Farrier Advice Please- picking up hooves

[Jo]

Hi there to any farriers using this site.

I've just discovered it and you give some really good advice to the horse owner's...well done.

I've got a 4 year old ID mare. She has the mentality of a 3 year old as it is apparent that although she's been handled, it's not very much.
She is shod and all the nails are in line on the hooves, back and front. Allegedy she has been shod twice before in her previous home

The problem I'm having at the moment is that she now needs to be shod for the first time in her new home (with us) and although she is very good at lifting and holding up her front hooves, she doesn't like the hinds being lifted!
Partially this is due to her near hind quarter being uncomfortable due to a problem with the tensor fascia lata muscle which I'm having addressed by a physio; therefore she doesn't want to put too much weight onto the near hind (so won't accept the off hind being lifted and held).
I do not want to end up with a nightmare horse that no farrier want's to shoe, so would like advice now from experienced farrier's as I've not had this problem with a horse being a pain to lift it's hooves before.

I have no idea if she was doped when she was shod in her last home before the farrier attended (hence why the nails are all level), but have been advised not to go down this route right now as this will impair her natural balance as a youngster

Her feet are now due for trimming and as she is not being ridden until next spring, I am tempted to get the hind shoe's removed, and leave the fronts on as she has a crack in the off fore that needs to be sorted out.
But how, without sounding like a complete prat (me that is!), is the farrier meant to get the hind shoes off if one leg is painful and the other she is not keen on lifting and holding up?????

So please, please, please, for the horses sake and the farrier that takes her on,how can i help to remedy this problem so it makes the farrier's job and life easier?

I'd be incredibly grateful for some professional advice from an (some) experts who have dealt with this problem in youngsters before.

Jo

[admin]

Hi Jo,

You may well find that a farrier has less trouble lifting the hind legs as it is something that we are used to doing and the horse hopefully will realise this and not put up a struggle. All you can do is get a farrier along to have a look and see what he thinks.

But if there is going to be a problem than do not hesitate to have the horse doped. It is complete nonsense to suggest that sedation will "impair her natural balance as a youngster". It will make it safe for her and for you and for the farrier to shoe her though.

Best wishes,

Martin.

[Jo]

Thank you very much for your advice Martin. It's nice to have an independant professional opinion.

Do you know much about these Cytex trained farriers and Cytex shoes?

I came across the discussion on the farriers discussion page and haven't heard of Cytex before.

Are there any advantages or disadantages to these shoes/ shoeing methods?

There seems to be some negative viewpoints that were being exchanged, and as an owner, if I'm offered these shoes or shoeing methods, it would be helpful to be more informed about them to make an informed choice.

Again, thank you for your response.

Take care,

Jo

[admin]

Hi Jo,

There are a lot of new methods about at the moment with passionate advocates for each of them, but bear in mind that they haven't been around for the lifetime of a horse yet. With a youngster such as yours I would advise you strongly to stick with traditional shoes if they are needed, except on veterinary advice if there is a particular problem that needs addressing by special shoeing.

[Guest]

Hi Jo - have a look at cytekhorse.com. Once you understand the principles behind them and see how well your horse likes them you won't have anything else.

[PNB]

Martin,

Please check out the IP address of this posting for me.

PNB.

[Guest]

Martin,

Please check out the IP address of this posting for me.

PNB.

And what do you think that will tell you ? technology really isn't your strong.

[PNB]

Guest Guest,

You are so right but I can compare a new series of digits with an historical set of digits to see if they match.

PNB.

[Guest]

With dynamic ip allocation (this is what 90% of isp's do) it will only tell you that they came from the same ISP.

Only people like me have fixed ip address's as this usualy costs more.

The only time the ip address is usfull to you is if you have a time stamp for it. then you can go to the ISP that owns the ip allocation and find out which of its users was using that ip address at that time.

AOL as far as I remember use dynamic ip allocation and also re-allocate on the fly so under some curcumstances its possible to have 2 ip address's for the same user within the same session.

hope that helps

[alex]

hi jo

i specialise in difficult horses and have only ever had to dope one horse ever and would advise both you and your farrier to try without time and patience works for me all the time and doesn't stress the horse.

[slowhand]

Now then Jo!
Differing opinions here. Martin in my opinion is right.... 2ml Sedivet plus 1ml Torbogesic every time and after 2/3 shoeings things always improve. I do not advocate any system where I have to risk a broken leg for £60.00.
I am old enough to remember the 'good old days' where we fought on with unruly horses or new broke or nervous and indeed those which had a degree of discomfort for whatever reason with no recourse to sedatives and believe me seds are better for everyone concerned. Like Alex I am known for being able to shoe any horse regardless and other farriers send their clients to my forge when they dont want to risk injury for the price of a set of shoes, however unlike Alex I reach for the happy juice every time! Hope that helps?

[Guest]

I see they've got another one out too - cytekhorse.com.au

[ED]

HI Jo, In my short time as a qualified farrier i have found that horses are only difficult to shoe for two reasons. 1. The horse is young and does not understand or trust the farriers requests. I could spout on for hours about horses being herd animals and tapping into that physci. I will keep it short. the horse must see the handler as the alpha horse or the dominate mare. this can be achieved in many ways. Without screaming and shouting being the first thing. the horse must come away from the experience being relaxed and not stressed. I have found that it helps if the horse has had some sort of hard excersise. Not ten mins on the horse walker. After about an hour the horse is ready. Young horses fare better if being shod in their own enviroment, ie, not to far from their own stable. If it is possible, Make another horse available for company. Shoe the horse as normal until you come across a problem. Sometimes it may be a balance problem. Put the horse against a wall so he can lean on the wall for balance. If problems continue take a pinch of the horses nose with your hand until the horse starts to lick. This is a sighn that the horse is in a submisive state, or the horse will look sleepy. No more than a few minutes is required. The farrier should be able to carry out the rest of the job. 2. After all the above you have no sucsess the problem may be pain related. If the horse is aged then none of the above will work. You have to find the cause first. Doping horses sometimes masks musko-skelatal problems. I could go on and on. Hope this helps.