I own 4 horses at a local stable. I have a 25year old QH, a 17yr old Arabian, a 3 year old Paso Fino and a 8 year old Arabian. The only horse with shoes is my QH. I live in SC. It is very difficult to get the farrier out to our barn. He is VERY busy. So the time in between visits can reach 6-8 weeks. I try to keep a good eye on the feet and let our stable owner know when I need the farrier called out. I requested he be called 2 weeks ago. When he finally came, my QH had been kicked by another horse badly on a back leg and wouldn't put weight on it in order for him to change her shoes. So he told us he was coming back. Haven't seen him since. I went to ride her tonight and was looking at her feet and noticed the hooves are splitting and cracked, I can see the nails popping thru and one shoe had a loose nail on the bottom that was hanging.
This made me very upset. I requested firmly that the stable owner call the farrier right then and tell him he needed to get out there either tomorrow or Monday. I am upset with myself for not being more observant of her feet, I am upset with the stable owner who is making light of this, and I am upset with the farrier. What should I do? I mean, do I make a standing appointment with the farrier myself separate from the barn to handle my 4 horses?
I find myself in the position of being a "new" horse owner because our stable owner has been doing this for over 45 years...so the response to me when I feel like something isn't right is that they will tell me when I should worry, and until then to just relax and let them take care of it. So now my QH , who had really great hooves up until now is not looking so great. I'm a little lost and need some guidance. I've never personally dealt with a farrier before...what should I be looking for or watching out for?
Thank you for the help!!!
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Horse Care and Comfort
Horseowner rights regarding Farrier and Stable
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Does this bring back painful memories... Mine started with trying to correct laminits but that is a different topic. I have no experience with a stable environment, but I did have problems with the owner of the horse that I care for. Said owner did not want to spend any money on a farrier, even as this horse came to the point of being barely able to walk. That said, I am going to say that your horse's health should be your number one priority, regardless of what this so called experienced stable owner says. You know your horse, not them. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS follow your instict. If your instinct says be worried, then be worried and to hell with what this stable owner says. I suggest calling the same farrier as before, you should be able to look him or her up without too much difficulty, and then tell the owner that you called and made an appointment. Make absolutely certain that you are present when the farrier is. It is a scary reality, I had one beat my horse in front of me, I refuse to think about what would go on if I were not present. I also suggest watching the JOIN UP WTTH THE FARRIER series here, it may give you ideas, even though it is centered around a barefoot trim. Another very very crucial point is to stick to your beliefs. If this farrier does or says something you do not like, then make certain they know it. Try to remain calm, but remember that they are human and do not know everything. Just because you are new at dealing with farriers (we all were at one point in time) does not mean that they cannot learn something new from you and your horse. Now if you are having problems with getting this farrier out there, I strongly suggest finding a different one, even if it is not the same one that the rest of the barn uses. My last advice, if the barn has serious issues about this (I would expect some static, but if it seems excessive or they oppose you) then I would suggest trying to find another stable, as that would make it seem as if the barn does not care about your horses or you. I have a friend that is a farrier and I will see if he has any better advice than I.
Good luck, and remember to stand by your instincts.
Stables usually get farriers out on a set schedule, and sometimes the farrier gets booked up. I would suggest calling the farrier yourself and asking him if he can recommend a farrier (often an apprentice ) who may be able to come out with less notice. It may cost a bit more because you have to cover their mileage but then you will have someone you can get out when the regular farrier is unavailable.
meant to say *recent apprentice
Hey Penelepe;
You do have a situation here don't you?...well, the only sensible thing for you to do is book your horses separately for you and you alone with the farrier. As with most things in life, if you want them done right, either do them yourself or YOU get someone yourself that you can trust and knows what they are doing. EVERYONE that owns a horse should make damn sure that they can remove any horses shoes. Just for situations like this.
If no one will help you...???...go out and buy a rasp, shoe remover/spreader, clinch cutters, a shoeing hammer and a larger bastard file will do nicely. Or you can use the fine side of the rasp.
