If the horse is consistently sore after a trim then you need a new farrier. They are trimming right down to sensitive capsules and this should be stopped asap.
[QUOTE=ShandyB;8475653]
Farrier has said that my horse wears his hooves fairly unevenly, so in order to rebalance/level thefqm he has to trim them down some. Currently he gets a trim every six weeks. I think shorter intervals could definitely be helpful in that regard.
Also, in defense of the farrier, he also trims my barefoot mare, and I’ve never had any problem with her.[/QUOTE]
Comment about horse wearing hooves unevenly caught my attention. If hooves are trimmed level as described, then get uneven before his next trim, wear could be indicating horse has body issues. Among those could be poor conformation, a bad back might need adjusting, bad knees/hocks sensitive to being pulled sideways and out, then up higher because Farrier can’t get down under horse body for various reasons.
My tight muscled Western horse fought when her legs were pulled out sideways, hinds lifted too high for hoof work. It was PAINFUL in those positions. She needed hind hooves worked on while held very low to the ground. Fronts while held straight under her shoulder. Farrier standing under her short body in positions so she could self-balance, be comfortable while getting hooves done. She DID NOT tolerate the leg twist to the side, common with many Farriers as their working position, hurt too much. She was never lame, would stand well for long times when you did her hooves in positions that let her be comfortable during the work. Her tight-muscled body just did not allow legs to work like a horse with light-muscles on their body. Kind of the difference between dancing with a male Ballet dancer who is so flexible. Then trying to dance with a Sumo Wrestler that is heavily muscled, not very flexible. Both can dance, just that one is going to have a much easier time (built for his job dancing) than the other one during the dance.
So maybe OP might evaluate their horse for body issues or soreness that could add to how hoof wear problems are happening. I have had horse massage people visit, go over the horse to see if they could find any issues I was missing as ideas in why horse was acting differently. No, that horse had no physical issue they found. So I had to find another idea to change what I wanted horse to do. To me, the uneven hoof wear means other things are going on, so I need to watch to identify them for a better overall view of my horse when using him.
[QUOTE=JB;8476811]
Shoes have nothing to do with heels becoming underrun. That’s from incorrect trimming and/or incorrect shoeing. Trimmers do that too - not just farriers 
The trimming for shoes or not is the same as far as balance goes. You’re right about some differences necessary for shoes vs not. The shod foot won’t have the wall rolled, and yes, some of the outer sole edge might have to be trimmed a bit so the shoe doesn’t put pressure on it. But beyond that, no - no carving concavity, no getting into live sole, nothing. It’s done, sure, and the horse is just protected (a bit) because the shoe lifts his sole off the ground that much, but it’s still not right.[/QUOTE]
I agree good trimming should be the same with or without shoes. But the kinds of bad trimming a farrier can get away with when shoes are added can cause problems when the horse is left barefoot.
Definitely shoes on top of a bad trim just compound the problems And IME, if the trim isn’t right, then while the shoes might be applied “pretty”, they aren’t applied correctly, if that makes sense. Exponential issues Shod poor trimming might be ok in the short term, as least as far as the humans can tell, but it does start to cause the horse problems far sooner than that, and he just compensates until he can’t, and that might take years
IME also, too many horses are taken out of shoes before the feet are ready - keep the feet shot until they are in better shape.
Okay, I have some pictures.
From the front:
Left front
Right front
Right hind
Closer in/from the side:
Right hind
Right front
This one is a little hard to see, but the way he’s standing with his back hooves angled outward is not uncommon at all for him:Left hind
And the soles
Left front
Right front
Left hind
Right hind
How long since the last trim?
I’m seeing some contracted (though not badly, just enough) heels, with some deeper central sulci (back of the frog), and several feet, especially the hinds, showing a convex profile, aka “bullnose”. Heels are a bit run forward, and some of the solar views show bars that are overgrown.
If it’s been 4-5-6 weeks since a trim, the forward heels and tall/overgrown bars are explained. BUT, the bullnose profiles and contracted heels point towards regular incorrect trimming, and that tells me a new farrier is needed (as if the OP didn’t tell me that already 
)
Also, if you can get lateral views more like this, that would help
http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/good-hoof-photos.html
The last trim was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so 6 weeks. Could you explain contracted heels for me, please?
7 weeks tomorrow
Ok, so that explains some thing, and it also means we really need pictures from after the next trim. When is that?
