Shoeing Catch-22 Need advice please!

[LuckyStar]

Well...Last time I had the farrier out to do my horse he said that he didn't like the way she was wearing her hind shoes. Farrier said that the shoe wear could indicate a hock problem, and to have a vet out. When I had the vet look at my horse, she pointed out how off balance the hoof was. This was a few weeks after the farrier had reset her shoes. The vet said the horse needs a different shoeing.

So... basically the farrier says I need a vet and the vet says I need a farrier.:confused:

Does it seem possible that the horse could have worn her hoof down to be drastically out of balance... while wearing the shoes, just growing this way, etc... or do I need a new farrier?

Vet was unspecific about whether I should get someone different, or simply have her re-done by the same farrier.

Any suggestions or advice on this situation would be greatly appreciated!

[Patty Stiller]

Grossly uneven shoe wear either indicates a foot out of balance or the horse has a lameness issue further up the leg. For example, rapidly wearing out the lateral branch if a hind shoe may indicate a hock, stifle or hip issue, or a foot that is too high on the lateral side, or a combination of any of those.

There is nothing more frustrating for a farrier than having the vet say to the owner "it needs to be different" but then failing to communicate DIRECTLY with the farrier exactly what exactly is out of balance or needs to be changed, and why. And there is nothing more frustrating for a vet than to have the farrier ignore the recommendations.

Therefore I suggest you have your farrier contact the vet (or visa versa) and ask in a professional manner exactly what needs to be changed and why.
If wither one refuses to be part of a team, communicating directly with the other, then I would replace the one who won't communicate.

[deltawave]

If you could have the vet and farrier confer, it might help. On the other hand, it might be completely counterproductive if each one simply wants to point fingers.

Is the horse sound? Any indication of soreness, lameness, etc? Did the vet examine the hocks, flex them, do X-rays? Does anything suggest to YOU that the horse has hock problems? Is the uneven wear a new thing?

Is the farrier certified, and do you know any of his other clients that might be able to give you insight as to his level of skill and capabilities for dealing with therapeutic shoeing or abnormal hoof balance?

[LuckyStar]

Thanks for the replies!

I am going to take your advice on trying to get the farrier and vet to confer. No, we have never had any lameness or soundness problems with her. When the vet was there, she said that there was only a very slight swelling of her ankle.

The farrier has a strong reputation and I have never heard anyone have problems with him before.

[matryoshka]

Farrier may also have noticed that the horse is wearing his shoes in a different pattern than before, indicating that the horse is moving differently and something has changed in the leg (recent onset of symptoms).

However, if the feet are not balanced properly for the leg, then the stiffness/soreness the farrier is noticing could have resulted from the way he trims before he shoes.

A catch 22 for sure.

I agree that having the vet and farrier talk directly is a good approach. I'm interested to hear what happens.

[kookicat]

Could you get an x-ray of the hoof and see what's going on inside? Should give you some idea of where you need to start.

[kipster]

Therefore I suggest you have your farrier contact the vet (or visa versa) and ask in a professional manner exactly what needs to be changed and why.
If wither one refuses to be part of a team, communicating directly with the other, then I would replace the one who won't communicate.[/QUOTE]

Sorry to read you are going through this. I have been going through a similar thing with my vet and farrier for the past month. I just fired my farrier today. He is the one that basically had a temper trantum this week and started to point fingers at the vet. His personality is just too difficult to work with. I now think I have more of 'team' to work with. Good luck to you! You do have options and people who care and WANT to HELP!

[Androcles]

Does it seem possible that the horse could have worn her hoof down to be drastically out of balance... while wearing the shoes, just growing this way, etc... or do I need a new farrier?
No, it doesn't seem possible in just a few weeks. Obviously the foot didn't 'wear' unevenly with a shoe on it but some part could have grown unevenly, but it is unlikely to have done so by that much in such a short amount of time.
I would start with trying to get the farrier to balance the foot better.

[matryoshka]

If the foot were growing unevenly, I'd think it would show up as uneven growth rings. So far, I've seen this with chronic laminitis where the heels grow faster than the toes, but I have yet to see this happen in a medial-lateral direction. I've only been trimming for 5 years, but one would think I would have seen this in that amount of time if it were a common occurrence.

The amount of wear in one cycle is highly dependent on the amount of moving a horse does. I've seen shoes worn thin in a matter of weeks to the point where it is hard to grab the nail heads to pull shoes.

Basically, it sounds like the farrier noticed something different one shoeing interval (or perhaps noticed it across several shoeings) and remarked on it. I don't shoe, but I sure notice how the hoof wears from time to time. I'd think a farrier would look at the wear pattern on the shoe just as I look at on the hoof and mention to the owner if there was suddenly a difference in the way it wears.

I'm hoping the OP gets back to us about what transpires between farrier and vet.