Oh, and I would definitely get body work done through all this. his hind end has compensated a good while due to that prolonged flat P3 situation, and just fixing the feet won’t be enough. You’ll want to work on the body at the same time.
He didn’t seem super concerned with the lateral imbalances, but did point it out especially on the LH. I didn’t get the impression that he felt the feet were overly neglected but he was very positive when I said I was considering a new farrier, like mentioned up thread kind of beating around the bush to avoid stepping on toes IMO.
The fronts definitely, the hinds maybe weren’t perfectly vertical as mare was not being cooperative standing on blocks. And yup, my plan is get new farrier out, and then the body worker, and then will probably try to add some support to her joints with Adequan. I thought about having the body worker out sooner, but seemed like it might be a moot point until the angles are addressed. I eased up on her work and am just keeping it to very light hacks to keep her brain in the game.
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I think you owe it to your current farrier to at least own up to why you won’t be using them in the future.
As an equine professional, I would always like to know why a client is choosing not to use me even if it’s not something I really want to hear in the moment.
Even a very simply “thank you for your service over the past 4 years, recently my vet has noticed some changes with my horses feet that he is concerned about (insert concerns if you would like) and I am going to be going to be going a different directions with my horses shoeing in the future. Best of luck.”
He may not respond, he may respond rudely or he may say “hey, what is your vet seeing and what changes does he think need to be made?” Even if you aren’t using him anymore, it may better educate him for his future work.
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Updated before/after album (the before are the same pictures in the first album are from 2 weeks in to the cycle)
I think it looks like we’re on the right track? My mare loved him (was very witchy to former farrier 
)
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That certainly looks like it’s on the right track. You’re taking really good pictures! Keep taking those after each trim, and you’ll be able to tell if things are improving.
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I agree, these are looking great. It’s hard to measure progress, keep taking those photos – around six months is where you’ll really see something drastic. Sometimes correcting the feet can come with some ancillary body soreness as the body adjusts to “uncompensating” for all its compensation.
I’m normally all about open lines of communication, but expect blowback with farriers. One of the best ways to burn a bridge with a farrier is tell them you’re not happy with their work. Farriers talk to other farriers about clients and word gets around you’re a “difficult client” when you involve vets. YMMV.
One of the big life experiences that slapped me in the face as a young adult was the assumption that farriers would want to work with veterinarians for the benefit of the horse. Professionally, this just isn’t true. Years ago I had an uncomplicated barefoot horse develop some riding quirks. After a long list of diagnostics, the veterinarian narrowed it down to his feet which had 5mm sole depth. When I told my farrier I wanted to put shoes on the horse and add rim pads, he asked why – me, thinking honesty was the best policy, told him the horse had been seen by a vet and had his feet x-rayed and we discovered his soles were dangerously thin. That instantly put this farrier on the defensive and I was read the riot act. I used him for a few more cycles but eventually switched to his apprentice because the apprentice was willing to work with the veterinarian and didn’t challenge every request I made. I considered this a one off, but after working in the industry I realize that’s just how it is for a lot of farriers.
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The farrier isn’t a good business person or horseman if they aren’t willing to listen to x rays. That’s not a vets opinion, x rays don’t lie.
Farriers abs vets may butt heads sometimes because each thinks they know better but a farrier that disregards x rays is ignorant and not an opinion I would put in general circulation.
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Mare has been so much happier through her hind end just having more support with that shoe being larger/setback more and a better trim. Had the body worker out today (first available appointment) and she was actually surprised at how good her hind end was. I think being more balanced in her feet behind the past 12 days has really made a difference. She’s also going really well and seems much happier pushing from behind, also popped a few jumps and I might need to install a seatbelt 
.
I did message the old farrier and let him know I was cancelling and changing directions moving forward due to x-ray findings. He came across a little insulted that I didn’t have him work with the vet and pushed for more info. I told him all of her angles except the RF were flat to slightly negative… No response after that. Really no excuse as if I could see something was not right with the hoof shape as a non farrier, he should have been adjusting the trim or pointing out that it wasn’t healthy/normal. Fingers crossed I continue to see improvement 
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