So I have been working very hard on her hooves, both fronts, to keep them happy so they will grow out complete vertical cracks without having them move up. Farrier is on a 5 week schedule and was just out again and said due to the wet she is spreading and separating in the front at the sole due to the wet/dry and her feet are about 2 sizes to big (I see the pancaking, but don’t see the 2 sizes to big or separating of the sole as it looks the same as it always does to me but who am I with no training). Said to apply turpentine which I got and am applying to the bottom (not frog or heel, just sole) and said to continue to use my moisturizer on the cornet band down as I have been doing which I did not do as she was coated in wet mud and it is STILL raining. What is concerning to me is that he said when she was half way grown out, a bit more, he was going to get super aggressive and cut off her foot to get rid of those cracks. Said she would probably be tippy toey for a while and unhappy, but it would get here feet back down to the right size and ridable (I have ridden her lightly without any issues at all). This farrier is one of the best, but this concerns me. She is a tb and I am working very hard to give her good feet with constant care and great nutrition and the difference is showing in what is growing out new. Is this to be expected in regards to what he is wanting to do or should I say no and let her keep coming along as she is? I don’t want to create additional issues or increase the possibility of abscesses as she is barefoot and I plan to keep her that way.
Hard to answer without photos. can you post any on Photobucket or something and give us a link to them?
I doubt he will ‘cut off her foot’. But especially if he suspects a fungal infection, he may need to do a resection to remove unsound hoof wall around the cracks. If it will be a major chunk of wall resected then she may need shoes in front for a bit to support and protect the foot while the wall horn grows back down.
If she is going to be unhappy about it, how is she going to be rideable?
No fungal or anything like that. Just bigger, flared, and those cracks that are coming down. And she wouldn’t be. I believe he means the faster we get those cracks out, the sooner she will be rideable for regular riding and not just the occasional light walk around here and there for a bit type of riding. He is assuming she would be tender for a short while and not a long while. I am not to sure and I keep have abscess flash across my brain over and over again. Something I really want to steer clear of. I don’t have a way to post new ones, but there is another thread where I posted picture of the cracks originally before they started to grow out and before I switched to a better farrier. I will see if I can link that one into this one. Cracks haven’t changed other than growing out. Clean hoof wall above them. The size and shape of her feet is the only thing I can’t show right now but will work on it.
He himself said “cut her hoof off” and we are going no shoes and she is doing great he said time before this one. It was just this one with the wet conditions he wasn’t happy about. 
http://s17.postimg.org/oqcke66nj/20150604_183404.jpg
There are two of these in each front hoof. This is an OLD pic and they have grown out almost halfway down and she has beautiful growth above now just FYI.
I’m sorry but your farrier sounds like an idiot or perhaps just really misinformed/undereducated.
All that really needs to be done for a crack like that is some alleviation of pressure to make it stop. My mare has hoof growing out in 3 pieces due to an old injury so I see your pics and think…just make it workable.
Anyone who tells you that your horse is going to have to hurt for awhile to get the trim right is misinformed and frankly, dangerous IMHO. I have trimmed a lot of slipper footed, in bad shape horses…and I don’t leave them feeling worse than when I started.
If you have a pancake sitch on your hands, what really needs to happen is more frequent trims and rolling up to tighten things up. 5 weeks may be too long. When I am aggressively treating something like this, I want to hit it every 2-3 weeks. BUt a horse shouldn’t have to hurt in the meantime.
Buy a case of crossapol, yes you are going to need that much (and more) since you want to cover the hoof walls and the soles, use as directed. BTDT
[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;8280344]
I’m sorry but your farrier sounds like an idiot or perhaps just really misinformed/undereducated.
All that really needs to be done for a crack like that is some alleviation of pressure to make it stop. My mare has hoof growing out in 3 pieces due to an old injury so I see your pics and think…just make it workable.
Anyone who tells you that your horse is going to have to hurt for awhile to get the trim right is misinformed and frankly, dangerous IMHO. I have trimmed a lot of slipper footed, in bad shape horses…and I don’t leave them feeling worse than when I started.
If you have a pancake sitch on your hands, what really needs to happen is more frequent trims and rolling up to tighten things up. 5 weeks may be too long. When I am aggressively treating something like this, I want to hit it every 2-3 weeks. BUt a horse shouldn’t have to hurt in the meantime.[/QUOTE]
Yes, yes, yes.