Its impossible to recommend anything without seeing the hooves, but, pick up his feet, give the nails a couple of good taps to expose the clinches a bit more, cut them off, then file them smooth then pull off the shoe.
This will will help to stop any more damage, hopefuly at least from the loose shoe.
The problem is that when a shoe starts to get loose or its set beyond the wall a bit, the horse steps on it, panics, then pulls the shoe off. the clinches then rip down the wall of the hoof and now, you have to dick around and set the new shoes with "offset" nail holes in order to get into that undamaged wall.
If you get an apprentice, just make sure he/she knows what the hell they are doing, especially if you have a rips up wall. the farrier might, (I would) epoxy the cut out groove when the nail ripped out and down the wall?
I have been shoeing for 33 years now and it never ever ceases to amaze me, the apathy and disregard the almost every single horse owner/trainer that I have come across has for hoof care....unbelievable!!!!
Well, I can't say much of anything else without photos, so good luck, and as I say, call the farrier and book your own private appointments.
Call the nearest farrier schools as they have a list of their graduates and will be happy to recommend the one nearest you.
Best of luck.
Paul
I am not sure what you mean when you say, "Horse owner rights". But, you personally have the right to have any farrier of your choice come to the stable of your choice and do your horses feet. The stable owner cannot prohibit him/her from doing so. Unless of course "the" farrier has been legally restricted from so doing for whatever reason.
You might want to think about having a "good farrier" teach you how to do a correct barefoot trim, for those days, when you cannot get someone or if you have to "clean up" some unexpected damage that might occur?
Thanks for emailing me John.... : )
Cheers,
Paul
Penelepe if you do nothing else please take heed of what Paul has to say. Since I have made contact with him on the forum he has given me links to information that has been invaluable regarding the workings of the horses feet. He is a knowledgeable man and he is right - as owners it is up to us to take responsibility for the care of our animals. Many years ago when I first started working with horses as a kid the old guy who was my teacher and mentor always said - no foot no horse - how true. I'm guessing it was Soul that contacted you Paul and good on you for doing that Soul. Cheers Jan
No problem, Paul. And I seemed to have overlooked something rather important. I had a farrier walk out on me with one foot trimmed and 3 untouched, which is a major problem for your horse. I would VERY strongly recommend that you learn how to trim your horses as barefoot, just in case everything in the world goes wrong. At least then you can do some, as I call it, damage control, and head off a potential disaster. I had to learn that one the hard way, as I then spent a few hours trying to make my horse's feet match. Even if your horse is shod, like I said, if everything and then some goes wrong, at least you can do some damage control until someone can shoe her. And never be afraid of a second or third or fourth opinion on horses, especially where hoofs and lameness are concerned. Good luck.
Amen to the above! They are YOUR horses, you have every right to decide who does what to them and how. Remember, you are paying a fee to this yard to manage the care and wellbeing of your horse. They are failing in their duty of care; it is you who decides whether the service they are providing meets the contractural obligation they have undertaken. It is not for them to decide when and if you should worry. There is far too much of this going on: yard owners assuming some pompous right to tell clients how their horses should be managed; yes, by all means give a professional opinion but just because someones being doing something for 45 years does not automatically mean they are doing it right! Ok, end of rant Vicci, shut up. ;-)
Thank you so much to you all who have given me such great advice and all along the same lines...I did have a straight talk with the stable owner to let them know that I would be calling the farrier myself to set up a regular schedule for my horses. They advised me to be polite (as if I wouldn't) because this is the BEST farrier in our area, very very hard to get and is not starving...meaning if I ticked him off, it wouldn't be any big deal for him to not ever come to our barn again. I don't want to cause trouble but I am going to take a more active role in what is going on with my horses feet. Also, since my husband and I plan on opening our own boarding stable in the future, he is going to Farrier school this fall. Then, I won't have to rely on anyone else, and if things do go south, he'll be able to care for our horses. I really appreciate the words of encouragement!
Sounds like you are on the right track no Penelepy - always put your horses needs first and good luck with opening your own stables - I am sure you will run them in a much better manner because of your experiences. Cheers Jan