Re: Sore after trim - it's been a month! - From Jim R

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: : deb, : Can't say I'm going to cut you much slack with the original info you posted or with the updated information. I may sound disgruntled but I hear about your situation all the time and it's usaully the farriers butt that is hung out to dry. Your farrier isn't purposefully trying to lame your horse. I don't know of a farrier that would lame a horse on purpose. : I've had similar situations happen to me and the client usually over looks whose decision it was to begin with to pull and trim feet. I have been fired for trimming feet at the clients request and my disaproval only to be "canned" and called a bad farrier to everyone they run into that will listen. I have also been "canned" because I wanted to leave a little foot (for the horses comfort and well being) and the client agreed at the time only to be two faced, fire me and get another farrier, bad mouthing me in the process. I know how this game works so if I sound angry and bitter you'll have a little background on what farriers go through and maybe how to handle the situation better the next time and take some responsibility for your decisions in the future. : There is more. I have responded to a few of your comments below. : : : More background on this situation: this horse had GREAT hooves until this summer. I rode him in a barefoot trim and he could handle anything (15+ mile trail rides). But, when it rained every day and his feet got soft (he lost his calloused soles that I worked so hard to develop), I had shoes put back on. But, they kept coming off the front. His poor hooves were a mess from all the times he had to have the shoes nailed back on - so I opted to not do that anymore for awhile. I knew that we were back to square one with trying to build up the toughness again. When I first started riding him barefoot, it was a slow process, but he NEVER acted this ouchy. So that is why I am concerned about how sensitive he still is after a month. : : As for riding him - I mounted up when the farrier left and got off within 10 feet when he started limping. : >> Not a good idea to ride right after a trim, especially with soft short feet the horse could have easliy been injured in ten feet with the additional weight on their back. : He was NOT limping when I brought him up from the pasture, but he sure did afterwards. : >> If I recall you said your horse had shoes on to begin with, right? : : The limping got MUCH worse as time passed without me riding him at all. Don't think you can blame me for this one (my goodness, you sound like an angry and bitter guy!) : ;> You still rode the horse after the trim and it had only been "2 1/2 weeks" since your farrier shod the horse Who called who? Was it your decision pull the shoes ? Did you request that the farrier trim the horse? The farrier had little foot left to trim ("2 1/2 weeks" after shoeing) and in my opinion not enough foot to be safe for ridding barefoot. :> Why did you "can" him after five days? Sounds like this was brewing for sometime. Calling back after five days like Rick says could be for a number of reasons why not give the farrier the benefit of the doubt? I'm sorry, there is more to this story than is being written. : : As for the Vet, he was quite reluctant to criticize my farrier. But, I wanted answers and he told me the horse was trimmed too short, was way out of balance and he said he doesn't like to see the frog cut back that much. : >> Did you tell him the horse was shod just "2 1/2 weeks" before the shoes were pulled? I thought you said the Vet said the radiographs were fine (what did he mean by that?) Just because the Farrier's philosophy of a balanced foot doesn't match the Vet's isn't grounds for firing the guy. What specifically did the Vet say was out of balance? The Vet should have talked to your Farrier before you as a professional courtesy. : : While I thank you for taking the time to respond to my question, you didn't really address the issue. : >> The horse was short to begin with only having shoes on for "2 1/2 weeks" sure the horse is going to be tender they need time to adjust and lay down some "new cells", figuratively speaking. If your Vet said the radiographs were fine then give your horse some time to adjust grow some foot and maybe buy some easy boots. Your horse could have bruised sensitive structures in the foot this will take time to heal. : I'm on the farriers side on this one and really, the Vet should have taken into consideration the horse was shod "2 1/2 weeks" prior. The Vet should have consulted the farrier first before ripping into the farriers work, period. You and the Vet should have least gave the farrier chance expiate himself. It's not very professional and it causes discord with the Vet/Farrier community. : : What I wanted to know was whether a bad trim could cause a horse to still be uncomfortable. : >> With short soft feet, you bet. : I don't pretend to know much about what a farrier does : - I tend to trust their expertise. I might add here that I immediately placed a call to my now ex-farrier and left a message telling him my horse was very lame and I needed to talk to him. He didn't call me back until 5 days later while I was out. : >>Does your old farrier know your daily schedule and when you will be near a phone to answer it? What was his side of the story? : : By then I didn't see any point in talking to him..... : : deb : The Angry Bitter Guy or ABG for short, I kinda like that ;) : Jim R. : : : : My horse kept losing his shoes this summer (daily rain kept his hooves wet), so a month ago I had my farrier come out (just 2 1/2 weeks after a hot shoeing) to pull the ones still attached and leave him barefoot. The horse was not limping until the farrier drove away and I tried to ride. There was just a hint of lameness (I got right off - no riding). The next day he was worse. Two days later he was so bad that I took him to the vet and he did xrays (looked good) and tested his movement. His conclusion: find a new farrier. He recommended no riding and Bute for a week. Now it has been a month and the horse still hurts when we ride anywhere but grass or sandy arena. I am trying to find a new farrier, but the good ones are not taking new clients! : : : : Could my horse still be suffering from a bad trim? Or could there be something else going on? : : : : Thanks for any help, deb : : : deb, : : : After reading you're second sentence I would say YOU did more harm by ridding your horse right after the farrier pulled the shoes than the farrier ever coulod have. I would say find a new VET, dosen't sound very knowledgable about horse feet. If you told me this story over the phone I would immediately decline you without hesitation. Now I'll tell you why. The environmental conditions you described will make the horses feet soft because the water is breaking the hoof wall down. Daily rain and water breaks protein down( hoof walls are essentially protein) , this is basic biology which ever you choose(your Vet should have had this in high school). Now that the feet are falling apart and loosing their integrity they are not going to hold the shoe on very well (hoof walls). Since the hoof walls are falling apart would'nt it make sense the soles will be soft as well. Once you remove the only thing that is solid off the foot (shoe), would'nt that be like you taking your shoes off and walking down a dirt road, hurts dosen't it. Now if you did it gradually your feet will adjust and there will be no problem. On the other hand if you go for a mile walk or run I would think your feet would be sore and maybe for some time afterward. : : : If I were you I would beg your old shoer to come back and I would tip him twenty dollars every time they came out. Don't you or your Vet blame the shoer for a problem YOU caused. : : : Jim R.