I don’t necessarily think your farrier is an idiot, but I agree with buddyroo. Weekly small trims with the toes and wall addressed and a diet that facilitates healthy foot growth will go a long way, especially if the feet have already grown out half way.
Remember it takes +/- a full year to grow out a new hoof capsule. There are reasons to be aggressive and take off old growth, but not at the expense of comfort. If the horse has grown out half way, perhaps 6 more months of patience and very frequent trims will get her the rest of the way, whilst keeping her comfortable.
A tippy toey horse that is sore just sets you up for more problems, with compensatory body soreness, non-weighting of the heels, altering manner of travel… it becomes a minefield of chicken and egg that you should really avoid at all costs if you can.
Living in wet or not, those hooves need a new farrier, if your current one has been trimming for any length of time for you. I can only imagine what soles and frogs must look like.
The horse should be trimmed every four weeks for awhile.
The hooves should be rasped a few millimeters at a time, twice a week, in between formal farrier visits.
Have your farrier (preferably a new one) show you how to do that; I’m sure he/she has an old rasp they could give you, and wear gloves. Hopefully you are physically able because those hooves need constant care.
I disagree with the turpentine. I use Keretex on my foundered horse’s hooves but others prefer Durasol. They are meant to harden the hooves.
I put the Keretex on at night, when my horse is in the stall.
I spray Bannix on any area that looks affected (including the frogs) every morning before he goes outside.
Unless your horse is ankle deep in mud, you could also keep it in a solid, well made set of trail riding boots during his turnout time.
His soles might still get wet but they won’t be standing around in mud. My horse wears EasyCare’s Boa boots but they stopped making them, so looking for EasyCare’s “next best” will have to do, if the Boa’s ever wear out.
Boots can’t stay on the horse more than 12 hours.
Diet does make a huge difference.
To reiterate, I am for finding a new farrier and you learning how to do minor rasping in-between the farrier’s visits, which should be every 4 weeks for a time:)
A few better pictures would help a lot.
Any farrier who says a horse will just have to be " tippy toey for a while and unhappy" in order to progress is not someone I want working on my horses’ feet :no: If he really does need (?) to be aggressive in removing weak hoof wall to progress, and doing so means she would be sore, then she needs shoes of some sort, even if they have to be glued. Trimming feet that short and letting her be that sore is just asking for mechanically-induced laminitis.
The picture shows fairly poor hoof quality, and that’s not just from being wet. I know you said things are better, but a picture really, really would help. To me, the feet say the diet isn’t right.
I also agree with the closer trims and he is new having done her three times. I went through a faze where I couldn’t get a farrier out reliable. Kept saying they were coming and then no showed over and over and over again. he was a very skinny, unhealthy rescue when I got her which showed clear around and now I am taking care of her full time so I know she is getting what she needs and switched to this farrier who does show up. (JB, I am the one who always makes things to difficult trying to get it all in, lol, but I listened and simplified her died more so I hope you approve!) Nutritionally she is getting 10# of TC Senior a day. ProbioBlend by mare magic. Flax, olive oil/coconut mix at a cup daily and free choice grazing/coastal hay 24/7. Hooves are cleaned every single day and I am putting hooflex mixed with my oil mixture on her fronts and was bottoms until he said to switch to the turpentine for the sole so I went and bought it and am applying. So what is coming down is looking beautiful and healthy and she is growing it pretty quickly. I will try to figure out a way to get some pictures as my phone got wet and is out of commission and I don’t own just a plain old camera anymore! :eek:
I really don’t think he needs to nor do I want him to. I see bad things coming of it rather than just being patient and waiting. It isn’t bothering me any as I am in no hurry and actually enjoy the bonding we are getting from the ground and light riding time I occasionally throw in there.
I will talk to him about rasping myself and see if he will let me borrow a rasp. I think that is the right thing to and I like the idea of rolling her to tighten everything back up rather than cut her back. The only thing I don’t like about this farrier is that he is known for making horses sore sometimes and often they have abscesses. My only problem is he is “the last of the Mohican’s” so unless I am going to go figure this all out on my own and DIY it completely (which probably would be a bad thing), we have to work together and I think he will. He is a pretty easy and open minded person to work with so far. 
