What does good/bad farrier mean for spavin horse?

[QueenT]

I changed farrier 6 months ago (really that long, ooof!) because two of my horses need special shoeing (pony with spavin uses hind JMD shoes) - he was recommended for being good at this, but not once did he keep the appointment as agreed nor did he bring the right shoes from the beginning, had to amend too big shoes for the pony, brought front for back, I'm no expert but the angles didn't look right on the pony either (hoof was higher outside than inside) and from a sideview the angles weren't the same on the left and right foot etc. And she's no trouble with shoeing normally, but with him she was strangely anxious. So I changed again, and visually there's already a huge difference, right shoes on, angles are even. New farrier came in only three weeks after the last, because it looked wrong, and he took off close to an inch of the hind hooves...!

So, this is a pony with hock spavin that is fairly well-managed but hasn't been performing well for the last 4-5 months, maybe more... This could be for many reasons, and the vet could not conclude directly that poor shoeing was the cause of poor peformance... but I'm still wondering, what does it mean for a pony with spavin whether the shoeing is acurate? We are talking small margins, she was never lame or changed her walk post-shoeing as such...

 

[Wheels]

foot balance can have a major impact even on a fully sound horse - do you have any pics?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Who recommended this farrier? If it was your vet, I would give feedback but if it was just friends/acquaintances, I would simply chnage farrier again.

 

[QueenT]

Who recommended this farrier? If it was your vet, I would give feedback but if it was just friends/acquaintances, I would simply chnage farrier again.

It was a yard friend with a horse with similar issues who recommended him - new farrier is brilliant, and also recommended by trainer (don't know why I didn't ask her in the first place...)

 

[QueenT]

I only have pics of the front hooves, and I don't think they show the unevenness that clearly, but maybe gives an impression. These are two days post-shoeing, and to me it doesn't even look as if he did any trimming, just changed the shoe. Small margins maybe... I measured the sideview angle with my phone, because I thought it could be an optical illusion, the surface, her stance - whatever, but vet confirmed was not properly aligned

 

[Gloi]

They are certainly unmatched feet. The left one in particular could do with time out of shoes to sort the heels out.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Is that a clench half way up the hoof wall on the right front ? They are an unmatched pair in the pic, but that could well be down to the poor farriery.



Glad you’ve sacked that farrier.

Good foot balance is incredibly important, as I and my horses have learned the hard way after being let down by poor work both from farriers and a barefoot trimmer.

I’d advise getting a good body worker to treat the horse. She will have been compensating and may have niggles.

 

[IrishMilo]

She has much more heel on the right than the left - have you noticed that? The branches are giving enough heel support, which is good, but your horse is extremely upright in the pastern, almost concerningly so. Have you ever tried taking the shoes off? Her feet look like they would hold up well without. You need to start bringing the toe back on the left foot and getting the heels with a bit more depth to them.

 

[Wheels]

Try looking up high heel / low heel syndrome - your horse certainly has something odd going on with these photos