Contracted, as in, not spread apart. Like someone has a vice around the back of the heels and is slowly squeezing them together. That’s what ends up making a crack in the central sulcus. That should look like a thumb print in clay, not a crack at all. It makes heels sore.
Lowering a foot on frogs/heels like that can make horses very tender until they grow a bit of wall back. That may be just adding insult to injury if he really is trimming the feet all the way down to the sole level.
I am liking Hearty Hoof, but I don’t think you can put something on a hoof that will help a horse that is sore for days-weeks after a trim.
I think it’s more likely diet/laminitis. The trim doesn’t look great, but I would be surprised to have one that sore, looking like those photos. I’d do a vet visit/lameness exam and x-rays if that were my horse.
I have a mare with thin soles and who needs shoes to be comfortable on hard ground or when in work, and she is never sore after a trim - even when she used to be barefoot. Sensitive is not the same as sore; sore for 3 days after a trim means you should be looking for a new farrier.
Most horses have some unevenness in their wear patterns. It still should not make them sore after every trim…that’s a farrier problem.
Ill concede that id the horse is laminitic that may be different. Does the farrier seem concerned or surprised that the horse is always sore? My farrier would be very surprised and would imagine there must be another issue other than the trum.
Oops, 7 weeks. Next trim is tomorrow.
Ok - make sure to get pictures like in the link I posted, within a day or 2 after the trim. It will be much easier to evaluate things from there.
But I still stand by my comments about the bullnose situation and long-term incorrect trimming.
That’s an awful lot of foot that has grown such that I don’t see how you’d need to over trim anywhere in order to account for uneven wear. I mean, you just trim down the more worn spots less or not at all. I agree with JB on the heels, and do not let the farrier trim the sole!
Yep.
I also want to know what the farrier things is wrong, or problematic about “uneven wear”. I see the off-center wear at the toe.
Seeing everything else, one of the reasons for such increased wear there is also the same reason for the bullnose profile. Being off-center may simply be how this horse travels, and that comes from the leg. Trying to fix that in the feet is going to cause leg issues.
Standing regularly with that hind leg turned out like that is a symptom of what’s going on with the feet. Long toes (part of the bullnose problem) lead to sore hocks and eventually stifles, which often cause horses to twist out like that.
Do you have snow? All the solar shots show VERY clean soles, no extra exfoliating sole at all. That’s fine, it’s actually kinda nice to see most of the time, but it absolutely, positively means the farrier shouldn’t even be thinking about touching these soles. Not even a drive-by.
Alright, I tried to get more lateral views today, although I think I might still be pointing the camera downward too much. I’ll retake them tomorrow after his trim.
Right front
Right hind
Left front
Left hind
No snow yet this winter It has been rainy, though, and he came in with his legs and feet muddy.
What causes the bullnose to develop? Obviously it would take several incorrect trims, and a long toe was mentioned, but could someone explain? I’m feeling very ignorant right now. 
I see what you mean about the contracted heels, it seems especially noticeable on the right hind.
The bullnose is from a combination of things:
- heels underrun and “low” leading to a collapse of the rear of the foot
- toes horizontally OR vertically too long/tal
It’s more than several incorrect trims. Much more.
Some horses are more predisposed to this because of how they stand (maybe body issues, maybe conformation), but all that means is a farrier/trimmer who sees/recognizes it on a regular basis, and takes more care to prevent it, and/or talks to the owner about possible body/comfort issues they need to be addressing.
One litmus test you can use on the hind feet is to stand the horse square, and see where his hind coronary bands point. They should point to his elbows, or more forward/lower. The more behind/towards the belly, the more incorrect the trim is.
So my horse’s trim was moved to Thursday, because the barn manager was not available to help yesterday. I’ll get new pictures Thursday or Friday.
Alright, I have new pictures. The farrier came on Thursday and I asked him and the barn manager what could be done to minimize/eliminate the soreness. Barn manager suggested keratex (again). She also said the hard ground and alternating wet/muddiness with hard ground could be a factor. Both said he’s probably just not suited to being barefoot. The farrier didn’t trim any wall off, he just rasped them some. I haven’t been back to see if he’s sore or not yet.
Left hind
Left front
LF sole
Right hind
RH sole
Right front
RF sole
The fact that she requires tranquilizers for trimming tells me one of two things. Either the Shoer trimmed so close as to quick her,maybe even cause her to bleed or,she has laminitis and it’s extremely painful to stand on the other 3 hooves while being trimmed.
