Barefoot trim disaster?

[Wanderosa]

@candyappy

You don’t have to use a " barefoot trimmer" to get a good trim. Find a good farrier who does both and who comes highly recommended from someone you trust.

100%! OP, I’ve had horses that went barefoot. Guess who trimmes them? The farrier who took care of the shoes for the rest of my crew.

Most of the folks I see advertising themselves as barefoot trimmers don’t shoe because they didn’t go to shoeing school. While shoeing school doesn’t always guarantee a great farrier, at least they received some quantifiable education and passed some sort of test to graduate and often apprenticed. You have neither with a trimmer who doesn’t have a formal education.

eta: You really need to be present for any foot work on this poor horse. Not your husband. Not other boarders. You. Beacause she is not receiving adequate care in this area without you.

[findeight]

Good point, most even halfway decent farriers can do either shoes or barefoot and, after all, the heart of a good shoe job is a correct trim. Not to mention do either better then what’s in this picture and without insisting on trimming at 3 weeks because of their schedule.

Next time just say no to that one. If a horse is on a 5 week cycle, much better to go 6 weeks then 3. Ouch.

[S1969]

@MellisaNM

Normally 4 weeks between trims, she does four other horses in the barn. This one was on the 3rd week due to her scheduling.

4 weeks is a very short schedule for most horses, and 3 weeks is ridiculous unless there is something specific going on (e.g. maybe like a pony that hadn’t been trimmed in 10 years and needing therapeutic trimming.)

There shouldn’t be anything to trim at 3 weeks. Could you smooth the edges? Well, sure. But why? It’s not necessary and most people won’t pay for that. And most farriers/trimmers won’t come out for that, either. It’s a waste of their time and/or they will hurt the horse if they actually “trim” it.

And yes, agree about no need for a “barefoot trimmer.” Most farriers have lots of clients that they don’t shoe. They CAN shoe if a horse needs it, but they don’t if it doesn’t.

[js]

Where is your general location if you don’t mind me asking? I noticed your name has the initials of a state, which made me wonder if we know/using the same trimmer. I’m not overly impressed with mine, while she hasn’t done what I’m seeing on your horse as far as soreness, seeing other things that make me question her ability.

Feel free to PM me if you don’t want to post it.

[MellisaNM]

Very good points, I agree. I will ensure to be present at all my future appointments.

[skydy]

It would be a public service to identify the “trimmer” who did that to your horse’s hooves. You paid for expertise that you certainly did not receive. There is no reason that people shouldn’t be allowed to know who this person is so they can decide for themselves if they would hire them.

ETA You may want to have your horse’s “before” pictures ready to show the vet. They could be helpful.
I’m sorry this happened to you and your horse. There is no excuse for anyone to trim a horse so badly.

Please let us know what the vet recommends. I’m wishing you and your horse all the best.

[Bluey]

Here, a farrier is a farrier and will be prepared to do whatever a horse needs.
Ours have always put shoes on competition horses and the ranch horses and broodmares and youngsters have been barefoot, same farrier.
There are good and less acceptable farriers.

I am sure there are somewhere some barefoot trimmers that really are good.
The few that tried to sell themselves in our area over the years just as barefoot trimmers were not up to the job a regular farrier does trimming and moved on.

If that picture reflects what is there, that trimmer needs to apprentice with a real farrier, not be out on it’s own.

When a horse is there, it is time to call a vet and see what x-rays tell you is there and have the vet recommend to whoever tends to her feet where to go from here.

[jetsmom]

If you don’t have boots, i would at least get some styofoam, or even plain rubber floormats for a car, and put hoof on it, and draw outline of hoof. Then cut out. Place on bottom of hoof and duct tape to foot.
just to give her some relief now. And i would probably give a dose of bute for the next couple of days.

[skydy]

@jetsmom

If you don’t have boots, i would at least get some styofoam, or even plain rubber floormats for a car, and put hoof on it, and draw outline of hoof. Then cut out. Place on bottom of hoof and duct tape to foot.
just to give her some relief now. And i would probably give a dose of bute for the next couple of days.

Some sort of pain relief is necessary if your horse is limping.:yes:

[Postandrails]

I agree with Jetsmom - get some padding underneath the hoof (even cotton wool if you have nothing else), wrap it with vetwrap bandages and then duct tape.

That right front is trimmed very short! It does look like the right front is very clubby in the recent pic, but less so in the shod pic. How old is the shod pic?

If the hoof has become more contracted and boxy since the shod pic your horse may need to be kept on a short trim cycle to keep the heels trimmed frequently to make some progress with correcting this. You will need to be careful about who you use from this point forward though.

I’d love to see a pic of the sole of the right front to see what the trimmer has done. The heel looks to be trimmed about the right height but there is no sole depth under the toe. This means they have either taken out a lot of sole (very strange), or the hoof has been upright and clubby for quite a while. .

