Great Farrier

[Paige]

Just glanced at the thread on bad farriers and thought I'd post about my situation with a little bit too good of a farrier. I recently purchased a miniature stallion and a few days after getting him home noticed his stifles popped and he wasn't moving quite right in behind with a slight catch/wobble to the stifle/hock area. Thinking exercise might help I started there and when that didn't work after several weeks had the vet out to confirm that he had a problem as the seller had agreed to take him back if there was a problem. Vet gave a vague diagnose of moving off in stifle/hock area that was not normal but seller agreed I could return him anyway. Well the farrier was out yesterday and I decided to have her trim him before he goes back on Saturday as he's due and I wanted to return him in good condition. I mentioned to the farrier his problems and she checked him over, watched him walk and trimmed him. Right away we noticed an improvement and this morning I checked him again and he's moving almost right on without the popping stifle sound. Now my dilemma becomes can I send this horse back if his problems were solved with a good trim (I think the farrier took a little more off the inside or outside to the back hooves so maybe it's more of a corrective trim?) or is the trim job just masking the problem? I purchased this stallion to breed to a few mares and eventually geld to show in halter and driving. I paid a fair price for a breeding stallion. Also here's a little more background information: He's four years old and has only been used for breeding the last few years with limited turnout. He has great bloodlines and came from a top farm and does not have the typical overly straight stifles that would predispostion him to stifle issues. Also I know I'm very lucky to be dealing with a seller who will take him back and I don't believe he knew the horse had any issues! I'm at a loss of what to do and what is fair for all involved including the horse!

 

[anita]

I try to anwer your question.

Good farrier+ problem solved + Happy you and horse.

Best wishes

Anita

 

[Margaret]

Hello Paige..First off bravo to your farrier! :aktion033: It is good to know that a knowledgable trim has helped him out.. Unless he was injured, causing his leg to lock up, it is unusual to have this type of problem develop in later life....As this type of problem usually develops early on..Generally known as stifle lock..

But trimming can keep it under control somewhat..

I once took in a severly affected stifle lock rescue horse, at 3 years of age.. Trimming helped his ability to move better and even on some occasions we could not tell he had the problem..

But he would always lock up again later :no: .. And today, 3 years later, he usually allways needs to "pop out", of his stuck position, to get moving again, no matter how often he is correctivly trimmed. Needless to say he was gelded, and has a forever home with a friend of mine.

:

unfortunatly, he is the product of poor breeding choices :no:

Just my experience...

I wish you well with the decision ahead of you, It sounds like the people that sold him to you, understand

your concerns.

It is an individule choice, but I myself would never purchase a horse intended for "breeding"- that showed this tendency, as it is likely to be genetically passed on.

 

[Minimor]

Good farrier+ problem solved + Happy you and horse.

I would disagree with that statement!

He's a mature horse, so this isn't a growth spurt thing that he will grow out of & never do it again; chances are he will be "better" as long as his feet are kept trimmed just so. If his toes are allowed to get long, though, the popping will no doubt return.

I'd not want to be breeding a stallion that needed to be kept trimmed just so to not show this problem. Sure, it's best to keep the feet trimmed properly, but personally I prefer to have my breeding animals not show a problem like this if they do happen to be let go for a couple extra weeks and their hoofs get a little bit too long before they are trimmed again. If you (Paige) feel the same way then I would suggest talking with the seller; tell him/her just what the situation is, that a good trim has corrected the problem for now, but you aren't happy with this problem being there & needing correcting, and see if the return offer is still good.

If however you are willing to accept the horse as he is & take the chance that with more turnout & regular trimming this popping stifle/hock thing will not show up, then it is as anita said! I know many people don't seem to be concerned with popping hocks/stifles so it's kind of an individual choice.

 

[FairytailGlennMinis]

Minimor said exactly how I feel about it.

 

[SkipsMom]

Wow, hard call to make from a keyboard miles and miles away.

: Unbalanced hooves- not matched from side to side- will make a horse w/ perfect conformation dead lame, dead lame. Hoof angles which do not match the pastern angle will make a horse lame. Too long a toe, too long a heel will create strain tendons & ligaments, shoulders and loins. If you have just two of those issues going on w/ your horse you will have a sore or lame horse. IOW, regular and correct farrier work makes horses with no conformation issues fine and helps horses w/ issues.

I had skipped a trim on my mini's (I'm the farrier for them) and both of them grew too long in the heel, underslung too. It was affecting the way of going most especially for my smaller mini. Over a period of two weeks I reduced his heel height and the length of heel all the while bringing back his toe which was too long. You cannot make sudden changes to an ill shaped hoof because it will strain the horses legs et al. Bottom line, at the end of two weeks the little guy was traveling/moving much better. The breakover point was perfect and he was carrying his weight much better when harnessed.

If you love this horse then I'd hesitate to throw the baby out w/ the bath water only because he responded after having a correct trim. If he were still gimping/clicking and swelling up somewhere a few weeks after a trim or two then I would probably not use him to bred at all because that suggest honest conformation issues.

And dont be baffooned by someone calling a good or proper trim "Corrective Trims". There is a right way to trim a horses hooves- balanced from side to side, hoof angle matches the pastern and the line from the cannon bone falls down straight to the back of the heel. That is it. Everything else is wrong UNLESS the horse has a deformed bone or injury which the farrier is compensating for down in the hoof.

Good luck!

 

[Margaret]

Sorry I just have to reply to that last remark.. :lol:

A severly affected stifle lock will affect the way the horse stands, or rests his weight on his rear legs,,

Many times both back legs can be locked up, causing an unbalanced shift of weight on one, or both rear legs..

Over time this can cause hoof, issues that cannot be corrected with a regular trim..

Often this affected hoof is rested on, at an angle that over time causes it to fold under itself.

So as much as possible that horse has to be correctivly trimmed..

:

Believe me it is no case of just proper regular balanced trimming.

Just another unpleasent detail about serious cases of stifle lock.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Does this horse in effect have a "locking" stifle problem? Has he been diagnosed by a veterinarian that this is the problem or is Skipsmom correct? Wonderful post Skipsmom!!!