Well, if he kicked her in the gut, and you aren't going to get him to come back, you are going to have to make doubly certain that you tell the next farrier exactly what happened. Because now, your horse is more than likely going to be a little "farrier shy" next time, and if you don't let him/her know what happened and something "negative" occurs....well, I would just walk away..... reluctantly, but I would. It would not be fair to the next farrier not to tell them.

Most horses with a sore stifle precludes the farrier from working in the most advantageous posture for both the horse and farrier, that, being able to draw that hind leg back far enough to allow for a nice clear access to do their job quickly and efficiently. So, if the farrier is aware (as yours was), then he would/should realize that, #1. You have to work in close and under the horse more. This is really aggravating and difficult and very very hard on the back.

As well, it predisposes the horse to lean, which means that you have to keep putting the foot down very frequently increasing the work time considerably. #2. Even if the horse doesn't lean, you still can't hold the foot up too long (usually)because of the soreness to the horse. #3. The most helpful item is a "hoof stand" with a web sling, which allows the horse to lean, at least enough to lessen the "work time" on the poor thing. And best of all of course is having a stanchion, which are more commonly used for draft horses, but at least then your horse will be able to lean all he wants and the farrier can work very quickly and efficiently with the least discomfort to you horse, not to mention the farrier.
It might be worth your while to find a farrier who does do a lot of draft horses whom may have a stanchion...I don't know of too many others that use a stanchion otherwise.

That didn't answer your question though...but I think its obvious...there is a saying among us farriers...."If your ass isn't higher than your head, then you just aren't making any money." The point, in part, being, that it is very hard backbreaking work and some days, when a difficult horse comes along, well, it is very aggravating. Mostly because most of the time its the owners fault and not the farrier. However, in this case, it is due to the horse having an ailment, and so, if he did know, as you say, well, he should have just walked away and made an appointment for another visit, when he wasn't so "stressed out"? Too late now though....so, anyway, there you go...his best/proper course of action was as I mentioned in my prefacing comments or the only other options were to tranquilize the horse or twitch him....considering the mood that he apparently was in. You know what though...? if he booted your horse, then in all likelihood you are better off without him....you would be surprised what some farriers do when the owners aren't around.... : (

I really doubt that this is the first time that he has reacted this way to a difficult horse.

Good luck

Paul

That's the thing...He knew full well about her issue. The first few visits were fine, but the more visits we had with him, the worse her behavior got. He did make me give her Bute to "desensitize her", I guess in an attempt to make her muscles stop being sore.

And Merci is a really well-behaved horse, and she always is wonderful for the front legs. I've always told my farriers that she's a bit tricky in the back.

Now I'm considering taking up the rasp & file myself, 'cause I'm not sure I can trust anyone else to come.

I can relate all too well. I had a farrier start beating mine with his lead rope. If you are going to think about taking up the rasp yourself, make sure that you watch the Join up with your farrier videos on the Uni, and get a hoof guage. Another thing, you may want to find someone reliable and trustworthy (and nonviolent) to help you to hold your horse when you go to work on her hind hoofs.
Best of luck

Nadine, all good advice however I do feel it is vital that you yourself spend much more time desensitising your horses back legs to being handled (particularly after this idiots treatment of her) and really understanding her movements and what hurts and what doesn't. I would pay particular attention to how long she can hold her leg up without getting in discomfort, and at what angles she can tolerate movement etc. You can then note this down ready for the next farrier with clear insturctions about how s/he is to deal with Merci. I.e. she can only hold her foot up for 2 minutes, only hold her leg out to (here) etc. Also, as Paul suggests, teach her to use a hoof stand or some other support mechanism - this will ease the strain on the farrier (who I have great sympathy for in terms of their backs). As Monty says, it is up to us to thoroughly prepare our horses for the farrier.

