farrier & my horse

[Canaan's Mom]

Hi,

Quick questions:

(1) how long fter my horse has been trimmed & shoed should I wait before I ride him? Are horses feet generally sensitive after this procedure?

(2) I assuem that before the farrier comes, I should catch my horse & pick his feet out....any other suggestions to help get ready for his "pedicure" ;)

Hope it is ok to post it under "general"...I wasn't sure

[Tootsie4U]

As a courtesy, I pick my horses' feet and wash his legs off if they're muddy. If he were shy about having his feet done, I'd be sure I'd brush up on hoof handling manners too.

I have ridden Bonfire about an hour after a trim one time. I didnt see any disapproval from Bonfire but he's a tough boy. Interesting... haven't thought about this. I know its a bit painful for them if they're going from being shod to unshod but I always thought that a barefoot trim was nothing to worry about.

[Mehitabel]

i've often ridden straight after the farrier - there shouldn't be a problem if the horse has no remedial work going on.

we also bring the horses in and have them waiting for the farrier, tied up under shelter (in case it rains) on a hard flat surface with a haynet. we get the mud etc off legs as well so he doen;'t have to get his hands filthy.

[galadriel]

If there's a major change I give them an afternoon to get used to the new feel (like regular shoes to bar shoes) but expect them to be fine almost right away.

[Fuzz and This]

when the school horses at my yard have had their shoes changed or hooves trimmed they get ridden straight after they have been done. they are not affected by it at all.

before the farrier comes the horses all get their feet picked out and if they have muddy legs then they get washed.

[Canaan's Mom]

Thanks everyone. My boy is going from barefeet to shoes on the front...so I'll see if he has any problems before I ride.

I feel a lot better about how to prepare for the farrier visit now - thanks....

[Wally]

It should be fine to ride straight away.

There is nothing worse that trying to shoe wet muddy feet.
Your chaps get slippery, the tools get slippery and you simply cannot do a right job. We have loads and loads of old towels and wash and dry legs and feet before I shoe. A good job cannot be sone with mud everywhere.

I have to laugh, when Flippi had his first EVER set of shoes he was an angel to have them on. You'd think he'd been shod lots of times. We trotted him up in the indoor school when I'd finished just to check his movement out and once I was happy we tacked him up to go out for a quick potter. Now as you go out from the sand bit of the indoor school you have to cross 20 feet or so of concrete, he jumped a mile when he heard his feet on the hard floor, the look on his face was hysterical. He seemed to forget out side too, everytime he got back onto the road from the hill it made him jump too. Bless him.