Had the farrier out, horse is now lame :(

[geebs]

IF the horse had no care for years and you paid a fella to take off the foot... Well did he do his job and trim the horse??? It is waaaay to easy to blame the farrier... What about the years of neglect.. and then you put the foot in the proper position... Did you seriously want to pay him 50 to times so he could go slow on it... Sole bruising is certainly a good possibilty. A way to avoid that is to put 95 dollar hoof boots on the horse... My guess is that since 50 buck seems like a lot than the extra 200 to prevent the possibility of sole bruising would have been more of a sticker shock. We must be careful before we defame someone. As a farrier myself I find that ppl are quick to throw blame at us when they didnt take the steps necessary to prevent the problem. Sore tendons are more likely with a high untrimmed heel that is being cold loaded then a freshly trimmed heal.. You may try looking for thrush also...now that the foot can move properly is possibly that it is finally using it's frog and if their is disease in it, it can make them 3 legged lame. Thrush buster is about the best product out there for taking care of that. Use as directed.

I think the responsibility lies on the person that didn't take care of the horse in the first place.. and question number two.. What did the vet say? and 3 who held the horse... I would never not be there for my horses trims...

Wesummerchick: I would trim your horses all day long!!! What a sweetie... I always gave my farrier a Christmas gift.. New breast collar for his wife's horse... A bonuse EVERY time he came out... He charged very little and he was worth it... I always had a clean horse, fly sprayed and caught... a cold drink on a hot day etc... He always got to me withing 24 hours of my call... He has heart failure now... But I swear that he hung the moon in the sky. I try to give great service to my customers... I hear good things and I have never been fired. The only clients I have lots are horses that died or got sold... I don't do everyones horse that calls... some ppl would get on a post like this without understanding what damage they could do to someone....

 

[bufforp89]

If you actually read the first post you can see that I did not automaticlly blame the farrier, just came seeking advice and was wondering if it could have been the farrier....

In this case though it was totally the fault of the farrier. The vet was out to the barn yesterday looking at another boarders horse and I showed up and got her to take a quick look. The vet says as far as she can tell the farrier took off WAY to much hoof, says that he should have come back and trimmed it over several visits because of her lack of proper trimming in the past and her age. She says there is bruising on the sole and that her tendons are sore.

It didnt affect her until 3 days after because I had her stalled and then she was turned out into a large paddock (we were waiting for some mud to dry) a few days later. She was turned out for a day and then the barn owner saw that something was up.

Luckily the barn owner had a spare set of front boots that fit her and she is now recovering nicely. Should'nt be an issue at all once her hoof has a chance to grow out a little.

Also it was the barn owner's husband who was holding the horse if it matters. I would have really liked to be there but I work a full time job and it prevented me from being there. I figured it would be better to not be there this once (and wasnt worried because the guy has such a shining reputation) the to wait another month until I can get a day off.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I did not say or think that you blamed the farrier, don't accuse me, I said many people do, I nowhere even suggested that you did.

I was giving general guidelines and possibilities for you and others with similar problems. Sometimes it is the farrier's fault, sometimes it is not.

 

[geebs]

Welsummerchicks: I think she was referring to me... I still stand on the ground that the owner should be there to see that the horse is taken care of as you see fit....

Whether or not the farrier is "at fault" who really knows... There is just too much left to chance here. None of us was there... If the farrier cut into the sole and that sored the horse then I would have to say they were in err.

 

[welsummerchicks]

In general, though, I do hear farriers blamed an awful lot.

People often see a twisted, distorted hoof and are sure all it needs is a standard trim(and of course not any shoes). They don't realize that distorted hooves are often caused by laminitis or injury that causes uneven weight bearing, and are shocked when the horse is lame after that trim(and that some horses, some injuries, some conditions, really do need shoes).

Of course, I also know a farrier that can take a horse with the most beautifully matched set of feet, and turn him into a critter that looks like it has hooves off of four different horses!

It was my horse...

