Critique my Feet!!!

[Kazza_B]

Hi all! I have a 2yr old gelding who is absolutley terrified of men (particually farriers) so i have had to do his feet my self for the past 9 months (after a few lessons from my farrier), unfortunatly my boy wont let my farrier get close enough to tell me how im doing with his feet, so id really like your advice please!

I walk/trot him out inhand around the roads about 5 times a week (to get him used to traffic and cos he loves it!) other than that hes out allday in a soft and muddy (at the moment) field, and its been about 5 weeks since i last trimmed him. He has a couple superfical chips on his front feet, which he got from pawing the ground, on the yard.

Have a couple questions

1. Does he have any hoof/conformation flaws that i need to be aware of?
2. Should i be doing that much road work with him, without shoes?
3.Am i doing anything wrong with my trim!!!???

Please excuse the mud, the hose was still frozen when i took the pics so couldnt wash him off!

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/Kazza_1/feet3.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/Kazza_1/feet4.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/Kazza_1/feet.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l181/Kazza_1/feet2.jpg

[shandy84]

Regarding the road work that shouldn't be a problem.

There is something about his feet that I find a bit odd it almost looks like it's out of balance. How have you tried to overcome his fear of farriers, I hate to say it but it is something you need to train out of him, one day he may need a farriers or vets attention on his feet and you'll have no choice but to knock him out if you don't combat it before then :)

[Kazza_B]

Yes it is a problem, im waiting untill hes a bit older and wiser and more confedient with his feet before i ask the farrier to try to trim him again, i just dont want this fear of the farrier to turn into a life time problem.

Ive noticed that he seems to wear down the outside of his feet more than the inner side, is this what you mean?

He is due for a trim, i might try and take some better pictures tomorrow.

Im glad to hear about the roadwork, all of the other women on the yard say that they'd never ride their horses on the road without shoes, so i was thinking prehaps i might have been doing damage to his feet?

[shandy84]

I've had mine from youngsters and have found the more gentle handling they have as youngsters the better they are, not dealing with a prob until they are older and bigger means a lot of the time the same reaction in a very full grown horse.

The bit that looks off is his frog it's not central, that's why I thought out of balance. A few on here trim their own they'd be better to advise you on if i'm right or not :)

[Kazza_B]

Thanks shandy, ive never touched his frog with a hoof knife before, because my farrier always said if im in doubt about trimming the frog, dont do it!!! Although now that youve pointed it out to me i see what you mean....just not sure what to do about it.

I bought him as a 2yr old and he'd only ever had his feet trimmed once before, which was the first time hed ever had his feet touched by a person!! So you can imagine he wasnt very good.
I handle his feet everyday and ask other women on the yard to pick his feet up sometimes too but men cant get anywhere near him....although hes fine with the vet...he seems to know when men are after his feet!

[MelanieD]

They do look out of balance. How do you check balance? Pete Ramey's book is available on Amazon.co.uk, is very good and easy to understand and explains how to balance using the sole which is a very good way of doing it. There are some updates on his website on www.hoofrehab.com as well.

They're generally pretty good feet. Look strong enough for road work and it should do them a lot of good.

There are a lot of female EPs and other barefoot trimmers around, maybe one of those would be worth a try if you want some professional help.

[Yann]

They look like nice feet but as far as it's possible to tell from the photos it does like the heels are rather long, and that might go for the walls too to some extent. If he's due a trim that might account for it.

As far as the walking on the roads goes, it's ideal as far as I'm aware, as it will be building up his internal structures and make his feet tougher and more capable in the future.

Where are you in the country? If he's OK with women it might be worth seeing if you have a female barefoot trimmer in your area who could come out and give you a proper expert assessment?

[shandy84]

There are also a few female farriers around if you struggle to find someone BF to come to him, if he's okay with women it does sound like the way to go

[Kazza_B]

Im in Buckinghamshire, ive asked around for female farriers but there arent any in my area.

Id love to know if theres any barefoot trimmers near me?

[MelanieD]

Look on www.epauk.org, www.uknhcp.org and www.equinepodiatry.net.

They do tend to travel a bit further than farriers so worth asking how far they travel if there isn't one really close.

[Kazza_B]

Thanks, i have sent a couple of emails, hopefully i'll they'll come out to my area!!