Farrier Rant

[HGFarm]

I have seen more 'farriers' here think that Mini feet are supposed to look like donkey feet, or worse, and leave them standing straight up and down.

Havent read the whole post, so you might have a handle on it by now, but my suggestion is to have your vet take a look or have another farrier that is recommended come and take a look. It sounds like all the toe was cut off, leaving the heel if they are clubby looking. That heel needs to come off!! Wonder if he has trimmed the toes too short also down to the quick to take it off?

Good grief. I have seen a lot of shoeing problems with 'farriers', or those that claim to be one, on big horses too, but the Minis seem to get it much worse for some reason.

 

[Katiean]

I talked to my farrier about your horse when she was here. She said that if your horse had a normal angle and then your farrier put him on his toes, Yes he was sore from what your farrier did even though it took 2 days. She also said that he could cause him to founder. She said it is very important to take the heel down as far as you can to get that angle back. She is very well trained in pony's and minis as that is what the school she went to starts them on. She is always doing competitions and for their Christmas party they (their group) are having a competition where they have to trim a mini, hand forge shoes for the mini and attach the shoes. So I know if I ever really have a problem that will require a shoe, she can take care of it. Although what she was telling me about it didn't sound like a party to me.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Jay's Right Front

Oh, my, poor Jay!! No wonder he's lame! :arg! I would definitely look into building up the front of that foot with some Vettec SuperFast to get him back at the right angles and take the pressure off that toe while it grows out. Kody's old farrier was very good, very reliable, and did super balanced, correct trims but he was another one who tried to blame it on the mini when the trim caused soreness. He refused to consider that maybe this individual horse was a tenderfoot and needed his entire foot left a little longer with each trim and when I tried to politely request that he do so he threw up his hands and quit on the spot.

I made my request after he came up pavement-lame just before a major trip to Fresno, CA I'd been planning for months and it almost cost us the entire competition. Thankfully we were saved that time because Breanna Sheahan was there and made a set of glue shoes from SuperFast which solved Kody's lameness immediately and by the time they fell off weeks later he'd grown out enough to be comfortable. Our new farrier is not as good as the old one but she LISTENS and when I say something isn't right she comes back out free of charge and fixes it.

I've become confident enough with experience to say something before she leaves which saves us both stress

but I sure do appreciate her attitude and willingness to make it right.

I've got a youngster now who really needs his feet properly trimmed every four weeks and I've finally given in and picked up a rasp myself since I can't afford to have the farrier out that often. I feel kind of silly since it turns out it's pretty darn easy to square off hind toes and I could have been making Kody's stifles more comfortable and extending the time between trims for the last five years, but better late than never I guess! I hope you're able to get Jay back on track and find a decent farrier to keep him there. The one you've got sounds like a dud!

Leia

 

[krissy3]

Please use "THE FARRIER AND HOOFCARE RESOURCE CENTER" for some help, they do take minis seriously, and will help you locate a professional farrier in your area, its a HUGE forum...I got a lot of help even here in Europe , its an international site, and guarentee they will help you no matter where you live. That trim is extream, and I would bet he will be lame for at least 1 month. I wouldnt do anything to him work wise , just let him relieve himself in sand, or bedding for a while. You have what looks like a Donkey pedistal trim... wrong equine trim...ouch , time for a new farrier. So sorry

 

[zoey829]

Ugh!!! I feel so bad for that little guy!

 

[Genie]

Thankfully my trainer's farrier, who is well known for being an awesome farrier, is willing to make the 2 hour trek to teach me how to trim my own horses. All the really good farriers in my area will not take anymore clients, no matter what. I understand that, they want a life outside of work as much as the next person. The farrier that did this trim won't answer any of my e-mails anymore, nor will he come out to take a look at him or give me advise on what I can do to make him feel better. i knew it was the trim that made Jay lame, but the e-mail I sent the farrier did not blame him for the lameness. I didn't want to attack him. He should have discussed with me about changing the angle of his feet before taking any off. I thought he was just going to give him a quick trim. The guy did get immediately defensive. Jay's previous owner lives at the farm that I board at and she said that he's never been lame. She's had him since he was a yearling. I've had him for over 2 years and he's never been lame. He gets his feet trimmed every 8 weeks whether he needs it or not, my mare needs her's done every 8 on the dot or she starts to crumble. This guy that came out was my third farrier this year, the first one to do a bad job. The others just never returned calls or never showed up to appointments, all the more reason for me to learn to do it myself. Here are some pictures of Jay driving, please excuse his head set and mohawk. These are the only fairly recent pictures that I have of him pre-trim.

From this picture "pre trim" it is pretty easy to see why he's sore now. He seems to have quite a bit of hoof and heel in this picture.

The after trim pictures have one front foot looking "scary bad" in my opinion. Overall, before and after pics are a pretty drastic change.

 

[HorseMom]

A highly respected farrier is going to try to come out tomorrow to take a look at Jay. He mentioned perhaps packing the hoof, but it all depends on what he sees when he gets to the farm. I'm hoping he can make it tomorrow. If not he said that he would try to reschedule as soon as possible so we could help Jay out. Luckily the mud in his paddock helps. He doesn't seem to limp out there and seems more himself.

