Re[2]: HELP - Need to change farrier maybe

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From: Linda-Cathrine 
Email: slypner@juno.com

This also goes along with stupid mistakes I've made in my endurance career (right up there with going headfirst into gravel pit with my horse):  

I also had a fill-in farrier. I asked that he change nothing, just follow what the previous farrier had done. At that time I had just beaten a terrible overreaching problem that would result in one lost front shoe on a regular basis. So this fill-in guy either didn't get the message, didn't understand it, or didn't care (which I don't think is true) but he changed all the angles, and even the size of the hind feet so they fit a size smaller shoe. Now, this guy had been successfully shoing some endurance horses, so perhaps he thought he saw something he could correct. And not being somebody who can superiorly judge a farrier job, I went ahead and rode my horse in a 50 mile race not knowing anything had been changed (yes, yes, I know better now) . I think it was two miles in that he pulled a shoe because I remember a bad stumble, but the adrenalin was so high (which is quite normal for everybody at four miles) that neither of us noticed for a couple more miles when we hit some really rocky terrain. He limped, I put on an easyboot, got him into the next check with no gait abberations, but chose to pull him. Good thing. I got home, the farrier came out (I wasn't there, I just heard about it from everybody else), took one look at his feet and starting shouting (expletive deleted) something to the effect of what idiot royally screwed up this horse's feet. He called me at work and had a chat. He was genuinely angry! I then called the fill-in farrier and had a chat. He appeared apologetic. Then I went for a ride in the arena and he was dead lame. Head down, back up, dead druck staggering lame. We tried to wait it out with stall rest, but as he was not lame trotted in hand, and only staggering lame when somebody was on his back, I called a chiropractor. His first rib had popped out when he overreached and ripped the shoe off. The chiro popped it back in, but The rest of the season was shot, but with some care and my dedicated farrier, he's back and ready to roll this season. 


Moral of the Story: Learn something about shoing so you know how to argue with a farrier. (But be polite about it) If you have a good farrier, stick with them. If you need a fill-in, be there with them and hover like a hawk and bring your knowledge with you!

Linda-Cathrine
slypner@juno.com