Barefoot Trimming - Insurance (worrying)

[Pinkstergirl]

I have just found out via my vet and equine podiatrist that, whilst it is legal for a horse to be trimmed (providing it is not being trimmed to be shod) by an EP / trimmer, it is not necessarily a given that insurance will pay out if there are any claims as a result of barefoot trimming.

So, I became worried and phoned my insurance company (didn't tell them I was a client!). They went quiet and then said they would not be able to answer until they saw the claim form!

Gulp!!! :eek: Best hope that nothing goes wrong then. However, correct me if I'm being idiotic, but, if there is a problem as a result of being barefoot then the only way of resolving that problem would be to have remedial work done on the foot by the EP?? So, I know how much my EP charges and I would be happy to pay for that without claiming.

I guess the only time I might need to claim is if my EP screwed up the actual hoof itself and I had to get someone else in to rectify the problem.

Am I making any sense??!!

[ZAULTAG]

would you not just rather have them done by a qualified farrier? thats what i do

[MelanieD]

As the trim is totally non-invasive it would be very very difficult to do significant damage anyway. I guess the worst insurance consequence really is if you chose to treat a hoof problem with barefoot trimming against the advice of your vet then you are not likely to be able to claim on insurance whether you stick to barefoot or eventually decide to try to treat the problem with shoes.

Having seen the work of quite a few qualified farriers and the work of an EP I'd go for an EP every time :D

[Bay Mare]

would you not just rather have them done by a qualified farrier? thats what i do

Erm, no. Saffs' feet are much, much better since she's been seen by the EP instead of the farrier. Qualified doesn't necessarily equal competent unfortunately.

The 'problem' with barefoot at the moment is that it's relatively new, a lot of vets aren't up to date on what it is and why it's done, some farriers are scaremongering and some of the more invasive trims (see, I can be diplomatic!) have and are being investigated by the welfare agencies and are giving other, less invasive methods a bad name.

[Bay Mare]

Oh, and of course, (some) insurance companies will use anything to get out of paying out!

[Bebe]

You would have some recourse through the EPs insurance policy, I think all EPs are now insured, or at least most of them are which means you have some comeback.

I doubt an EP could mess hooves up to be honest. At absolute worst you'd see no improvement. The trim is non-invasive and follows sound principals. The only case where this might differ is for a very bad laminitic or founder case where x-rays are really needed to proceed in the correct manner and aren't done. In this sort of situation it does very much come down to experience so maybe some of the newly qualified EPs might need some help from KC himself or a more experienced EP and also vet co-operation.

[Pinkstergirl]

Thanks everyone! I had stopped worrying as, like you say, it's unlikely that my EP will actually damage Mouse's feet so the chance of a claim arising directly relating to the trimming is slim.

In answer to the farrier question - No, no and thrice no! I would never let a farrier near my horse's feet again. They are trained to trim to put shoes on, not leave them off. I'm sure there are some out there who are able to maintain soundness in a barefoot horse but I am not even nearly convinced that they are aware of appropriate balancing techniques etc.

Mouse's feet are beautiful now and they were wrecked by farriers.