Sorry to hear this Nadine and thanks to Paul for all your words of wisdom from the farrier's point of view. Nadine was the farrier shoeing Merci or just trimming her? If he was shoeing her then perhaps you may consider just having shoes on the front hooves where the horse carries the larger percentage of its weight and just trimming the back. As my farrier is older and can get impatient if the horse is not perfect then I only have him shoe Tricka's front hooves and trim the back ones myself before he comes so he can check my trimming and make any corrections necessary. This way he doesn't have to spend much time on the back hooves and Tricka can get used to him handling her. Given Merci stifle problems then this could be an option you may consider. My farrier has been great in training me to trim so you will need to find a farrier who is willing to do this for you. I have been trimming mine for a number of years now but I still get my farrier to check the trims I and I have him trim them every so often too.. This may horrify Paul as I am very aware that unprofessional trimming can cause horse severe problems but if your horse is going to be difficult for your farrier then your options are limited. In my experience there are very few farriers who are prepared to tolerate a horse that misbehaves even to a minor extent and tempers easily flair as it is a hard, strenuous work.

Sorry to hear this Nadine and thanks to Paul for all your words of wisdom from the farrier's point of view. Nadine was the farrier shoeing Merci or just trimming her? If he was shoeing her then perhaps you may consider just having shoes on the front hooves where the horse carries the larger percentage of its weight and just trimming the back. As my farrier is older and can get impatient if the horse is not perfect then I only have him shoe Tricka's front hooves and trim the back ones myself before he comes so he can check my trimming and make any corrections necessary. This way he doesn't have to spend much time on the back hooves and Tricka can get used to him handling her. Given Merci stifle problems then this could be an option you may consider. My farrier has been great in training me to trim so you will need to find a farrier who is willing to do this for you. I have been trimming mine for a number of years now but I still get my farrier to check the trims I and I have him trim them every so often too.. This may horrify Paul as I am very aware that unprofessional trimming can cause horse severe problems but if your horse is going to be difficult for your farrier then your options are limited. In my experience there are very few farriers who are prepared to tolerate a horse that misbehaves even to a minor extent and tempers easily flair as it is a hard, strenuous work.

Apologies for posting twice - hopefully our monitors will delete one for me!

Hey Maggie;

LOL, no, I'm not horrified at all....but, I highly recommend to people that want to trim their own, that (as you importantly said) get a good farrier to teach you proplerly.
What really scares me is a set of hoof nippers in untrained hands, as it is very easy to screw up very seriously.
So, when people want to trim their own horses, have the farrier set the horse up properly and show you the measurements, i.e., wall lengths and angles and any peculiarities that you need to pay attention to for that particular horse. Then have he/she show you how to use a sole knife and rasp properly. Then, all that you have to do is just pay attention to your horses feet and simply maintain the "set up" done by the farrier by just using a sole knife and rasp, no "nipping" required.
Be VERY CAREFUL with the sole knife, have the farrier show you how to identify exactly how far down you can pare....it varies an awful lot....some horses will appear to have a really thick hard sole and you cut in 1/8 of an inch and see blood, or your starting into living tissue quicker than you realize....ok, thats it for me...good luck.

Paul

I'm a natural hoof care clinician and started by trimming my horse after reeding Pete Ramey's book
“making natural hoof care work for you” it's easier now hes got a dvd clinic “under the horse” find it on hes website http://www.hoofrehab.com/underthehorse.htm
it's helped me and the horses under my care.
most of the time you leave the sole alone and only scrap away the dead chalky or flaky sole never cut into live sole
hope this helps

Thanks Paul - that is about where I am at - I don't like using the nippers in case I take too much or too little off at any point and my nippers are not good ones - just a nice sharp rasp and hoof knife. I follow the good trim and measurments that my farrier has done previously and after a couple of my trims I get my farrier back again for a trim - that way he can check what I have done and do any corrections necessary before my horses suffer! My farrier is a professional, keeps up to date and is well trained and very experienced. I have had him do my horses for 15 years now so we are good mates and he has taught me heaps. Only trouble is we are both getting a bit old!

Thanks Leif too - I will check out the website. I generally leave any sole work to my farrier just trim the frogs and the loose old sole that develops over summer and is easy to peel off.