Hi I'm caring for two ponies, free lease, so I don't own them. The owner organised the barefoot trimmer to do their hooves. Looking at one of the pony's hooves today I can see at the heel it's flat on one side and on the other side there's quite a 'ridge' he's standing on.
I watched the lesson 'Join up with the farrier' again, to remind myself how the heel should be trimmed and this pony's hooves haven't been done to that standard. I'm wondering what might be the best way to handle this, let the owner know I'm not satisfied it's the best job, even though this person has been recommended to her and has been doing her ponies for a long time? Maybe I should find another trimmer/farrier and get a second opinion? Would appreciate some advice. :)
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Horse Care and Comfort
caring for someone else's pony but not happy with their farrier's barefoot trim
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Hi,
Who paid for the trim? If it was you, then I would just find another farrier. If it is a "lease" situation whether free or not, I would expect to have the right to choose my own farrier. I leased a Thoroughbred stallion once and everything was my responsibility. Transport, feed, feet, rugs etc. If you are going to use the ponies, you need them to be done right. They can't travel safely both for themselves or for their riders on feet that are out of whack. Otherwise, who is going to pay for veterinary bills if the ponies come up lame?
Usually under lease agreements, the owner surrenders the ponies to the lessee to do what they feel best. The owner should thank her lucky stars that she has given the ponies to a caring person.
Trust your own judgement. Whether this person is a friend or not, do what you think is best for the ponies. What is the worst thing that could happen? If she does not like it, she will tell you and take them back.
I agree with Rose KD, if you have total and absolute responsibiltiy for their welfare and there are no conditions attached to the lease agreement (did you get a written agreement?) then you are free to do whatever you think is in the ponies best interests and caring for their feet in the best way possible most certainly meets that criteria :-) Let us know how you get on.
Hi Rose and vicci,
Thank you for your helpful feedback. I ended up raising the issue with the owner because also she was visiting and handfeeding the ponies treats which was causing them to become nippy around me and my family. The owner had learned the Parelli methods but had no real understanding of Monty's training. She was using the end of her lead to hit the ponies as well. We ended up not seeing eye to eye and she's moved the ponies on now. It didn't end too badly, she did thank me for taking good care of them and acknowledged she would like to look into Monty's training. The hardest lesson I learned from the experience was that I get quite emotionally attached to horses and ponies and it wasn't easy to say goodbye to the two ponies. I don't think the leasing option is for me, because of getting too attached, so next time I'll wait and save up to buy my own pony to give children rides on. lol I do still have two standardbred mares of my own to keep working with so now I get to focus all my time on them. :) Thanks again for your support. It's so nice to come on here and speak with people who understand all this kind of thing. :)
Hi Kathryn, Aww what a shame, unfortunaately she has no understanding of Parelli methods either! The end of the rope is not for hitting and hand feeding is discouraged unless done properly so clearly not really ready for the horsemaship revolution. However, you have planted a seed Kathryn and gave the ponies a good life while you had them. Take care, I hope you get some new ones soon :-)