 

[geebs]

Or my favorite and I suspect part of the problem here.... LOF disease... (lack of farrier)... so the next guy that comes in takes a fall... I am truley sorry the OP had that problem with her horse though... It is preventable to be very proactive when it comes to something so important... you have to advocate and have good dialogue...

 

[welsummerchicks]

The horse owner's rule - 'when you find a good farrier - treasure that one!'

 

[scbatz33]

Ya know, there are good farriers and bad ones just like in any profession. If you're a good one - more power to ya, but that doesn't mean this guy was.

I know of a farrier who was supposed to be so reputable, trimmed a horse too short, horse got infections in both front feet and was pulled from the derby. How do I know? I spent the summer of 1991 rehabbing the horse to get him back to the track. I had bite marks all summer form that crappy horse cause I had to be extra hands on due to him being lame in BOTH front feet.

I've had farriers come out and not do enough.

I've had them be perfect, wonderful amazing knowledgeable and skilled craftsmen who take pride in their work and care deeply about the animals.

If this horse was THAT bad, and according to the OP it had been neglected for a long time previously, then the farrier SHOULD HAVE had the good sense to realize that less is more. I HAVE a mare with horrible front feet. I HAVE to be selective on who touches her because she can go lame soon as looking at her. She has small front feet. She has inside heels that grow too quickly. She is prone to bruising and abscesses.

I know all this. I inform the farrier of this. Yet I have gone through several farriers to get one that is good for my horse.

Some people arent' good at their jobs. When you're making a hamburger at mcdonalds and you screw it up, no one gets hurt. When youre working with living breathing creatures and you screw up, drastic, painful consequences can occur. Therefore, I believe farriers, vets, doctors, dentists, etc should be held to a higher standard of performance.

From what the OP has told us, this guy did not meet that standard.

 

[bufforp89]

welsummerchicks: was not refering to you at all, sorry that you took it that way......

Thanks all for the help and advice everyone. Its interesting to see such different opinions and advice and it was all very appreciated.

Deffinently dont think I will be asking for advice on my horses at BYC anymore

Ill stick with the vet

 

[QuietHorseman]

I'm a farrier with over 20 years experience. I've since given up shoeing horses, and now practice barefoot trimming-Natural Hoof Care.

I think I know what happened to your horses, and why they went lame.

You said your horses feet were overly long. When the horses feet grow longer than they should ever be allowed to, the inner nerve and sensitive structure of the foot becomes longer as well. Extending groundward father than is healthy- and after trimming temperary lameness often results.

A foot allowed to grow to long, often results in a flat sole, where as a properly short foot, has a concave, dome, which arches/vaults up and away from the ground. The longer the foot, the less upward concavity in the foot, the more ground contact the sole has, the more nerves will feel stimulation. Even possible lameness. Inflamation, is over stimulation of the never structures of the foot, telling us the horses feet in some way have recieved damage. Inflamation is the horses bodie's way of correcting that damage.

On wild horses, and domestic barefoot horses kept properly short, the constant pounding and stimulation from hitting rock, sand, gravel, ect, cause the inner nerve loaded, sensing structures of the foot to actually tuck up inside the hoof capsule, away from ground contact/stimulation for their protection.

You main mistake was you let your horses feet get to long.

However, for your horse to heal of this long foot problem, they first needed their feet trimmed. Lamness in such cases if often unavoidable... Again inflamation, lamness is often the way the horses body corrects a physylogically incorrect condition.

Like building calluses, or walking barefoot, hands and feet of human beings must toughen up.
The same with your horses feet. They to must build calluses.

As for your farrier, if there is anymistake he made that I can see, it was he did not to leave a note, warning you your horse could become lame, telling you the reasons why.

Keep your horses feet short. The horses became lame not because the feet were to short, but because they became way to long.
A trick to help combat the inflamation, is keep the moving. Exercise is key in dealing with lamness. Just make the horses move. But allow them to move at their own pace.

Also, a hot as the horse can stand, herbal soak of comfrey tea, removes toxins from the feet. I've used many times on our show horses. Works like a charm!