<<<After a 100 the outside wall of Kaboot's shoes would be paper thin. No hint of a nail groove. How do you blame a farrier for that? And even if it is the horse's fault...is there something a farrier can do that would be a help to the horse or do you consider that just a part of the horse?>>>
It is not a farrier problem if it is a conformational problem of your horse. My Morgan/QH mare is fairly cow- hocked behind and she does the same. When she was shod (by an excellent endurance farrier...he has moved to the Prescott, AZ area btw, if anyone needs a good farrier, email me..that is if he isn't still stuck in Utah:P) she would wear the outside branch of her hinds so thin, you could shave with them :) Now that I am barefooting her, I control the trim every week if needed, but she STILL wears the outside of her feet. No way around it. The way to tell if it is the horse or the shoer/trimmer is if the horse has no conformational problems and is still unevenly (or rather, not "still", but with a new farrier or other issue, all of a sudden is now uneven) wearing the shoes. It can be anywhere,too. They could wear wrong at the toe (harder to see as no nail holes/nail grooves to wear) or on one of the branches, or even just the heels. Sometimes, it is also not the farrier, but a brewing problem in your horse. If a horse that has been wearing evenly is now starting to wear unevenly (esp on only one foot), maybe a subtle lameness/pain issue is causing it that is not manifesting in a 'limp' yet. In fact, in response to the horse being the problem with uneveness, some farriers CAUSE lameness, in that they try to "fix" an uneven wear that has something to do with like conformation. If the bones have grown one way, you are NOT going to fix it with shoes. The horse compensates for how it is built and you can REALLY mess up tendons and joints by trying to "fix" things. If you didn't fix it in the breeding (or MAYBE..RARELY...in the first 6 months of foalhood with corrective trimming), then you are not going to fix it later with shimming, trimming, whatever. You can help slightly (shoe a slight bit more supportive on the bad side, but don't overdo it), but it is a fine line to balance on. Long explanation short, "balance" is always taken in light of conformation, not a hard rule that EVERY horse needs to be so and so... Natalie (who can highly recommend Pacific Coast Horseshoeing in Sacramento, Ca for anyone wanting to learn shoeing. Great school and LOTS of learning on anatomy, gait, lameness, disease, whatnot....WAY more than just "trimming and nailing" :) I learned lots there, even if I did go "traitor" and end up a Barefoot Trimmer in the long run :P)
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