I just didn’t know if I was not being reasonable and that this is normal or if I had valid points that would be fair to bring up. And thank you for the suggestions I can use to help get her all straightened out.
Where are you located OP? Maybe some COTHers can suggest farriers for you
I would 100% stop with any and all oils on any part of her feet. They need to dry out and harden. The only exception I might think about, given the wet conditions, is Keratex hoof hardener and/or Tuff Stuff, to help seal off some of the constant water logging situation.
He’s KNOWN for making horses sore and abscessing? Uh-uh. I would make it absolutely clear to him that is not something you will agree to.
We can’t tell from that pic if there’s really a lot of foot to take off or not, so it’s hard to comment from that perspective.
I think the farrier’s an idiot. That hoof is cracking because the toe is long and the heels are underrun, giving the hoof no support. A hoof “pancakes” or flares because of an improper trim. Your farrier has made those hooves.
they look moist and soft, in the pic, which is terrible. They should be hard and dry. Keep the horse out of mud and wet, even if you keep her indoors. Get a decent farrier to get rid of the flares and give her some heel. She should be shod and possibly padded to provide heel until her shoeing gives her her own heel. Gah, I hate seeing feet like this and then owners wringing their hands saying ‘what’s wrong.’ Its your farrier, that’s wrong.
Well, to be fair, the OP said this is an older picture, she fired that farrier, and new growth is looking much better, and the cracks are growing out.
But, to that point, we really do need a couple of good, current pictures
http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/good-hoof-photos.html
Remember that this is YOUR horse. You pay him and tell him you do NOT want it done. Don’t let him bully you into it. Tell him you are in no hurry and prefer to let it heal slowly.
I had a problem with one of my horses who started to suddenly flare out and get that " platter foot". I fixed it with a new farrier.
[QUOTE=JB;8280997]
Well, to be fair, the OP said this is an older picture, she fired that farrier, and new growth is looking much better, and the cracks are growing out.
But, to that point, we really do need a couple of good, current pictures
http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/good-hoof-photos.html[/QUOTE]
yes
To be clear, my “idiot” statement is with regards to making things more painful for the horse. If sure your farrier wants to do right by the horse but I am not impressed.
I think that is idiocy. Are there some cases where that might be true? I’m sure there are. But generally speaking, you can take an elf footed horse, cut a ton off, and have them feeling better than when you started. Is it perfect? Nope. But then you come back in two weeks, and two weeks after that and two weeks after that and you make more gradual adjustments to help them feel better–not worse.
I shouldn’t be so flippant and I agree that more recent pics would be helpful. But even with recent pics, the angle that the pic is taken from and such can give an impression that is not reality so pics are not necessary to make the blanket statement that any farrier who is telling you that you have to majorly resect hoof and your horse is going to be sore for WEEKS is not one I’d want working on my horse. Or yours for that matter.
I want to talk about something else. You said you’ve had a hard time getting farriers to show up. I’ve heard that a lot when I get a new client. (and I don’t do outside horses anymore so it’s been a few years) Anyway…I’ve heard that a lot. And typically when I’ve heard that, it’s been because in all honesty, the horse sucks to work with and the well known good farriers don’t want to deal with it OR the location is so in the middle of nowhere with no other clientele nearby that it’s not worth it.
If your horse is well behaved but you’re the only horse in a way out there area, would it be possible for you to haul in to a larger barn for trims? The way I used to keep good farriers in the past when I just had two on my own farm was to line up lots of business for them near my location.
Ultimately, my lack of ability to keep a good farrier coming regularly and on time led me to learn to trim. I got in with a few farriers who were more than happy to teach me and I even got invited to do some competitions. (long story, not relevant).
My point is…when you have a special needs horse, it sometimes makes sense to learn how to do this stuff yourself.
Oh…and don’t ask to borrow a rasp. Go buy one. They aren’t expensive. And you want a good sharp one not a cast away as the latter make you work a lot harder. Wear your gloves. (I never do, but you really should) Get a hoof jack if you’re going to do it long term as that’s a real help. And a pair of farrier chaps is smart.
Good luck OP
Just say no. Take your horse to a university vet school farrier clinic. Then, you can get a plan from a certified farrier. You may also have your horse seen by a lameness surgeon vet to be sure there is nothing medical causing the problems.