[hut-ho78]

My old horse was cut too short years ago with shoes. There was not enough hoof for the nails so he quicked her. I could push her sole with my finger and it would give. My vet came out. We pulled her shoes and put her in diapers and duct tape. She abscessed on 3/4. X-ray’s showed no rotation but sinking was suspected. The laminae died along the sole because it was too new and white line started. I cut the white line bits out and got her unbalanced. The first new shoer cut her short as well but not nearly as bad. I finally got a good shoer-awesome man and he got her balanced. She ended up on eggbutt wedge aluminum shoes in front. Then a few years later she caught one on a stall support and popped a chip and had hairline fractures of her sesamoids plus a lower suspensory. Before all this she just had normal shoes in the front and was barefoot in the back. Got boots and pads until your horse is comfortable. Get the vet. Good luck.

[Postandrails]

I should have also said that with a toe angle as steep as that right front, it is crucial that you don’t let the heel get tall - hence the need for frequent trimming. If you let the heel get tall you will likely end up with pretty severe coffin bone rotation. I’d probably get xrays because you may already have some rotation in that hoof. This is going to be a difficult hoof to work with because the toe angle is so steep (and this is not just because of this latest trim).

I am wondering now what the hoof looked like before you started with this trimmer.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Postandrails

I am wondering now what the hoof looked like before you started with this trimmer.

The “before” pic when the horse still had shoes on is in post #6.

[Postandrails]

Thanks. I did see that photo, but I was wondering if that shod photo is just from March, or from earlier than that. For some reason when I read the first posts I thought that the OP had bought the horse from work - meaning she had known the horse for a while. On re-reading, she didn’t actually say that!

That looks like a dramatic change in toe angle in just 4 months, unless either of the photos doesn’t reflect the real angle.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Since the OP bought the horse in March, I assumed that photo with the shoes was from the horses arrival or taken the day the farrier pulled the shoes back in March. But I could be wrong about that. If I have this right, Farrier #1 pulled the shoes in March, leaving the horse barefoot. Then Farrier #2 did the last three trims resulting in the most recent photo in post #2.

And I believe that in three months/trims a bad farrier can do a lot of damage to a hoof. I’ve seen them mess it up pretty badly in just one. Ask me how I know. :sadsmile:

[skydy]

@Postandrails

I should have also said that with a toe angle as steep as that right front, it is crucial that you don’t let the heel get tall - hence the need for frequent trimming. If you let the heel get tall you will likely end up with pretty severe coffin bone rotation. I’d probably get xrays because you may already have some rotation in that hoof. This is going to be a difficult hoof to work with because the toe angle is so steep (and this is not just because of this latest trim).

I am wondering now what the hoof looked like before you started with this trimmer.

It looked like someone who knew what they were doing was shoeing the horse.:yes:
A hell of a lot better then when the “barefoot trimmer” had a hack at it.

[Postandrails]

Except, strangely, the left front looks a better shape now than the shod pic.

Mellisa, is there a deep depression in the area just above the coronet band at the toe, or is it just some kind of strange shading in the photo?

[skydy]

@Postandrails

Except, strangely, the left front looks a better shape now than the shod pic.

Mellisa, is there a deep depression in the area just above the coronet band at the toe, or is it just some kind of strange shading in the photo?

I beg to differ. Nothing about this horses hooves looks better than when it was shod. Apparently the horse was sound until the “trimmer” made it very lame, so you may, for some reason, like the shape of one of this lame horse’s hooves better than you liked it when it was not lame. Somehow that does not give me confidence in your expertise
.
How can “a deep depression be in an area just above the coronet (sic) band at the toe”? What is a "coronet band" and where is it located?

The coronary band and the toe are as far apart in the anatomy of the hoof as they can be. Anything directly above the coronary band is usually called the pastern.

[Postandrails]

I’m not in any way suggesting this trimmer did a good job - far from it. That’s why I said it was strange that the left front looked to be a better shape now (I still think it is as it was pretty flared in the shod pic and has improved in shape since then but the right front has really deteriorated). I agree that shape doesn’t equal soundness. If the left hoof is now sore too then I agree it too is worse off under this trimmer. Regardless, anyone who trims a hoof as short as this has no business trimming. The OP also said the horse was fine when it first came out of shoes.

Yes it’s a crap job - this horse is now in trouble.

Coronet and coronary band are often used interchangeably in Australia. I meant above the coronet/coronary band at the front and very very low on the pastern.

Not sure why I seem to have offended you.

[stb]

I use a barefoot trimmer, trim every 3 to 4 weeks, and my horses have excellent feet. The problem isn’t barefoot trimming style or the trimming interval - it is the trimmer. In my area, I have been unable to find a traditional farrier that does a good job of trimming bare hooves. Most tend to leave toes too long and let heels get underrun.

There is a Facebook group called Hoof Rehab Help. It’s a great resource for information, and they could also help you find a GOOD barefoot trimmer. It’s a closed group, so you will have to join to read or post.