ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] Re: Thin Hoof Walls/Clumsy Horse
[endurance] Re: Thin Hoof Walls/Clumsy Horse
HorseWorks@aol.com
Fri, 15 Dec 1995 20:39:25 -0500
The horse with thin hoof walls on the sides is not an Arabian. She is half
Saddlebred. She did not have this problem the first year of competition.
However, finding a farrier that truly knows how to balance a foot has been a
seemingly impossible task. Sometimes it takes a trimming or two or three
before problems become visable - at least for my untrained eye. My current
farrier came about when the regular one was sick and, in desperation -
because there was a ride the following weekend - I called a farrier supply
house and was put in contact with a farrier that resides 3 hours away. He
agreed to come the next day. And, as a result a miracle of miracles! An
Arabian horse I raised (10 years old now) that consistently and dangerously
stumbled at a walk now does not stumble! (I used a chiropractor for him and
it helped some and he was tested for Equine Protazola Mylitis resulting in a
weak positive which meant that maybe he had been exposed at one time but not
have it now...)
This new farrier didn't just come in and slap some shoes on. He watched the
horse move, made some adjustments, watched him move again, made another
adjustment...and kept at it until he couldn't do any more. I am amazed and
thrilled. I couldn't tell you how many farriers have worked to correct his
stumbling. My vet had asked me to make this horse a pasture ornament before
I got seriously hurt. But, I never gave up trying to correct the problem.
Question: How do you choose a farrier? Keeping a good one can be
challenging too. Some suggestions - clean his truck while he's shoeing your
horses... fix him coffee, tea, etc. and have hot homemade cookies prepared
just for him when he arrives.....