 

[TaylorMarie]

Ok. I finally got pictures of all four feet. Jay's doesn't seem to be lame in his hind end, just his front. His hind feet don't look too bad. I lunged him twice around again today to see how he was, still very lame and short strided in the front.
Jay's Right Front

Jay's Left Front

Jay's Left Hind

Jay's Right Hind

Wow!!!! No wonder he is lame!!! I am going to guess more so on the right front!!!! you need to fire this farrier!!! he had taken way too much toe off and to boot he rolled the toe way to much!!! You are going to have to wait a couple weeks if not more for him to be sound again (the shorter the trim the less the hoof will grow) it also appears the heels are too short too leaving the poor little guy with nothing to stand on.

I am horrified to see this as it gives all farrier a bad name regarding minis!

you are going to have to keep him on super soft footing for awhile as it appears all he is standing on is the sole at the tip of the coffin bone (not good)

I hope he will be ok

Taylor Hildebrand

(farrier)

 

[yellerroseintx]

I also had a bad experience..I took a chance on a well known 'mini' farrier, something I willl NEVER EVER EVER do again..anyway..out of 10 horses...9 were lame....5 so bad they barely moved out of their stalls. for a week and eggshells after that...one mare layed down most 0f 3 days ..they stood stretched out like foundered horses.everyone hobbling around and looking at me.... I was crushed that I had caused them all such pain..needless to say I freaked out ..My Vet gave me Banamine and a wonderful product to use..called SOLE PAINT...you wear gloves and put it on their soles..it did help...also you can wrap them in Vet Tape to ease the bruising...they were done Nov 8th and just last week my foundered mare has stopped walking on eggshells...this was a sad learning experience for me kick kick kick

 

[mizbeth]

I am sorry this happened to your little horse. I had a farrier once that trimmed mine too short too. All of them, each time he came. But of course I did not use him after the second time this happened. He just trimmed them too short, into the pink line, the angles were good. But in any case they should have not been lame. and took them several days to be able to walk normally. I really think he could not see very well.

My Vets have always recommended BUTE for hoof soreness. (Over banamine). I can buy small amounts of Bute tablets, not the entire bottle. I rarely use Bute for obvious reasons so don't need a whole bottle of it.

Good luck with him. It does appear his front toes are too short. His heal height is about the same as in the pre farrier photos, he probably just trimmed too close to the pink line. Wierd angles on the front tho., the rolling as you call it. Not sure what that was for unless the horse did not travel straight, or winged or paddled when he walked?

B

 

[HorseMom]

I had a different farrier come out today. He just came to take a look to see how bad and if we had to do anything special. He was shocked when he saw Jay's feet. This guy was very nice and seemed very knowledgeable. He took the time to tell me about angles and give examples. He checked Jay's sole and said that they were very soft which he doesn't like. The last farrier took too much sole out. He also checked Jay's tendons to make sure he was ok. He did tell me to watch his tendons and if anything changes for the worse to immediately let him know. He also has me putting Kopertox to help harden the sole. Told me to only do it 2 days a week and not to get it on Jay's hair. He did not charge me for the visit. Told me I really got boned on that last trim so he wouldn't charge me. He didn't trim Jay at all just looked and felt around.

I did make an appointment with him for the end of Feb. He wants Jay's feet to grow out in their natural way. He said that mother nature usually knows best, he wants to see Jay's natural angle before we do any work. He was very happy that I left him out in the mud and snow instead of bringing him into a stall. Said the soft ground will certainly help relieve Jay's ouchies and help support him better. I left him out there because he didn't limp at all in his paddock and seemed more himself. As soon as I bring him into the barn he starts limping from the hard ground.

I did lunge Jay a couple times around to see how he was feeling. He limps a little but is quickly becoming more himself. Jay's the kind of horse that needs regular work or he's a real #%^&. And that is what he is right now. I love this horse to death and normally work him 5 days a week and he's great. He needs to keep him mind busy to stay happy. Not being able to work has made us both grumpy. Hopefully by the end of the month we can go back to work. We'll have to start slow to get him back into the swing of things.

Overall I'm happy that Jay is on the mend and feeling better. Thanks everyone for all the great information and stories of similar situations. Makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one who has had to deal with something like this.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

That's great Heather! I know what you mean about horses who are little %@$#'s if not kept mentally busy. You might try teaching him some tricks or introducing him to clicker training during this time so he has something to think about. It worked for Kody during all his surgical rehab in '07/'08.

Leia

 

[bevann]

There is also another wonderful product for tender feet.It is called VENICE TURPENTINE and available at many feed and tack shops.Just paint it on the sole and inside on the wall of the hoof with an old toothbrush.It makes them feel better within a day.We have used it here many times.good luck with your little guy.

 

[MiLo Minis]

I did make an appointment with him for the end of Feb. He wants Jay's feet to grow out in their natural way. He said that mother nature usually knows best, he wants to see Jay's natural angle before we do any work.

You need to keep a close eye on his feet between now and then because with the trim that he has his feet may NOT grow out in their "natural way" as his angles have been so severely changed. If they are not looking right to you give him a call before February. Feet do tend to grow slower at this time of year in our hemisphere but that may be too long to let him go.

I would prefer to see you use venice turpentine as well, it is a better product for toughening the sole.

 

[HorseMom]

I'll look for the venice turpentine tomorrow. Thanks.