a straightforward horse like yours sounds.

 

[brucea]

If he has responded like this to the trim you should keep in mind that at this time of the year he may well have been borderline anyway - so I'd keep an eye on his sugars, starch, grass.....and treat as if it was laminitis.

 

[Greylegs]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Especially to Oberon for the common sense and the offer to locate alternative care for my pony!! I'll pm you in a few days if I'm still not happy with things if that's OK. Still feeling bad about it this morning, compounded by a bit of a red wine headache, but have decided to give him a few days off to see how he goes and consider my options.

This is the first time in 2 years that this has happened with this farrier and I've used him for years with previous (shod) horses so would be loathe to part company tbh.

Whatever happens, definitely NOT contemplating the purchase of a rasp and a bit of DIY, thanks all the same!! I still feel this is a job for a professional, but I do know for certain that this pony has never had this kind of foot issue before which just makes me feel worse about it.

Anyhow ... no more beating myself up - nothing to be gained by it. At least the sun's shining this morning. Onwards and upwards.

 

[Clippy]

If you want to keep your farrier, just ring him when you need him. He might feel obliged to give your horse a bit of a trim even if he thinks it's not needed.

I can't remember the last time our barefoot horses were trimmed but it was months ago and I don't think a regular trimming routine is the way to go. With ours, they wear as much hoof as they grow and don't need more than the bottom edge rounding off occasionally which we've started to do ourselves