new farrier

[Lepeppylass]

I had a new farrier out, he showed up with his son? apprentice? to trim the girls. He trimmed Lass(grulla), fixed some long toes, and a small amount of flare in her back feet. His partner trimmed Crystal(black). I'm so used to big horses, that I'm second guessing his work. How do they look? should I keep searching for a new farrier? overall they were fast, kind, called to let me know they were going to be late (10 mins), and polite. Opinions? (no matter what I do, Crystal's picture loads sideways

)

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

The first ones look a little too long for me.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

If the hooves were really long, the farrier may have to shorten the toes gradually. How does the frog look? Soles? If one has a flare, that is a symptom of incorrect trimming.

Sort of hard to get a good idea with the yakky legs and soft ground.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I agree with Marsha, if the toes were a little longer than they should be before a regular trim , they should be taken back gradually.

I have a great farrier now that i have been using for 10 years. He explains what he is doing to each individual horse and hoof as he is trimming/shoeing them.

A "Good farrier" is hard to find let alone show up when you expect them to. I went through a few , but was sick of being stood up, running hours late with no call, rushed job that left one of my big horses sore for days.

Its hard to tell from the photos, but if this were me I dont think Id make a decision on one appointment alone.

A decent farrier will remember his horses and the works he undertook on the last appointment.

Personally, how do you think he went?

 

[Lepeppylass]

Went out again to work with Crystal (black mare) and Her frog is still overgrown & folding over to the right... I'm so sick and tired of going through farriers, especially when I finally found one that shows up! I was happy with his attitude and he was talking me through all the trims with lass but I felt his apprentice/assistant/son? (Whatever you want to call him) did Crystal and she is not where I want her to be.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Don't get too upset about the frog. If the hoof is balanced the frog will wear. I was more concerned about the frog being up in the hoof and not touching the ground. Sometimes farriers don't bother with cosmetic stuff, even though we would like to see a manicured hoof. Did the farrier check on the job his "apprentice" did? When is your next appt? You might even call him with your concerns and ask him to let you know if he is in your area sooner. Make notes of questions you want to ask; it's easy to forget something while he's working on the horse.

 

[MajorClementine]

To me the toes look long and forward. The hoof isn't under the horse where it should be but more out front with the heels slung forward.

Are you in physical condition to trim them yourself and get rid of farriers all together? There is a ton of info on trimming and hoof balance. I started trimming my riding horse 5 years ago and have never looked back. My first few trims took a long time and were a bit rough but were more balanced than his hooves had been in a long time. I now trim all my horses big and small. It take some effort but is totally worth it. If you keep up on it every 4 weeks or so you can just use your rasp and not even have to use the nippers to take off hoof wall. 15 min and you're done if you keep to a monthly schedule.

www.ironfreehoof.com

www.barefoothorse.com

These are two great resources to use even if you don't want to trim on your own. Educating yourself with the hoof and the proper balance will help you communicate with your farrier. Don't be afraid to ask your farrier to do something different if you feel it will benefit your horses.

 

[Lepeppylass]

To me the toes look long and forward. The hoof isn't under the horse where it should be but more out front with the heels slung forward.

Are you in physical condition to trim them yourself and get rid of farriers all together? There is a ton of info on trimming and hoof balance. I started trimming my riding horse 5 years ago and have never looked back. My first few trims took a long time and were a bit rough but were more balanced than his hooves had been in a long time. I now trim all my horses big and small. It take some effort but is totally worth it. If you keep up on it every 4 weeks or so you can just use your rasp and not even have to use the nippers to take off hoof wall. 15 min and you're done if you keep to a monthly schedule.

www.ironfreehoof.com

www.barefoothorse.com

These are two great resources to use even if you don't want to trim on your own. Educating yourself with the hoof and the proper balance will help you communicate with your farrier. Don't be afraid to ask your farrier to do something different if you feel it will benefit your horses.

I was trimming them myself, but my own pregnancy/newborn days, then a wrist injury meant I was having someone else do them (which turned into multiple people doing them and the mares going a good 4 months without a proper trim due to farriers not showing up, not returning calls, and being on average too busy to see my girls. now they seem so wrong/off that I don't feel comfortable tackling the project until a "professional" corrects them and sets up a proper foot to maintain. I do have one reliable friend/barefoot horse farrier that I can call on, but she was dealing with a death in the family and I didn't want to bother her. kicking myself now for that one! I will get better pictures of their feet tomorrow.

 

[Lepeppylass]

okay I got some better pics of their feet, this is Lass:

 

[Lepeppylass]

This is crystal:

 

[NewToMini's]

I'm by no means an expert, but it looks like Lass's toes are still long. Crystal's hoof doesn't look right, but I can't figure out why... I'm sure the more experienced people here will be more help XD

 

[BSharpRanch]

Sometimes the first trim or two on new horses may not be "perfect". I know that I like to be a little conservative the first trim or two on new horses until I learn what is "their" normal hoof. It's too easy to lame a horse by trying to make it textbook perfect. That said, I would have trimmed/finished those hooves a little different but doesn't mean that they are incorrect. I hope this made sense.

 

[AngC]

I don't know sh-t from shinola, but I wanted to thank you for posting your photos. I learn from that sort of thing.

We have a pretty good farrier I think. I like that he has a good working relationship with the vet hospital, for when/if things go wrong. He comes over to trim every 8 weeks in winter (and every 6-7 weeks when hooves are growing faster.) My next appointment is in about a week-and-a-half--at 7.5 weeks; and right now, the hooves on all of ours look "shorter" than is shown in your photos.

Not that it means anything. I'll have to go out and look at frogs tomorrow.

 

[sayyadina]

Lass looks a bit long to me, but not too bad. Crystal is really long. I'm no expert, just an owner who's been trimming my own horses for the past 2 years.

I'd want to get x-rays on Crystal, just to be safe. It looks like there's a lot that can be taken off now, but I'm extremely cautious when it comes to radical trimming. Though I've learned that my instinct is usually right from rehabbing my foundered pony.

Pete Ramey's book "Care and Rehab of the Equine Foot" really helped me a lot. So did his "Under the Horse" DVD series.

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

This is all very interesting. I've been considering doing my own cause the farrier only needs to come out every few months mine don't grow a lot but it's the same price as a big horse so it takes a huge chunk for four soon five.