Hi, has anyone had a problem with actual pain when a nail goes in whilst shoeing. It was not a nail quick, and no lameness before or after. Our mare just went up as a nail went in it was like a shooting pain that was over very quick?
It happens. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the shoeing, or the nail being driven in. And unless it happens often enough so that you can figure it out you may never know.
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My mare is barefoot, but years ago I put front shoes on her Spring- fall because I did some riding on the gravel roads and she just seemed more comfortable.
Every time my ( excellent) farrier put a nail in she made the worst face and I knew it bothered her. I could pound on her foot all day long with no reaction but there was something about him nailing the shoes on.
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Its a dilemma, we tried for 3 years barefoot but she was uncomfortable and kept getting bruised soles,
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹Also stiff shoulders from the way she carried herself. Shes a cob so best boots for her were scoots. These were great straight after a trim but awkard inbetween and she did not ride well. So much to my better judgement we had her shod. The pain is not every time but i feel dreadful for her.
Are you sure it is pain? My horse very much dislikes the process of nailing by most farriers but is more OK with gentle people. He’s not lame, he just hates the hammering on his foot and yanks his feet away, sometimes acts up. 2/3 dose Dormosedan helps tremendously.
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We are going to sedate and see how he goes as its not everytime but always same foot when it does happen. Thank you.
If it’s always the same foot, then I’d say it’s time for a good set of xrays.
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I explained everything to my vet and he said that as it is not every time an e-ray would not help! I will have to insist.
it may not be the foot itself. It may be some ringbone or something similar, and depending on how the farrier is holding the foot, how the foot wiggles as the hammer strikes, it may be something that hurts when things are just right.
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I saw something similar with a farrier in our area. A lot the horses he did got progressively worse once he took over and some started needing to be sedated. Part of the problem was how he handled the horses, not actually a horse person, but he was also using nails that were too big and putting too much pressure on the sensitive structures of the foot as he drove them in. See if the farrier can use a slimmer nail. Certain nails fit certain types of shoes, but there are options, so see what your farrier can suggest.
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Thank you for yiur message, i certainly will ask.
My gelding with navicular changes responded very dramatically and unpredictably to one or two nails every time he was shod. The farrier was very good but I think something about the angle or pressure would create a zing of pain. I’d be curious if there’s anything that shows up on an x-ray.
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I don’t do a lot of shoeing anymore, but my dh doesn’t like messing with boots, so I put ice shoes on his horse’s fronts so he only has to put boots on the backs. I don’t remember his horse being so twitchy when I nailed the shoes on 6 weeks ago, but this time he was, so I started reaching around and feeding him treats in between nails (without putting the foot down) and then it didn’t take him any time at all to decide that he really liked having those nails pounded on! 
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Our farrier has been shoeing since my horse arrived in 2001. Over the years I can recall once when he had a hot nail and she came back the next day. She doesn’t pound each nail straight in and move on to the next. She will pull one and curve the nail, for example, so the path it takes and where It comes out of the wall is where she wants it. He has been on biotin for several years and the hoof wall and sole are thicker and stronger. No crumbling around the nail holes. She has worked with a number of vets over the years for traumatic injuries such as losing a significant area of the hoof wall. There is a shortage of farriers because one retired and another one went off to hike the Appalachian Trail. She is one of the 2-3 best. There are several I wouldn’t let near my horse after watching them with other horses, like the guy who forgot to do the clinches. .
My gelding has maintained some input into the process for years. He picks up whichever hoof he wants her to work on next, and there is no established order. We used to chuckle when he picked up a foot until we realized what he was up to. He comes up with stuff. He usually comes when I call him. If I have to get him he waits until I’m not quite close enough to halter, looks at me, then waits for me at the gate.
Kande 04, what are ice boots? We have tried boots, sccots, as best for a cob with feathers. She didnt ride well in them and then in between farrier visits the fit was not good. I had two sizes but still difficult. We tried for 3 years to go barefoot. She has one black hoof and this is the one that is the problem. My daughter and I are sure there is a problem with this hoof. Walktrot your horse sounds great, what a character.
some of them just don’t like the vibrations of metal against metal, farrier can try a poly headed driving hammer and see if that helps.
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Several boot manufacturers sell ice studs to go in their boots. We use them in the winter, and they work quite well because the ice studs provide the traction and the bottom of the boot prevents ice balls.
I have one mule that I can’t use ice boots on because his hooves are so narrow and pigeon toed that the boots twist, and then the gaiters rip off and the boot comes off. It’s a fit problem and I’ve tried, but just can’t find a pair of boots that fits him well enough that they’ll stay on. I can modify boots so they’ll stay on his backs, but not his fronts.
I do my own trimming so can keep the horse’s hooves the way they need to be so that the boots fit. Not that they need to fit all that well, because horse boots stay on horses quite well. Not necessarily as well as shoes, but quite well considering that they’re not nailed on!
In what way did your cob not “ride well” in boots?
That makes no sense. The nail placement/angle and hammer velocity can’t always be 100% the same as the previous shoeing, so there may be an issue but it’s not always a problem depending on where the nail is. Not to mention, it’s rare that a vet wouldn’t think an xray of a foot wouldn’t help at all. It is possible that he is saying it won’t necessarily find the cause - which of course is true.
If it’s always one foot, and not the other - there is something going on. It can’t be that the farrier only hammers harder on the RF and not the left, for example. And not every time.
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It’s possible, as I’m strongly right handed so the horse’s left front is always the easiest for me. So I may hammer harder on the LF because I’m more coordinated on that side (the horse’s body isn’t in the way). Or, I may tend to do the LF first, so by the time I get to the RF the horse has realized that he doesn’t need to worry about the hammering because he got used to it on the LF?
But that said, it could very easily be a physical problem, and not necessarily in the hoof, or even necessarily pain related, that the hammering aggravates.
Sure, the farrier could be the problem. A 2nd opinion wouldn’t hurt. But why do it without an xray which might give real information? Somehow I am having trouble believing a vet said an xray of a foot wouldn’t help.
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